I just finished reading three fantastic books about trolley car systems:
New York & North Shore Traction Company by Vincent F. Seyfried;
New York & Long Island Traction Company by Vincent F. Seyfried;
A History Of The Hudson Valley Railway, Saratoga Through Car by David F. Nestle.
These books are available on the used book market, and they are great reading about rise and fall of interurban systems in the period of 1895 through 1928. I find it incredible that so many efficient electric railways were squandered away.
My next search is for a copy of the Long Island Electric Company by Vincent F. Seyfried. Ironically, Mr Seyfried was my English teacher in Martin Van Buren High School, but I had no idea of his interest in trolley car lines at the time.
For the record, I discovered in "A History Of The Hudson Valley Railway, Saratoga Through Car" by David F. Nestle that this mishap took place in Mechanicville, New York. The car was a runaway down that went down Park Avenue in Mechanicville.
