This series contains the volumes originally commissioned by Henry L. Taylor, deputy assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and former vice president and secretary treasurer of the former Atlanta Transit System. Later Parsons/Brinckerhoff/Tudor/Bechtel, prime engineering consulting firm for MARTA, added financing to the project and contributed its public information officer, Mr. Jean Martin, to serve as author. Volume I is divided into two parts. Part 1, entitled "The Early Systems," begins its narrative of the history of public transportation in Atlanta with the establishment of the first horse car lines in 1871 under the auspices of the Atlanta Street Railroad Company. Other chapters indicating the progress of this history include "The Growing Competition," "The Metropolitan Street Railroad Company," and "Electrification Begins." Part II, entitled "The Hurt Years" after the undisputed street railroad magnate in Atlanta, Joel Hurt, contains chapters on "The Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway Company," "The Competition Revisited," "Prelude to Battle," and "The Second Battle of Atlanta." The time span covered by this first volume is 1871 to 1902. Volume II covers the time period 1902-1950 wherein public transportation reached its zenith and then fell to its ruin. This 48-year span chronicles the era of Atlanta's electric street cars under the ownership and management of the Georgia Power Company and its predecessors. The fifteen chapters of this volume are divided into four parts entitled "The Georgia Railway and Electric Company," "The Georgia Railway and Power Company," "The Rise and Fall of the Interurbans," and "The Georgia Power Company" respectively. Volume III will trace the transit developments from 1950 to late 1978. All of the volumes will be copiously illustrated with representative pictures from the Taylor Collection and elsewhere and with charts indicating the various transit lines. The Atlanta Historical Society published the volumes and Mr. Franklin Garrett of the Society wrote the captions for the illustrations.