"Fawkes' Folly", an experimental monorail car built by J.W. Fawkes in Burbank and adorned with flags and decorations, 1907-1910(?)

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Title	"Fawkes' Folly", an experimental monorail car built by J.W. Fawkes in Burbank and adorned with flags and decorations, 1907-1910(?)
Description	Photograph of "Fawkes' Folly", an experimental monorail car built by J.W. Fawkes in burbank and adorned with flags and decorations, 1907-1910(?). The cigar-shaped trolley is attached to an overhead track, which is supported by wooden beams. There are about a dozen passengers onboard, including a several musicians playing the double bass, guitar, and banjo. In the front of the trolley, a driver sits behind the controls that operate the vehicle. The controls are attached to a large engine mounted at the nose of the trolley, which in turn is connected to the propeller. To the rear of the trolley is a man standing on top of a set of stairs that is used to allow people to enter the trolley. Also in the rear of the trolley is an American flag. The passengers are well dressed and a majority of them are wearing hats. Caption reads: "Aerial Trolley Car Co. Inc., J.W. & E.C. Fawkes, Patentees., Burbank, Cal."; "The population of the town [Burbank] was 500 when the voters approved incorporation in 1911. That same year, civic boosters began a campaign to have the Pacific Electric Streetcar line extended from Glendale into Burbank. The citizens of Burbank had to put up a $48,000 subsidy to get the reluctant P.E. officials to agree. The first Red Car rolled into Burbank on September 6, 1911. Leading the opposition to the public fundraising was J.W. Fawkes, who had patented the first monorail car in the United States. He built a prototype on his Burbank ranch, running a line between Lake and Flower Streets. Fawkes called his invention the "Aerial Swallow." City officials, however, called it "Fawkes' Folly" and the proposed monorail system never materialized." -- unknown author.
Subject	Fawkes, J.W.
Subject (adlf)	transportation features
Subject (file heading)	Transportation -- Rail -- Street Railroads -- General (Misc. Cars)
Subject (lcsh)	Street-railroads Flags
Geographic subject (city or populated place)	Burbank
Geographic subject (county)	Los Angeles
Geographic subject (state)	California
Geographic subject (country)	USA
Coverage date	1907/1910
Photographer	Pierce, C.C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946
Publisher (of the digital version)	University of Southern California. Libraries
Date created	1907/1910
Type	images
Format	glass plate negatives
Format (aacr2)	4 photographs : glass photonegative, photonegatives, photoprint, b&w ; 21 x 26 cm., 13 x 17 cm., 10 x 13 cm.
Format (aat)	negatives (photographic) photographic prints photographs
Accession number	5013
Call number	CHS-5013
Microfiche number	1-119-16
Legacy record ID	chs-m17278
Part of collection	California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960
Part of subcollection	Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960
Project	USC
Rights	California Historical Society
Access conditions	Send requests to address or e-mail given. Phone (213) 821-2366; fax (213) 740-2343.
Repository name	USC Libraries Special Collections
Repository address	Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189
Repository email	specol@usc.edu
Filename	CHS-5013
Archival file	chs_Volume98/CHS-5013.tiff

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"Fawkes' Folly", an experimental monorail car built by J.W. Fawkes in Burbank and adorned with flags and decorations, 1907-1910(?)

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