Random Photos of Trolley Cars

Like this motor - open platform w/o a door for the motorman....some sort of 4-wheel(?) trailer behind it.  Nice!

Chi Cag O

Latrobe Street Rwy #52 in 1903

My grandfather at the Arlington Avenue loop in Mt. Oliver.  He was on the chamber of commerce who pushed for the loop so when the loop opened he was there for the inaugural run.

Here is a picture dated March 28, 1947. The time is 9:30am. The picture is of my late grandfather Conrad opening the 48 Arlington loop of the Pittsburgh Railway Trolley Co. The car number was 1151.

In 1947 I was living in a 4 room apt. on Brownsville Rd in Mt. Oliver.  Housing shortage after WW II.  Possibly saw your grandfather.  Got my Lionel Scout set then. Those were the days  !!  Went to the Mt. Oliver school on Hays Ave.  and my grandparents lived in Knoxville.

jim pastorius posted:

In 1947 I was living in a 4 room apt. on Brownsville Rd in Mt. Oliver.  Housing shortage after WW II.  Possibly saw your grandfather.  Got my Lionel Scout set then. Those were the days  !!  Went to the Mt. Oliver school on Hays Ave.  and my grandparents lived in Knoxville.

My grandfather lived on Arlington avenue just down from where the fire house is now. He was a commander of the VFW on Arlington Ave. I wish I had more time with him. He passed when I was 11. My dad worked at the Harris theater. I bet you went there a time to two. 

MartyE posted:

My grandfather at the Arlington Avenue loop in Mt. Oliver.  He was on the chamber of commerce who pushed for the loop so when the loop opened he was there for the inaugural run.

Here is a picture dated March 28, 1947. The time is 9:30am. The picture is of my late grandfather Conrad opening the 48 Arlington loop of the Pittsburgh Railway Trolley Co. The car number was 1151.

Marty,

That loop was very important as it enabled Pittsburgh Railways to run PCC cars on that route.  I lived in Carrick and rode the 53, 47 and 77/54 along Brownsville Road through Mt. Oliver.  I liked riding the 47 as it turned onto Arlington Ave and followed the same route as the 48 to downtown through the South Hills Junction and the tunnel.  That included the short jog through the grass between two homes the photo of which I posted earlier in this thread.

Bill

Chester & Media Electric Rwy

York Utilities Co in Sanford, ME in 1935

In New York City, there were dedicated trolley lines that ran on the bridges connecting Long Island and Manhattan.

          Williamsburg Bridge Car

          Queensborough Bridge Car

          Williamsburg Bridge Car

          Delancy Street Terminal For Brooklyn Bridge Cars

Continuing with trolley cars in New York State.

          Buffalo, New York

          Ithaca, New York

Jamestown, New York

          Rochester, New York

          Rochester, New York

          Waterford, New York

The Wachusett Reservoir, Westminster, Massachusetts back when postcards were one cent.  This location looks nearly identical today -- except for the trolley.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Nice !!

West Penn Rwys Trolley Crane

http://www.wfmz.com/features/h...-bell-line/525192671

Trolley cars of New Jersey

Trenton & New Brunswick No. 25

New Jersey Transit Car No. 2013

New Jersey Transit

Considering paint schemes, Connecticut Electric cars wore what I consider to be tied for the best, and right up there with the Johnstown cars.

Credit for these wonderful photos goes to the fantastic trolley museums in Connecticut at Warehouse Point and in Branford.

A little mishap on the Phila & Easton Electric Rwy near Doylestown, Pa

As a kid, I waited there with my family a few times but not this early !!  I think it is light rail now.

The Binghamton (NY) Railway Company.  The top one is on Chenango Street in Port Dickinson.  I can't be sure about the bottom one.

Market Street, Philadelphia, PA. Postmarked 1907. 

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Nice. I have a similar one of a Pittsburgh street.

A friend shared some photos of the Charlotte Trolley . Its now in operation running from Uptown to the Presbyterian Hospital. Construction is underway to extend the line. Right now you can ride the cars free of charge. 

Here is the start of the route. The LYNX station, light rail is in the background.

At the Hospital end of the line.

Reaady for the run back uptown

Uptown Charlotte on the way to the Hospital

Coming off of Elizabeth Avenue heading to the Lynx Station. 

So how about a couple of pics of the light rail , LYNX . The Charlotte Transit agency 's acronym is CATS for the Charlotte Area Transportation System . So the Light rail is appropriately named LYNX , one of the cats. 

The sytem right now connects South Charlotte at the interstate and runs into uptown Charlotte. Travel time is about 20 minutes . Outside of the city area , it travels more like an interurban and signals at crossings with a steam sounding whistle. Within the city, speeds much slower and signals at crossings with a clanging bell 

These are some unfortunate trolley cars.

A B&QT birney that I am working on.......

Brokenstraw Creek Bridge in Columbus, Pa with a Corry & Columbus Open Car....

Philadelphia & Easton Electric Rwy Work Car

Perhaps on of the most famous movie scenes with trolley cars is this one featuring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy. All three cars now reside in the Peterson Museum of Los Angeles, Ca. The center section of the Model T Ford was made of leather panels  which enabled it to bend.

I have a fascination for the trolley lines that operated in Saratoga, New York. A few weeks ago I visited the old trolley depot which still stands in excellent condition, in use as the visitors center. Around the back of the building, the original canopies that the trolley cars entered still stand. After searching for a long time, I finally found a picture of the depot with trolley cars.

The trolley cars in the pictures belong to the Hudson Valley Railway and the Schenectady Railway Co.

It appears the photos of the depot were taken from Franklin, between Congress Street and West Circular Drive. Cars from this depot went north to Wilton, Glen Falls and Lake George, southwest to Ballston Spa and Schenectady, south to the Albany Capital District and Troy. There were branch lines to the race track and Kandeross Park.

Perhaps a local railroader can shed some info about this trolley depot. Below are some of the cars that ran into the Saratoga Depot.

Schenectady Car 502

Hudson Valley Car 37

Bobby Ogage,

Great post.  I too am a fan of the Saratoga Springs Visitor's Center, er, trolley station.  I used to live there and used to return there for vacations. I may have a 35 mm color photo or two. If I find any, I'll scan them.

Also, I may have some architecture books/brochures.  The brochures are more likely cover the station, 'though.

Tomlinson Run Railroad 

For some good reading about the Hudson Valley Railway there is a book, "Saratoga Through Car, A History of The Hudson Valley Railway." I just bought one from Amazon.com, and there are some on eBay. Note the cover photo. You can see the front of the Saratoga depot to the right of the car.

LIRR Steamer posted:

A friend shared some photos of the Charlotte Trolley . Its now in operation running from Uptown to the Presbyterian Hospital. Construction is underway to extend the line. Right now you can ride the cars free of charge. 

Here is the start of the route. The LYNX station, light rail is in the background.

At the Hospital end of the line.

Reaady for the run back uptown

Uptown Charlotte on the way to the Hospital

 

Coming off of Elizabeth Avenue heading to the Lynx Station. 

So how about a couple of pics of the light rail , LYNX . The Charlotte Transit agency 's acronym is CATS for the Charlotte Area Transportation System . So the Light rail is appropriately named LYNX , one of the cats. 

The sytem right now connects South Charlotte at the interstate and runs into uptown Charlotte. Travel time is about 20 minutes . Outside of the city area , it travels more like an interurban and signals at crossings with a steam sounding whistle. Within the city, speeds much slower and signals at crossings with a clanging bell 

Interesting that the newly built vintage-looking streetcars have pantographs instead of trolley poles like actual vintage streetcars!

Bill 

When the Trolleys were first in service. they ran on part of the current Lynx line from Uptown Charlotte to  a location a bit south of the Belk Freeway. When the Lynx system began full operations, The trolleys ran jointly with the Links Light rail on weekends. So I guess that is whty they have pantographs , to allow them to operate from the same catenary

Back  to that little incident on the Philadelphia & Easton

I love the cribbing !!  "We don't need no stinking crane !! "

LIRR Steamer posted:

When the Trolleys were first in service. they ran on part of the current Lynx line from Uptown Charlotte to  a location a bit south of the Belk Freeway. When the Lynx system began full operations, The trolleys ran jointly with the Links Light rail on weekends. So I guess that is whty they have pantographs , to allow them to operate from the same catenary

 

That makes sense.  Thanks for the explanation.

Bill

Cumberland Electric Rwy Co Trolleys

mwb posted:

Cumberland Electric Rwy Co Trolleys

Nice "before" and "after" photos.  Somebody had some real foresight taking that photo. 

Tomlinson Run RR

Does anyone know where the Cumberland Electric Railways was located ??

Jim, looks like Allegheny County, MD:

http://www.mountaindiscoveries.../fw2005/trolleys.pdf

TRRR

Many thanks. A familiar story it seems.

Potomac Edison Co Trolley at Cumberland MD

I just finished reading three fantastic books about trolley car systems:

New York & North Shore Traction Company by Vincent F. Seyfried;

New York & Long Island Traction Company by Vincent F. Seyfried;

A History Of The Hudson Valley Railway, Saratoga Through Car by David F. Nestle.

These books are available on the used book market, and they are great reading about rise and fall of interurban systems in the period of 1895 through 1928. I find it incredible that so many efficient electric railways were squandered away.

My next search is for a copy of the Long Island Electric Company by Vincent F. Seyfried. Ironically, Mr Seyfried was my English teacher in Martin Van Buren High School, but I had no idea of his interest in trolley car lines at the time.

For the record, I discovered in "A History Of The Hudson Valley Railway, Saratoga Through Car" by David F. Nestle that this mishap took place in Mechanicville, New York. The car was a runaway down that went down Park Avenue in Mechanicville.

Although the New York & Long Island Traction (NY&LIT) Company's rolling stock long ago perished, one car that operated over the line has survived because it was a BRT (Brooklyn Rapid Transit) car that was converted it into a sand car, No. 9730, and purchased by the Branford Trolley Museum in 1950.  Members of the Branford Museum did a great job of restoring the car back into her BRT 1792 configuration.

Built for the BRT by the Laclede Car Company of St. Louis in 1899, No. 1792 on loan to the NY&LIT, once operated through Long Island towns such as Rosedale, Springfield, Lynbrook, Baldwin, Freeport, Hempstead, Garden City, Mineola and along the Jamaica Avenue Branch (AKA Jericho Turnpike) through Queens Village, Bellerose, Floral Park and New Hyde Park.

Sole Surviving Car That Operated On The New York & Long Island Traction Company's Railways

Bobby Ogage posted:

New York & North Shore Traction Company Car southbound to Mineola. This is likely a Kuhlman built car. The Roslyn Clock Tower was a trolley stop and the tower still stands today.

This may be the same car northbound to Port Washington. It is about to climb a hill and cross Northern Boulevard (Rt 25A).

Have any Kuhlman cars of the early 1900s been saved?

Great photos Bobby! I used to live not very far from the old town of Roslyn, NY. and this photo brought back memories of many good times. Looking at the top photo, if you went down the road to the right, which goes down hill and is a one way street, you would be at the Roslyn movie theater. Also many interesting shops, cafes and lots of history to be found in that town too. The clock tower still stands today and was a memorial to Ellen E. Ward, which was built in 1895.

Trolley on West 4th Street, Williamsport, PA. Postmarked: 1910.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Cumberland Electric Rwy Co Trolley Car Barn

Once upon a time there was a street railway that ran along the Rockaways which are the south shore beach communities of Long Island. Like the fate of most of the trolley lines on Long Island, the Ocean Beach Railway wound up under the control of the Long Island Rail Road.

          Ocean Electric Car 3211

The Ocean Electric Railway Had Trackage Rights On The Long Island Rail Road In The Rockaways

          Brill Built Convertible No. 21

Trolley & Conductors at Northumberland, Pa

Finding color photos of trolley cars is a good thing, so here are some of Union Traction Company cars in Albany, New York.

Sunbury & Northumberland Trolley and Conductors

When street cars ruled in Detroit.

The yard in Highland Park off of Woodland Avenue in 1936.

This is the Twin City Rapid Transit yard in Minneapolis.

New Orleans Canal Yard in 1955.

MWB,

Your last two posts with the close-ups of the conductors and their uniforms is a nice idea.  It really brings it home that those fellows were somebody's father, husband, uncle, grandfather.  They all look so proud of their cars, too.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Here are some more Detroit cars, photos not by me:

Enjoy,  Marty

What they look like before restoration. The lucky ones!

          Chicago Surface Lines 1137

          Jacksonville Traction Car

          Rochester Subway 60

          West Shore Electric 151

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

MWB,

Your last two posts with the close-ups of the conductors and their uniforms is a nice idea.  It really brings it home that those fellows were somebody's father, husband, uncle, grandfather.  They all look so proud of their cars, too.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Thanks!  While the trolleys alone are very interesting, they were a part of the lives of people then.  Those old photos and RPPC's capture interesting people that are a part of our past and everything about them adds both detail and information pertaining to the times.  I have a few more that I managed to find and expand that I will post up in the near future.

Here is later version of 1906 Niles wooden interurban #151, removed from the concrete foundation,  being restored at the Northern Ohio Railroad Museum with sister car #149.

Once upon a time a trolley ran through the Delaware Water Gap from Stroudsburg to Portland in Pennsylvania. I am unable to find a map of the right of way for the Stroudsburg & Water Gap Ry. Does anyone know where this railway right of was?

          I think that this road may be Rt 611

Gentlemen,

   Thanks for the memories!

PCRR/Dave

mwb posted:

Sunbury & Northumberland Trolley and Conductors

 

Interesting — one has a coat that buttons on the 'right' side, the other has a coat that buttons on the 'left' side.

I wonder why the differences.

Ron M

ron m posted:

Interesting — one has a coat that buttons on the 'right' side, the other has a coat that buttons on the 'left' side.

I wonder why the differences.

Ron M

No idea.  Maybe you had to supply your own uniforms and that was not specified?  Maybe one guy is left handed?

Some more of the Sunbury & Northumberland and 3 Conductors

Now we're all gonna be looking at how their jackets are buttoned ... :-).

TRRR

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

Now we're all gonna be looking at how their jackets are buttoned ... :-).

TRRR

Those 3 guys are a real bundle of joy, too.

mwb posted:

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

Now we're all gonna be looking at how their jackets are buttoned ... :-).

TRRR

Those 3 guys are a real bundle of joy, too.

=grin= Yeah, I noticed that, too.  Maybe it was their last day on that line and it was a farewell photo?

TRRR

I think working for the trolley or interurban company was a good job in those days. A book I have gave the wages for a company in Pa.

          More trolley crews to study.

Here are 2 photos of Pittsburgh Railways #3487, a Double Truck, Double End High Floor Car built by St. Louis Car Company in 1905.  This car has been preserved and is on display at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.  The first photo from the PTM website shows it in service on the #13 Emsworth Route around 1909.  The second photo shows it at the Museum as pictured on a postcard during the early years of the Museum. 

And now that we’re focusing on uniforms, note that the conductor and motorman’s jackets appear to button down the middle but with the left side on the outside.

Bill

Still on the Sunbury & Northumberland.....nice little single truck open car!

When I lived in Little Rock back in 1979 - 1982, there was no trolley system or talk of one. Since I left town, look what was sprung up. The cars appear to be newly built by Gomaco.

It was standing room only on this Pittsburgh Railways Street Car on a July afternoon in the early 1900’s at Kennywood Park.  Back in those days that was how most park visitors arrived at and returned home from the park.  Note the long dresses and suit on the man.  Back then this park had to compete with 13 other “trolley parks” in the Pittsburgh area for customers.  And among those 13 trolley parks, only Kennywood survived!

Many years later than this photo I rode PCC streetcars to Kennywood when I was a kid.  I also rode a passenger train with my grandparent's to Idlewild Park in Ligonier as my grandfather worked for the Pennsy and had a pass.  BTW Idlewild also survives to this day but it was not a trolley park having been started by the Ligonier Valley Railroad, a short narrow gauge coal-hauling railroad.  Bill

Bill,

What a great Kennywood photo and back story.  Kennywood was a stop for my family but I seem to recall that we drove but then often went with extended family/friends.  My mother's generation went to Ligonier, also on PRR passes.  Small world.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Trolley parks were once prolific and predominately on the east side of the Mississippi River. Here's a link to the history of trolley parks, and it includes lists of trolley parks still operating and those that went out of business.

Trolley Parks

Between this thread and the diner car thread, if you are not following Brian Butko on Facebook and some of his groups, you are missing out on a lot of stuff. 

     I don't know how much trolley content will be in it, but his book on Luna Park in Pittsburgh is dropping now.

Trolley cars at or in route to parks.On The Way Up Blue Hill Avenue, Dorchester Towards Franklin Park

         1955 SAN FRANCISCO @ PLAYLAND AMUSEMENT PARK

Asheville & Craggy Mountain Railway Cars On Sunset Mountain In Route To Overlook Park

        AT RIVERSIDE, Rhode Island 1910 Going TO CRESCENT PARK

          Glen Echo Park
Idora Park TrolleyLakewood-Park-1910, Charlotte, NC

Portland 506 was hauled up to Council Crest Park on Nov. 22, 1950 and it stayed there till vandals damaged it on Halloween night in 1972

Trolley Cars @ Washington Park, Westville, NJ

Greg Nagy posted:

Between this thread and the diner car thread, if you are not following Brian Butko on Facebook and some of his groups, you are missing out on a lot of stuff. 

     I don't know how much trolley content will be in it, but his book on Luna Park in Pittsburgh is dropping now.

Greg,

Yes, Brian Butko has done a good job of picking up the torch from Randy Garbin, Richard Gutman, and others who photograph, record, and track diner buildings.  I avoid Facebook, but Mr. Garbin has a useful web blog.  Is there another O gauge diner car thread out there that I missed? We've had several here and I do hope to post some new information to my trolley-railcar-diner "the real story" post -- this weekend in fact, as it's been a while (too busy!).

Thanks for the heads up on the book release.

Tomlinson Run RR

I was reading a book on NW Pa.RRs and there was a photo of a dining car which they said went to Fredonia, Pa and made in to a diner. Any record of this ??

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

Greg Nagy posted:

Between this thread and the diner car thread, if you are not following Brian Butko on Facebook and some of his groups, you are missing out on a lot of stuff. 

     I don't know how much trolley content will be in it, but his book on Luna Park in Pittsburgh is dropping now.

Greg,

Yes, Brian Butko has done a good job of picking up the torch from Randy Garbin, Richard Gutman, and others who photograph, record, and track diner buildings.  I avoid Facebook, but Mr. Garbin has a useful web blog.  Is there another O gauge diner car thread out there that I missed? We've had several here and I do hope to post some new information to my trolley-railcar-diner "the real story" post -- this weekend in fact, as it's been a while (too busy!).

Thanks for the heads up on the book release.

Tomlinson Run RR

And for us Pittsburgers Brian also wrote books on Kennywood and Isaly's.

Bill

jim pastorius posted:

I was reading a book on NW Pa.RRs and there was a photo of a dining car which they said went to Fredonia, Pa and made in to a diner. Any record of this ??

So, Jim, this is a puzzle!  The "transportation"-related restaurant that I'm aware of in Fredonia, PA is a former Kuhlman 700-Series trolley now "serving" (ha!) as the Coach Dinor [sic].   Because I promised to update my trolley-railcar-diner post this weekend, I've explored this trolley-diner and your question in more detail there.  It's got a link to a better quality copyrighted photo, too.  Thanks for giving me a good and easy topic to work on this weekend!  Meanwhile, here's a Google-snap of the Coach Dinor:

SO -- if the Coach Dinor is a Kuhlman trolley that still begs the question of what is your book talking about when it shows a photo of a "dining car" turned restaurant?  Feel free to reply at the other link if it's a railcar rather than a trolley. 

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Bobby Ogage posted:

 

          More trolley crews to study.

Ah! The Berkshire Hills is my favorite trolley!  (To date anyway.)  It too spent its retirement years as a restaurant and what is left of it is now in storage at the Seashore Trolley Museum.  For those interested, here's a post that I did a while ago with links to additional photos that I found on the internet.  Stunning workmanship and an interesting "parlor" design.  The curved ends intrigued me.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

As mentioned trolley car companies promoted amusement parks at the end of their lines. The parks utilized the electric power from the trolleys to operate their rides and attractions. Many photos and stories have appeared on this subject.  In 1845 an amusement park opened in Bristol / Southington Connecticut. When the electric trolley line was constructed it services the park. Through the years the park changed hands a few times. It had its ups and downs (not only on the rides). Trolley service to the park ended and a narrow gauge railroad was provided around the site. Around twenty years ago a new owner started to rehabilitate the park. They struck a deal with the Shore Line Trolley Museum in Branford Conn. A right of way was constructed and an Olgood Bradley open bench trolley was sent to the park. It has been operating there ever since. I and going to try and attach some photos to this. For a lot more information go to Wikapedia, the Lake Compounce amusement park or the Shore Line Trolley museum. Better still, take a trip this summer and visit both attractions. The parliament boasts a world class wooden roller coaster and many other attractions and the museum has many operating trolleys and transit cars.D

Down at Big Boy's Gas Station

mwb posted:

Down at Big Boy's Gas Station

MWB, That is an incredible photo that is just screaming to be modeled!  Here's the back story.

Thanks for posting.  This is going to be my new screen saver.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Love the car at the pumps. A cousin to my 1937 Chevy, my first car while in college. Cost me $65 but could hardly afford to run it. Bought it 1955.  18 yrs old, now I drive a GMC Jimmy  16 yrs old so I have bettered myself by two years. !!

Trolley car and track workers in Framingham

I magnified the picture of the track workers in Framingham, and it appears that ties are being replaced in the siding. That track gang has a lot of people doing nothing. At the far right, the workers have their jackets hung on gravestones.

What is that "U" shaped gizmo in the forefront of the picture, and on the right rail?

Bobby Ogage posted:

I magnified the picture of the track workers in Framingham, and it appears that ties are being replaced in the siding. That track gang has a lot of people doing nothing.

Some things have never changed over the years - I see this every day on the way home; lanes closed and lots of guys standing around while 1-2 are actually working.......but everybody has to stop for a photo opp,

At the far right, the workers have their jackets hung on gravestones.

Can you imagine the screaming were that to happen today?

What is that "U" shaped gizmo in the forefront of the picture, and on the right rail?

Think that might be an anchor driven into the ground to hold the rail in place while the ties are being replaced?

Nate posted:

As mentioned trolley car companies promoted amusement parks at the end of their lines. The parks utilized the electric power from the trolleys to operate their rides and attractions. Many photos and stories have appeared on this subject.  In 1845 an amusement park opened in Bristol / Southington Connecticut. When the electric trolley line was constructed it services the park. Through the years the park changed hands a few times. It had its ups and downs (not only on the rides). Trolley service to the park ended and a narrow gauge railroad was provided around the site. Around twenty years ago a new owner started to rehabilitate the park. They struck a deal with the Shore Line Trolley Museum in Branford Conn. A right of way was constructed and an Olgood Bradley open bench trolley was sent to the park. It has been operating there ever since. I and going to try and attach some photos to this. For a lot more information go to Wikapedia, the Lake Compounce amusement park or the Shore Line Trolley museum. Better still, take a trip this summer and visit both attractions. The parliament boasts a world class wooden roller coaster and many other attractions and the museum has many operating trolleys and transit cars.D

 

Nice photos and that’s a different twist on the "trolley park" concept – instead of the trolley company building the park, this park was there many years before the trolley line was added.  Plus it’s still there today and you can ride a restored trolley to visit it!

Bill

mwb posted:

Think that might be an anchor driven into the ground to hold the rail in place while the ties are being replaced?

I think it's for putting spike starter holes in the ties. 

Sacramento Northern 1005 at the Western Railway Museum.  It is operating on the former Sacramento Northern mainline, now part of the Western Railway Museum. The other two cars in the train are SN 1020 and Salt Lake and Utah observation 751. 751 is a control trailer.  The train will be run from the 751 on the return trip. 

What is the status of the new Loop Trolley in St. Louis?           Cars Reported To Be In Disrepair          Car Being Tested On The New Loop Line

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, July-August 2010.  PCC trolleys in service.

George

https://www.streetcar.org/stre...on-elevated-railway/

It's ironic how everyone loves old SEPTA PCCs.   Except SEPTA. 

Mitch

Yes, and Pittsburgh too !  Pgh had the most of any city and kept none !  There is a stationary PCC in the Heinz History Center and one that runs(I think) at the trolley museum near Washington, Pa. The PCCs ran forever and  they have bought replacements for them several times over.

jim pastorius posted:

Yes, and Pittsburgh too !  Pgh had the most of any city and kept none !  There is a stationary PCC in the Heinz History Center and one that runs(I think) at the trolley museum near Washington, Pa. The PCCs ran forever and  they have bought replacements for them several times over.

Hi Jim:

Yes indeed we had the most PCC cars in service in the USA in Pittsburgh for many years but unfortunately not the most ever of any US city.  Before we hear from a Chicago member we were second to Chicago who had purchased just 17 more PCC cars than our total fleet of 666 PCC cars.  However, the Chicago PCC streetcars had a relatively short career because in 1947 as their last order of PCC cars was arriving the decision was made to start replacing trolley lines with busses!  It took 11 years to complete the conversion as the last Chicago PCC streetcar was taken out of service in 1958.  Some of the newest PCC cars which were purchased early in 1947 barely had 10 years of operating time.  OTOH, essentially all of Pittsburgh’s 666 PCC’s were still in service in 1958 (notable exceptions were the 14 PCC’s destroyed by fire at the Homewood Car Barn in 1955).  So it’s safe to say we had the largest operating PCC fleet system in the USA from 1958 and many years thereafter.

Across the border in Canada, Toronto had more PCC’s than Pittsburgh or Chicago with 745 although they bought 205 of them used from Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland & Kansas City when those cities abandoned streetcars.

That surviving car at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in “Little Washington” you mentioned is Pittsburgh Railways #1711 which is operational and there are also 3 other Pittsburgh PCC’s at the Museum including the last PCC to operate in revenue service in Pittsburgh in 1999 - PAT car #4004 which was a rebuilt 1700-series PCC, and it is also in operating condition.  There are, or were, 2 other static Pittsburgh PCC cars sitting outdoors that I know of, one in Bethel Park and one at the PAT South Hills Village Station near the Mall. 

And in response to Mitch’s posting, there are two former PTC/SEPTA PCC’s at the Museum, one of which is operational as seen in the attached photo with yours truly at the controls in 2011. 

Bill

SF & Napa Valley

I love some of the cars and equipment the  old transit companies came up with.  Dambach was a lumber dealer & cabinet shop in Evans City, Pa. and built some interurban car bodies for  the Pgh, _Butler  interurban line. they bought or used old power trucks. 

WftTrains posted:

jim pastorius posted:

Yes, and Pittsburgh too !  Pgh had the most of any city and kept none !  There is a stationary PCC in the Heinz History Center and one that runs(I think) at the trolley museum near Washington, Pa. The PCCs ran forever and  they have bought replacements for them several times over.

Hi Jim:

Yes indeed we had the most PCC cars in service in the USA in Pittsburgh for many years but unfortunately not the most ever of any US city.  Before we hear from a Chicago member we were second to Chicago who had purchased just 17 more PCC cars than our total fleet of 666 PCC cars.  However, the Chicago PCC streetcars had a relatively short career because in 1947 as their last order of PCC cars was arriving the decision was made to start replacing trolley lines with busses!  It took 11 years to complete the conversion as the last Chicago PCC streetcar was taken out of service in 1958.  Some of the newest PCC cars which were purchased early in 1947 barely had 10 years of operating time.  OTOH, essentially all of Pittsburgh’s 666 PCC’s were still in service in 1958 (notable exceptions were the 14 PCC’s destroyed by fire at the Homewood Car Barn in 1955).  So it’s safe to say we had the largest operating PCC fleet system in the USA from 1958 and many years thereafter.

Across the border in Canada, Toronto had more PCC’s than Pittsburgh or Chicago with 745 although they bought 205 of them used from Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland & Kansas City when those cities abandoned streetcars.

That surviving car at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in “Little Washington” you mentioned is Pittsburgh Railways #1711 which is operational and there are also 3 other Pittsburgh PCC’s at the Museum including the last PCC to operate in revenue service in Pittsburgh in 1999 - PAT car #4004 which was a rebuilt 1700-series PCC, and it is also in operating condition.  There are, or were, 2 other static Pittsburgh PCC cars sitting outdoors that I know of, one in Bethel Park and one at the PAT South Hills Village Station near the Mall. 

And in response to Mitch’s posting, there are two former PTC/SEPTA PCC’s at the Museum, one of which is operational as seen in the attached photo with yours truly at the controls in 2011. 

Bill

Bill,

     What are the 3 PCC cars under wraps behind the old car barn? Parts or unlisted on the roster?

WftTrains posted:

jim pastorius posted:

Yes, and Pittsburgh too !  Pgh had the most of any city and kept none !  There is a stationary PCC in the Heinz History Center and one that runs(I think) at the trolley museum near Washington, Pa. The PCCs ran forever and  they have bought replacements for them several times over.

Hi Jim:

Yes indeed we had the most PCC cars in service in the USA in Pittsburgh for many years but unfortunately not the most ever of any US city.  Before we hear from a Chicago member we were second to Chicago who had purchased just 17 more PCC cars than our total fleet of 666 PCC cars.  However, the Chicago PCC streetcars had a relatively short career because in 1947 as their last order of PCC cars was arriving the decision was made to start replacing trolley lines with busses!  It took 11 years to complete the conversion as the last Chicago PCC streetcar was taken out of service in 1958.  Some of the newest PCC cars which were purchased early in 1947 barely had 10 years of operating time.  OTOH, essentially all of Pittsburgh’s 666 PCC’s were still in service in 1958 (notable exceptions were the 14 PCC’s destroyed by fire at the Homewood Car Barn in 1955).  So it’s safe to say we had the largest operating PCC fleet system in the USA from 1958 and many years thereafter.

Across the border in Canada, Toronto had more PCC’s than Pittsburgh or Chicago with 745 although they bought 205 of them used from Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland & Kansas City when those cities abandoned streetcars.

That surviving car at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in “Little Washington” you mentioned is Pittsburgh Railways #1711 which is operational and there are also 3 other Pittsburgh PCC’s at the Museum including the last PCC to operate in revenue service in Pittsburgh in 1999 - PAT car #4004 which was a rebuilt 1700-series PCC, and it is also in operating condition.  There are, or were, 2 other static Pittsburgh PCC cars sitting outdoors that I know of, one in Bethel Park and one at the PAT South Hills Village Station near the Mall. 

And in response to Mitch’s posting, there are two former PTC/SEPTA PCC’s at the Museum, one of which is operational as seen in the attached photo with yours truly at the controls in 2011. 

Bill

Bill,

     What are the 3 PCC cars under wraps behind the old car barn? Parts or unlisted on the roster?

Never mind: looks like cars 24, 1711 and 2723?

IRM circa 2001:

Rusty

Greg Nagy posted:

WftTrains posted:

jim pastorius posted:

Yes, and Pittsburgh too !  Pgh had the most of any city and kept none !  There is a stationary PCC in the Heinz History Center and one that runs(I think) at the trolley museum near Washington, Pa. The PCCs ran forever and  they have bought replacements for them several times over.

Hi Jim:

Yes indeed we had the most PCC cars in service in the USA in Pittsburgh for many years but unfortunately not the most ever of any US city.  Before we hear from a Chicago member we were second to Chicago who had purchased just 17 more PCC cars than our total fleet of 666 PCC cars.  However, the Chicago PCC streetcars had a relatively short career because in 1947 as their last order of PCC cars was arriving the decision was made to start replacing trolley lines with busses!  It took 11 years to complete the conversion as the last Chicago PCC streetcar was taken out of service in 1958.  Some of the newest PCC cars which were purchased early in 1947 barely had 10 years of operating time.  OTOH, essentially all of Pittsburgh’s 666 PCC’s were still in service in 1958 (notable exceptions were the 14 PCC’s destroyed by fire at the Homewood Car Barn in 1955).  So it’s safe to say we had the largest operating PCC fleet system in the USA from 1958 and many years thereafter.

Across the border in Canada, Toronto had more PCC’s than Pittsburgh or Chicago with 745 although they bought 205 of them used from Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland & Kansas City when those cities abandoned streetcars.

That surviving car at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in “Little Washington” you mentioned is Pittsburgh Railways #1711 which is operational and there are also 3 other Pittsburgh PCC’s at the Museum including the last PCC to operate in revenue service in Pittsburgh in 1999 - PAT car #4004 which was a rebuilt 1700-series PCC, and it is also in operating condition.  There are, or were, 2 other static Pittsburgh PCC cars sitting outdoors that I know of, one in Bethel Park and one at the PAT South Hills Village Station near the Mall. 

And in response to Mitch’s posting, there are two former PTC/SEPTA PCC’s at the Museum, one of which is operational as seen in the attached photo with yours truly at the controls in 2011. 

Bill

Bill,

     What are the 3 PCC cars under wraps behind the old car barn? Parts or unlisted on the roster?

 

Never mind: looks like cars 24, 1711 and 2723?

Greg,

I agree with you on Septa #24 & 2723 but #1711 is in PTM's operating fleet and is stored indoors.  Chances are that 3rd one is PAT PCC #1799 (× PRC 1613).  I had forgotten about that car which means there are 5 Pittsburgh PCC's at the PA Trolley Museum, not 4 as I had posted above.  Also #24 has much of the PCC styling but is actually not a PCC.  BTW, there is also one more PCC at the PTM, it's Shaker Heights (Cleveland) #94, the only Pullman-built of the 8 PCC's at the museum.

Bill

Glad to hear the trolley museum has so many. I smile every time I see a photo of a nice PCC car. Just a beautiful classic design and so successful. I wish more things were that way.

NYS Rwys Utica Lines Construction Crane Trolley on the New Hartford Loop in 1935

Trolley cars to the beaches.

Delaware????

Brighton Beach, BrooklynAtlantic City Shore Fast Line cars

As an avid student of Atlantic City trolleys, I appreciate the Shore Fast Line pics especially! 

Mitch

Have an Atlantic City time capsule from December, 1940 celebrating the new Brilliners! 

Mitch

Portland Street RR Trolley Sand Car

Trolley cars in the barns.Third Avenue Railway, New York City

St. Charles Line, New Orleans

San Francisco, 1917Somewhere In The EastChampaign, Illinois

The photo you have marked as San Francisic is the Market Street Railway's Elkton shops.  It was located at the corner of Geneva and San Jose Avenues until about 1976. It was built as a temporary facility after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Clearly shown in the photo was the monorail crane that ran around the shop. It had a very small cab where the operator sat. I believe it is still in existence. There was no AC power in Elkton until very late.  Just to the right of the photo was a 550 to 250 volt DC motor generator to provide power for the machines. There were many machines still powered by 250 VDC when the shop closed. The shop was very complete with a machine shop, blacksmith shop, foundry, wood mill and motor shop.  Many cars were built complete there.  In later years all the cable cars were rebuilt here. When I spent time there the bays were filled with PCC cars.  Best part of Elkton was it had a basement. Never know what you might find there. 

The photo marked some where in the east in interesting.  Fairly modern building and crane. Looks like a Boston PCC on the left. I do not recognize the other cars. I wounder if it is Brookville Locomotive Works. 

"Somewhere In The East" is the Trolley Graveyard in PA.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/pl...r-trolley-grave-yard

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

"Somewhere In The East" is the Trolley Graveyard in PA.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/pl...r-trolley-grave-yard

Mitch:

Are you sure?  I thought the cars stored at Windber were only PCC’s and were all stored outdoors but Bobby’s photo shows an indoor barn with mostly non-PCC’s.

Bill

No, there's also some rapid transit cars rotting in the woods and the one barn where a lucky few cars are under shelter. 

Metka thinks the bloody things are solid gold and is demanding something like a million bucks apiece. 

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

No, there's also some rapid transit cars rotting in the woods and the one barn where a lucky few cars are under shelter. 

Metka thinks the bloody things are solid gold and is demanding something like a million bucks apiece. 

This guy has 6 complete 2 car sets of the early flat door CTA 6000 series rapid transit cars. What a crying shame he is letting them rot.

Back in the forties, fifties and sixties my mother liked to shop in Johnstown, PA. Johnstown was just 24 miles from Homer City. Penn Traffic was her favorite store and I always loved looking at the train displays at Christmas. Here are some pictures of trolleys from Johnstown.

jim sutter posted:

Back in the forties, fifties and sixties my mother liked to shop in Johnstown, PA. Johnstown was just 24 miles from Homer City. Penn Traffic was her favorite store and I always loved looking at the train displays at Christmas. Here are some pictures of trolleys from Johnstown.

Jimmy:

Great photos!  Thanks for posting.  Car #350 in your 4^th photo is stored indoors at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in “Little Washington” and preserved in virtually the same condition as it was in its last days of service in Johnstown. 

Another source of good photos of Johnstown trolleys is the Morning Sun Book “Pennsylvania Trolleys, Volume III, The Pittsburgh Region” by Bill Volkmer.  The book also has a map of the Johnstown Traction Company routes along with many photos of the trolley busses and diesel busses which replaced the streetcars.  In fact, there’s a later photo of that same scene as in your second photo except it shows busses instead of a streetcar.  The first time I ever saw a trolley bus was in Johnstown as a kid. 

Unlike the streetcar systems in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia which used “Pennsylvania Wide Gauge”, Johnstown’s track was standard railroad gauge.  And Johnstown was the smallest US City to operate PCC’s with a fleet of 17 PCC cars built by St. Louis Car Company in 1947.  They didn’t have a very long career though as the last day of streetcar service in Johnstown was June 11, 1960.

Bill

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

No, there's also some rapid transit cars rotting in the woods and the one barn where a lucky few cars are under shelter. 

Metka thinks the bloody things are solid gold and is demanding something like a million bucks apiece. 

OK, thanks for clearing that up as my reference source only discussed the PCC's stored outdoors.

Bill   

SEPTA Independence Hall

IT Class B

Illinois Terminal Trolley

PRT Strikers Burn Trolley....

mwb posted:

PRT Strikers Burn Trolley....

 

 

According to Harold E. Cox's "Early Electric Cars Of Philadelphia 1885-1911", that was 1471, a 20-foot single truck Laclede closed car built for Philadelphia Traction Company in 1895, burned at 5th and Allegheny on 20 February 1910.

Mitch

The Dayton, Covington & Piqua Railway of Ohio

The picture above is the inspiration for this mural which is at the same intersection today, Main Street & Union Road, Englewood, Ohio.

I have a fascination with interurbans like these. In the days of the interurban, Ohio and Indiana were the king states for these cars.

First Cars On The Detroit, Almont & Northern Railway, Almont , Michigan, July 1914Niles Built Cars @ Norwalk Interurban Station 1909. Perhaps Lake Shore Electric Co.?????First Passenger Interurban to Bellefontaine, Ohio on July 1, 1908

Union Traction Interurban No. 407 in Wabash, Indiana

PRT Work car W-15......need a real under the floor drive (Q-Car?) to build a model of this car....

Bobby Ogage posted:

I have a fascination for the trolley lines that operated in Saratoga, New York. A few weeks ago I visited the old trolley depot which still stands in excellent condition, in use as the visitors center. Around the back of the building, the original canopies that the trolley cars entered still stand. After searching for a long time, I finally found a picture of the depot with trolley cars.

The trolley cars in the pictures belong to the Hudson Valley Railway and the Schenectady Railway Co.

It appears the photos of the depot were taken from Franklin, between Congress Street and West Circular Drive. Cars from this depot went north to Wilton, Glen Falls and Lake George, southwest to Ballston Spa and Schenectady, south to the Albany Capital District and Troy. There were branch lines to the race track and Kandeross Park.

Perhaps a local railroader can shed some info about this trolley depot. Below are some of the cars that ran into the Saratoga Depot.

...

Bobby Ogage,

I dug up my Saratoga maps and brochures but couldn't locate my architecture books. Sadly, the brochures have no photos but here's some historical information paraphrased from an undated packet I picked up at the "Urban Cultural Park" a/k/a the Trolley Station -- maybe in the 1980's? 90's?

It was built in 1915 for the Hudson Valley Railway Co.  It is a stucco building in the Beaux Arts style and was designed by Ludlow  & Peabody, NYC.  (The leaflet goes on to describe the columns and ceilings.)

Bas-relief murals on the front show Sir William Johnson, who legend says was cured at High Rock Spring, and the surrender of General John Burgoyne in 1777.   By 1915, the Saratoga Springs trolley system "had already reached its zenith" with 35 trips daily from 1914-16.  A belt-line service existed on the east-side of the city and other routes went to Glens Falls and Schenectady. The most popular trip was to Kaydeross Park at Saratoga Lake. The trolley co had a restaurant, pool, merry-go-round, casino, and theater.  Local routes were abandoned after 1926 (rise in autos) but service to Schenectady run until 1941.

When you were visiting the building perhaps you saw the "chestnut benches, brass chandeliers and trolley platform area".  In 1941, NY State converted the building into a 'drink hall' where the state sold bottled mineral waters from a bar. I don't remember whether the murals are still there (yes?), but apparently the electric icebox behind the bar was still present when I visited.  Another brochure says that the drink hall continued into the 1950s.  That brochure also says that the building "Began as a trolley station in 1776".  Uh, right ...

One of the larger maps that I have shows what looks like a spur from the Delaware & Hudson from the line to the west of the city going very near the trolley station.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Thanks for the history of the trolley station in Saratoga Springs. The Delaware & Hudson Railroad gave trackage rights to the Schenectady Railway to access the Saratoga Springs station, so this explains the siding.

Some color photos of trolley cars.

Atlanta Georgia, 1940

M&SC @ Montreal's McGill Street TerminalMemphis, Tennessee 1979Philadelphia & Western Car @ Penn's Landing, 1990

Current Picture of Car In Philadelphia, Pa

Car In Philadelphia, PaThird Avenue Railway Car in Kennebunk Museum

Lets see your color photos of street cars and interurbans.

Bobby Ogage posted:

Some color photos of trolley cars.

Car In Pittsburgh, Pa

.

Hi Bobby:

Nice photos but are you sure that Route 79 green & white car #4043 is from “Pittsburgh, PA”?  If so, can you please provide more info on it?

Thanks,

Bill

WftTrains posted:

Bobby Ogage posted:

Some color photos of trolley cars.

Car In Pittsburgh, Pa

.

Hi Bobby:

Nice photos but are you sure that Route 79 green & white car #4043 is from “Pittsburgh, PA”?  If so, can you please provide more info on it?

Thanks,

Bill

He (Bobby) is incorrect.  That is a Philadelphia PA., 4000 series streetcar of the Phila. Transportation Company (see the PTC Logo on car side under 2nd window) on route 79 in the early to mid 1950's "simplified modernized" paint scheme.

Seems more people post and look at photos on this endless thread of all these various prototype trolleys than actually do any hands-on construction and modeling of trolleys - and posting their photos of such modeling efforts, in this subways-traction forum section !!

regards - Joe F

Joseph Frank posted:

WftTrains posted:

Bobby Ogage posted:

Some color photos of trolley cars.

Car In Pittsburgh, Pa

.

Hi Bobby:

Nice photos but are you sure that Route 79 green & white car #4043 is from “Pittsburgh, PA”?  If so, can you please provide more info on it?

Thanks,

Bill

Bill

Bill, he is incorrect.  That is a Philadelphia PA., 4000 series streetcar of the Phila. Transportation Company (see the PTC Logo on car side under 2nd window) on route 79 in the early to mid 1950's "simplified modernized" paint scheme.

 

Seems more people post and look at photos on this endless thread of all these various prototype trolleys than actually do any hands-on construction and modeling of trolleys - and posting their photos of such modeling efforts, in this subways-traction forum section !!

regards - Joe F 

Joe: 

Thanks for confirming what I thought as that car didn’t look familiar at all to this Pittsburgh streetcar enthusiast. 

Bill

Here is some info on the Third Avenue car #631 from the Kennebunkport Seashore Trolley Museum:

"...A number of the relatively new cars were sent to the rescue of the ravaged Vienna System under the Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of wartorn Western Europe. They served well on what is today one of the world's largest operating streetcar systems. No. 631, built in 1939 and renumbered 4216 in Vienna, came home to America and Seashore after new cars built in Austria began service in 1980." 

Technical Information:

Manufacturer: Third Ave. Ry. Co.
Year: 1939
Item Type: City and Suburban Streetcar
Description: Lightweight

Control: K-35 (LB)

Tom 

WftTrains posted:

Joseph Frank posted:

WftTrains posted:

Bobby Ogage posted:

Some color photos of trolley cars.

Car In Pittsburgh, Pa

.

Hi Bobby:

Nice photos but are you sure that Route 79 green & white car #4043 is from “Pittsburgh, PA”?  If so, can you please provide more info on it?

Thanks,

Bill

Bill

Bill, he is incorrect.  That is a Philadelphia PA., 4000 series streetcar of the Phila. Transportation Company (see the PTC Logo on car side under 2nd window) on route 79 in the early to mid 1950's "simplified modernized" paint scheme.

 

Seems more people post and look at photos on this endless thread of all these various prototype trolleys than actually do any hands-on construction and modeling of trolleys - and posting their photos of such modeling efforts, in this subways-traction forum section !!

regards - Joe F 

Joe: 

Thanks for confirming what I thought as that car didn’t look familiar at all to this Pittsburgh streetcar enthusiast. 

Bill

I fixed the caption to a Philadelphia car. Thanks for the correction.

PRT Work Car Z-8

Maintenance cars.

Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Line Car 11

Milwaukee Electric Ry & Transport Co

Replacing Trolley Wire On The Hagerstown & Frederick In Maryland

PRT Emergency Car K-5

P&W Dump Car

Hershey Transit Construction Car 1933