<P> The fortunes of the industry declined during World War I and particularly into the early 1920s . Many interurbans had been hastily constructed without realistic projections of income and expenses . They were initially financed by issuing stock and selling bonds . The sale of these financial instruments was often local with salesmen going door to door aggressively pushing this new and exciting `` it ca n't fail '' form of transportation . But many of those interurbans did fail , and often quickly . They had poor cash flow from the outset , higher expenses than expected , and struggled to raise essential further capital from a wary financial community . Interurbans were very vulnerable to acts of nature damaging track and bridges , particularly in the Midwestern United States where flooding was common . Receivership was a common fate when the interurban company could n't pay its payroll and other debts , so state courts took over and allowed continued but temporary operation while suspending the company 's obligation to pay its bond interest . With the interest payments suspended , the company had enough cash flow to meet its other cash obligations , but it was expected by the court that Receivership would eventually end and the company would resume its interest payments . Otherwise the company would be forced to quit , and many did . In addition , the interurban honeymoon period with the municipalities of 1895 -- 1910 was over . The large and heavy interurbans , some weighing as much as 60 tons riding on track designed for lighter street cars , caused damage to city streets which led to disputes and lawsuits over who should bear repair costs . The rise of automobile traffic in the middle 1920s aggravated those trends . As the interurban companies struggled financially , they faced increasing competition from cars and trucks on newly paved streets and highways , and many municipalities sought to remove interurbans from city streets . Some companies exited the passenger business altogether to focus on freight , while others sought to buttress their finances by selling surplus electricity to local communities . Several which attempted to exit the rail business altogether ran afoul of state commissions which required that interurban trains remain running `` for the public good , '' even at a loss , such as the Indiana Railroad 's forced passenger operation from Indianapolis to Seymour in 1939 . </P>
the major source of profits for promoters of interurban electric railroads was
issuing stock selling bonds