STREETCAR #85
Charlotte Streetcar #85, completed in 1927 by the Southern Public Utilities Company, a predecessor of Duke Energy, became part of the Charlotte electric streetcar fleet and continued in operation until March 1938, when Charlotte abandoned streetcar service in favor of busses. Interestingly, Streetcar #85 was the centerpiece of a "Good-bye To Trolleys" celebration at the square on March 14, 1938, and was, therefore, the last streetcar to operate in Charlotte.
Electric streetcars, first introduced to Charlotte in May 1891 by Edward Dilworth Latta's Charlotte Electric Railroad Company, were essential to the development of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Charlotte. Such early streetcar suburbs as Myers Park, Elizabeth, Dilworth, Plaza-Midwood, North Charlotte, Belmont-Villa Heights, and Wesley Heights bear lasting testimony to their impact. Indeed, the suburbanization of Charlotte and the other major cities of North Carolina would have been impossible in the 1890's without streetcars.
In 1938, Streetcar #85 was stripped of its seats and its mechanical equipment and sold to the Air Guard at the Air Port where it served for about a year as an office for the Air Guard. It then was hauled to Caldwell Station,a railroad junction in northern Mecklenburg County, and became a concession stand. In 1950 Streetcar #85 was purchased by Daisy Mae Trapp Moore and moved to Huntersville. It was used as rental housing until 1987, when it was unfit for human habitation.
On November 2, 1987 Carl Flick, a County planner, spotted Streetcar #85 in Huntersville and contacted the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historical Landmarks Commission. The Commission purchased Streetcar #85 for $1,000. On April 12, 1988; and on May 6, 1988, McLeod Trucking and Rigging Company hauled Streetcar #85 to its storage facility on Atando Avenue in Charlotte. In April, 1989, the Historic Landmarks Commission began raising the money necessary to restore the car to its original appearance and operational condition. Approximately $250,000 was raised from over 2,000 donors.
In October 1993 Streetcar #85 was moved by McLeod Trucking and Rigging Company to its present carbarn at 2104 South Boulevard in Charlotte. On August 29,1996 Streetcar #85 began operating on a 1.2 mile stretch of track from the carbarn to Stonewall Street in Uptown Charlotte. On June 15, 1998 Charlotte City Council approved $19.7 million to build a bridge over Stonewall Street, and extend the line through the Convention Center, and to install overhead wire.
STREETCAR #1
Visitors to the Trolley Museum, at the Atherton Mills Complex in South End will see a small, red Streetcar being restored in the carbarn. The so-called "little red car" has a fascinating history.
The town of Piraeus, Greece, The port city of Athens, ordered a number of Streetcars that were built by the United Electric Car Company of Preston, England for Siemens Electrical Equipment, a German contractor, in the years just before the outbreak of World War One. The car now in Charlotte was Streetcar Number 60. It arrived in Piraeus in 1914. Number 60 was a semi-convertible car designed for hot weather. It rolled along the streets of Piraeus, hauling passengers to work, home, and play, until 1960, when Piraeus town Transit ceased operations. Number 60 was then converted into a track maintenance car for the interurban line that ran from Piraeus to Athens. The end platforms were shortened and enclosed, and the bench seats were removed. In 1977, the Athens Metro Subway System bought Number 60 and used it for maintenance work until the early 1980's.
Dr. Dan Morrill first learned about Number 60 in 1985. He had been trying since 1981 to return Streetcars to the streets of Charlotte. Morrill decided that the only way to keep the project going was to get a Streetcar. It seemed like a crazy idea. There was no track to run it on. There was no carbarn to put it in. Morrill invited fellow UNCC professor Jim Clay, who was developing University Place for the Carley Capital Group, to lunch and asked him if he would buy a Streetcar, restore it, and bring it to Charlotte if Morrill could locate one. Clay said that he would. Morrill called Alex Pollock, a planner for the City of Detroit and a trolley expert, and asked him if he knew where any old Streetcars were available. Pollock told Morrill that Number 60 was sitting on a rail siding in Athens, Greece. After two trips to Greece and a lot of negotiating, Carley Capital Group purchased Number 60 and brought it by ship to New York City. It was then transported by truck to Rail Technical Services in Guilford, Connecticut, where it was
cosmetically restored. Moss Trucking Co. hauled Number 60 to Charlotte in 1989.
Carley Capital Group had planned to put Number 60 at Cityfair in uptown Charlotte. Unfortunately, Carley Capital had to end its involvement in that project, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission had to but the Streetcar, which was painted red and christened Number 1, because it was the first restored trolley in the Charlotte fleet. Between 1989 and 1993, the "little red car" was the symbol of the effort to establish vintage Streetcar service in Charlotte. Moss Trucking Co. hauled it to events all over town. It went to the Southern Christmas Show. It went to Fourth Ward during the Christmas tour of homes. It even went to Freedom Park for Earth Day. In October, 1993, it was brought to the Atherton Mills carbarn in South End. The Historic Landmarks Commission has leased Number 1 to Charlotte Trolley, inc. and hopes to see it go into service.
This information was prepared by Dan L. Morrill from information on the early history of Streetcar #1, from Chris Allen.
RAILCAR #13
In 1949, the Red Arrow Lines (Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company) received fourteen new cars from the St. Louis Car Co. Initially the new cars were used on the 19 mile, side of the road, West Chester line. The new cars permitted operation by a lone operator, instead of a crew of two.
The new cars were similar in appearance to PCC cars used in many cities. The lack of Clark trucks exempted these cars from royalty payments to the Transit Research Corporation, which had developed the transit Presidents' Conference Committee car.
These cars were powered for fast running. Two-way radio enabled the dispatcher to communicate with any of the cars. Tomlinson couplers made all of the electrical and pneumatic connections between cars. Typically, two-car trains operated with the second car dropping off at Newtown Square and joining the next eastbound car for the 69th St. Terminal in Upper Darby. Like all Red Arrow equipment, these cars could be operated from either end and had reversible "walkover" seats.
The West Chester line was converted to buses in June 1954, due to highway widening. The cars then ran on the Ardmore, Media, and Sharon Hill lines. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bought Red Arrow in 1970. When new Kawasaki cars were purchased in 1982, the "St. Louies" were sold to museums.
One of our volunteers bought this car to add to our collection after rebuilding. Presently, it is resting on the trucks of a Boston subway car and is raised 14" to allow work on apparatus under the car floor without a pit in the shop floor.
STREETCAR #117
Asheville trolley car #117 was manufactured in 1927 by the J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia and is commonly known as a "Birney Safety Car." In the fall of that year, the Carolina Power & Light Company purchased ten of these cars to operate on the streets of Asheville, North Carolina. With her mahogany wood interior and windows, solid brass window casings and hardwood floors, she was considered a top of the line trolley in her day. In addition, she had the distinction of being the longest single truck trolley car to operate in the United States. Her short wheel base and long car body allowed her to navigate the tight turns in Asheville's Pack Square while carrying large numbers of passengers throughout the rest of the city. Unfortunately, the design resulted in a fairly rough ride that was not very popular with the adults but enjoyed tremendously by children due to its merry-go-round like bouncing motion. The "Birneys" were
also the first electric streetcars to operate using the more economical signal motorman rather than the traditional team of motorman and conductor found on most early cars. Streetcars similar to this design operated in the Plaza Road area of Charlotte in the 1920's and 1930's with one being affectionately known as "The Little Red Rocking Horse" due to her bouncy ride and bright red color. Car #117 was painted in the bright yellow paint scheme of CP&L and the original paint can still be seen upon close inspection of the trolley.
Car #117 continued to serve Asheville passengers until bus service replaced trolley service on September 16th, 1934. Shortly after service ended, Car #117 was stripped of all seats, motor controls and running gear and sold as scrap. A Mr. Fortune of Asheville purchased 15 to 20 streetcars from CP&L & L, including car #117, and used them as a motor court near Hendersonville Road. Blue Ridge Parkway vacationers in the 1940's may recall spending a summer night in one of these converted trolley cabins. Her history from the 1950's to present is somewhat cloudy but eventually she was moved to Brevard, NC where a home was built around her. Mr. Claude Galloway lived there for many years until the property was sold in 1996. The streetcar was then
rediscovered by Mr. Fred Sader of Brevard who, in turn notified the Charlotte Trolley Museum of her existence. CTM immediately contacted the new owner, Mr. Darrell Hooper, who generously donated the trolley to our museum. In the summer of 1997 a CHarlotte Trolley Museum volunteer group headed by Charlie Garrison and Joe Furr dismantled the home to remove car #117. She was then loaded onto a truck and driven to her new home at the Charlotte Trolley Museum car barn where she awaits restoration.
CP&L car #117 is a welcome addition to our collection and is representative of the type of streetcar that operated on the streets of Charlotte during the 1920's and 1930's. It is our hope that our nonprofit volunteer organization can raise the estimated $100,000 needed to restore the "Little Red Rocking Horse" to her original running condition and return her to the streets of Charlotte along with Car #85 and Car #1.
STREETCAR #407
Charlotte Trolley car #407 was built in 1922 by the J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia. It was a state-of-the-art streetcar in its day and is known as a Birney Safety Car. The "Safety" design had a "kill" switch which would stop the streetcar in the advent of the driver being incapacitated which allowed for one crew operation rather than the usual two. In addition, the single truck design and light weight made the Birney Safety Car inexpensive for streetcar companies to purchase and to operate. As a result, J.G. Brill received orders for over 6000 of these streetcars for use around the world.
Car #407 was originally ordered by the Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO) for service in Richmond, Virginia which was the first city in the United States to establish an electrical streetcar system. The streetcar was numbered #1520 and operated in Richmond from 1922 until 1945 when it was sold to Fort Collins Municipal Railway in Fort Collins, Colorado. The car was
renumbered #25 and operated in Fort Collins from 1946 until streetcar service ended there in 1951. When it was taken out of service, Car #25 was the last streetcar to operate in regular revenue service in Colorado and it was the last of 6000 Birney Safety cars to operate in the United States.
Once retired, Car #25 was privately purchased and placed in storage for 40 years until it was sold to the SCANA Corporation in the early 90's. SCANA Corporation cosmetically restored the car as their 1930's Charleston, South Carolina car #407 for their 150th Anniversary as a South Carolina Utility and it was the featured artifact at their gala anniversary celebration. The streetcar remained in storage at the SCANA repair facility in Columbia, South Carolina until it's recent purchase by Charlotte Trolley, Inc. This particular streetcar is significant to the Carolina's in that Southern Public Utilities, the forerunner of Duke Power Company, operated a fleet of these cars during the 1920's and 1930's in Charlotte, Concord, Salisbury, Greensboro, in addition to Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina.
Now numbered as Car #407, the streetcar was purchased in 1999 by Charlotte Trolley Inc. The car will be restored to running condition and will join the four cars presently in the Charlotte Trolley fleet on a seven day-a-weekoperation, which is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2003.
STREETCAR #18
Streetcar 18 was aquired from The Spaghetti Warehouse Restautrant via the generosity of the Pressley family. It was built by the Osgood Bradley Company in 1910 in Worcester, Massechusetts. It was operated by the Connecticut Car Company as streetcar number #1339. It had Standard Motor Trucks Model 0-50 on all 4 axels.
PETZ CAROUSEL
This beautiful carousel was built in 1987 from antique molds by Peter Petz, a West German master builder. The carousel was originally made for SouthPark mall as a centerpiece for their fantasy Christmas world. The carousel was donated to Charlotte Trolley in the fall of 1997.
Only 14 feet high and 14 feet wide, it is painted in pearly white, pastel blue, pink and lavender, rather that the usual bright colors typically seen on a carousel. This beautiful carousel is trimmed with hundreds of mirrored discs, gold paint and is watched over by a make-believe sultan. Children can ride on a pink pig, a blue and white striped zebra, along with horses, a lion, and in a swan seat.
Call ahead to get the operating schedule. The cost is only 50 cents per ride.
Web pages constructed and maintained by Fred Sader
Contact at:
Last updated 26 February 2002
