atlanta has always been a rail town, and the city once had an extensive streetcar system, which also provided interurban service as far out as marietta, to the northwest. the streetcars were replaced by an extensive trolleybus system, supplemented by buses, in the 1940s and 1950–52, and then converted to all buses in the 1950s and 1960–62. however, building a modern rapid transit system proved a difficult and drawn-out process and, compared to the original plans for a regional system, has only partially been accomplished.