The Fadgl trains were the fair's answer to sore feet, and Todd judged them more successful than 'any other arrangement ever used under similar circumstances.' They were little white trains of low cars pulled by a gasoline tractor, with running boards only a few inches off the pavement so tired people could step aboard. Most cars were open to the sky, some hooded against rain. They ran among the crowds on the Zone as well as along the avenues.
There were two fares. A nickel took you from the Baker Street entrance to the California Building, or the length of the Zone. A dime bought the grand loop: from the Service Building down the Avenue of Progress, along the Esplanade above the North Gardens to the Massachusetts Building, up the Avenue of the Nations to the Marina and out to the Live Stock section, a good mile and a half, then back by the Olympian Way, the Avenue of the Nations and the Avenue of Palms for another dime.
The name was an invention too. The Fageol brothers' backer registered the company as The Fadgl Auto Train Inc. for easier pronunciation (Wikipedia). Before the fair ended, Todd says, inquiries came 'from every large city in the United States and from many abroad.'
At a glance
- Carried 4,278,895 passengers during the season and took in over $307,000 (Todd vol. 2).
- E. P. Brinegar was president of the operating company (Todd vol. 2).
- Collectors used recording fare registers, part of the 'Class M' concession controls (Todd vol. 2).
- The Fageols' Oakland company went on to build trucks, buses and cars (Wikipedia).
Afterward
Ended with the exposition; the Fageol firm continued in Oakland (Wikipedia).
Sources
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, ch. LXIX (Accommodating the People); ch. XXX
- Wikipedia: Fageol, the Fadgl Auto Train