I awoke at the Hudson House Best Western and started working on the Mid-Continent Railway Museum story then ate hotel's free breakfast where I had a waffle and sausage links. After checked out, I filled the rental car with petrol before driving back into Minnesota, taking Interstate 94 through the Twin Cities to Interstate 394, then south on Interstate 494 to Minnesota Highway 7 and out to Excelsior. I followed the directions from their website and found the tracks on which the Excelsior Streetcar runs.
There was no information so I decided to walk the path along the tracks to see if I could find any information about when they run. When I reached the shop, there was a phone number which I called and learned that they start running at 1:00 PM so walked to the end of the line and decided to take you on a walking tour back to where I would board later on.
Minnesota Streetcar MuseumThe museum runs two streetcar lines in Minneapolis and Excelsior Until 2005, when it went its own way, it was part of the multi-modal Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM), which at its peak had two streetcar lines, a roundhouse an interstate tourist railroad, an historic depot, an operating steamboat and vintage buses.
What is now the Minnesota Streetcar Museum was founded in 1962 as the Minnesota Transportation Museum. It was formed to save a single streetcar, Twin City Rapid Transit (TCRT) 1300. Typical of the over 1,000 wood standard cars designed and built in the company's own shops, 1300 was one of only two that survived the 1954 TCRT abandonment completely intact.
At the end of TCRT streetcar service in June 1954, 1300 was donated to the Minnesota Railfans Association, a group that specialized in fan trips during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s before going out of existence. It was moved from TCRT's Snelling Shops in St. Paul, where it was built, to a siding in the western suburb of Hopkins in a way that would never be allowed today – on its own wheels in the consist of a regular freight train. There it sat weathering for eight years. Amazingly it was never vandalized.
MTM was formed in 1962 and 1300 was moved to a stall in the Minnesota Transfer's roundhouse in the Midway section of St. Paul. A new canvas roof was fabricated and all the bad wood in the carbody was replaced. A generator was rigged up on a handcar to supply electricity and that winter, it ran once again under its own power. MTM was left with the question: "What now?" The car was done, but had no place to operate. Undeterred, MTM announced that 1300 would operate back and forth in the Transfer's rail yard for the public. Despite the completely unglamorous setting, 10,000 people showed up over several days. The waiting line was a city block long at times, and MTM realized the public would support an operating museum.
The 1960's were spent looking for an operating site. Most of the candidates were semi-rural, within an hour or so of the Twin Cities. None panned out. The best-known and most scenic part of the TCRT system had been the private right-of-way between Lake Calhoun (now called Bde Maka Ska) and Lake Harriet in southwest Minneapolis. Minneapolis has a terrific park system, anchored by a chain of five connected lakes, Calhoun and Harriet being the southernmost pair. Upon abandonment in 1954, the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park Board assumed ownership of the right of way, but much of the grade lay untouched. MTM negotiated a lease, and – in order to be as unobtrusive as possible – erected a simple metal carbarn out of sight under the Linden Hills Boulevard bridge at the south end of the line. The first block-and- a-half of track was laid as far as the old Lake Harriet station at 42nd Street. Part of the original concrete platform was all that remained of the Swiss Chalet-style building. Operations began in 1971 sans overhead wire, using a noisy but reliable generator.
Overhead wire was strung in 1973. Gradually the line grew to one mile, reaching its present northern terminus at Lake Calhoun in 1977. With 1300 running daily all summer long, there was clearly a need for a second car to share the load. As streetcar service wound down in the 1950s TCRT had sold dozens of carbodies for use as sheds or other structures. MTM members had made a small industry out of locating them and stripping any usable parts as a hedge against the future.
One of these forays into the north woods uncovered Duluth Street Railway car 265. TCRT's owners had also controlled the Duluth-Superior system and built most of its cars to standard TCRT designs at the Snelling Shops. 265 was actually built as TCRT 1791 in 1915 and was sold to Duluth in 1916. It ran there until the system was abandoned in 1939. The body was sold for use as a cabin at Solon Springs, Wisconsin. Despite its long slumber, the body remained in good shape thanks to a separate roof that was built over the original car. In 1973, 265 was transported to MTM's new restoration shop in a corner of Burlington Northern's sprawling ex-Northern Pacific Como Shops complex in St. Paul. It helped that TCRT cars were designed to be stripped down every few years for repairs. 265 was completely disassembled and every piece of wood and metal was either repaired or replaced. The classic problem of no running gear was solved by what model railroaders would call kit bashing. MTM acquired two unpowered trailer trucks from Chicago Transit Authority 4000-series L cars and motors came from third-rail steeple cab locomotive 20 that once served the company's steam plant at St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis.
Both 265 and 1300 had been built as "gate cars". All entry and exit was through large manually operated wire gates at the rear of the car. During the 1920's and 1930's, streetcar systems everywhere converted to one-man crews as an economic move. TCRT and Duluth were no exceptions, but rebuilt their wood cars differently. TCRT installed air powered double-stream doors fore and aft, so the car could be operated with or without a conductor. Duluth had no use for conductors and put a double-stream door in front and a treadle-operated narrow exit door in the rear. As part of the rebuilding, the front window configuration was modified and as a result, the front end of 265 looks lopsided.
265 entered MTM service in 1982. The restoration crew next tackled an even more ambitious project, Duluth Laclede single trucker 78, built in 1893. Retired in 1910, it had survived as a backyard shed. A typical car for its era, all that was left was the shell of the body. In fact, the work on 78 correctly should be called a replication, since only half of the original wood was retained and all of the running gear, electrical system and interior furnishings were new or from other sources. The 1905 vintage Brill 21E power truck came from Belgium. Nonetheless, after five years of diligent rebuilding and replication, 78 made its maiden trip in 1990.
Among large streetcar systems, TCRT was unusual in never owning a steel-bodied car until the first PCC arrived in 1945. By 1949, there were 141 PCCs, but all were sold in 1953 as new management prepared to convert to bus. They went to Newark, Shaker Heights and Mexico City and proved to be a durable group. Mexico City rebuilt theirs into unrecognizable articulateds, and all have been retired, as has the Shaker Heights fleet. Thirty of the PCCs were sold to Newark and provided all of the service on the #7 line until they were retired in 2001. Eleven have since been sold to San Francisco, completely rebuilt and now run on the F Line to the Embarcadero in the livery colors of several different streetcar systems which previously operated PCC cars including one in TCRT colors. Others have been donated to eastern trolley museums and one was recently returned to service in San Diego.
In 1977 Shaker Heights bought two of the Newark cars. Other than repainting and a few minor appliance differences, this pair, TCRT 322 and 416, had never been rebuilt like the other Newark cars, which made them a better choice for restoration. MTM always had a good relationship with the Twin Cities Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC, now Metro Transit), and used that connection to buy the two cars in 1991. During the period 1992-2000, Car 322 was completely rebuilt by MTM and MTC volunteers. The work was done at the Metro Transit Overhaul Base in St. Paul until 1997, and completed at Lake Harriet. Car 416 was sold to Shore Line Trolley Museum.
One note of interest — all TCRT cars were single enders, with simple backup controls on the rear platform. All TCRT car lines had wyes or loops so backup movements were minimal. MTM had no turning facilities on the Como-Harriet Line, so cars had to run backwards against the pole in one direction of each trip. Fortunately, TCRT used seven-inch trolley wheels, which permitted speeds of up to 20 mph in reverse.
The Excelsior Streetcar LineWith the initial goal of recreating the transfer between steamboat and streetcar, a half-mile trolley line was built from downtown Excelsior to a block from the new Minnehaha boat dock. Unlike the original line, which followed Water Street and Lake Avenue, the new line – opened in 1999 – uses the curving Minneapolis & St. Louis right-of-way, now owned by Hennepin County and used as a trail. Because the railroad was double tracked, there is room for the trolley and bicycle path to share the space. Additionally, a four-space carbarn was erected on the right of way for storage, maintenance, repair and restoration. The Water Street end of the line is next to the Excelsior Historical Society, which occupies the former M&StL depot.
Streetcar 78 was moved to Excelsior from Lake Harriet in 1999. The body of streetcar 1239, another TCRT wood standard, built at the 31st Street Shops of the TCRT in Minneapolis in 1907, had been rescued from use as a cabin near Big Lake. Like most of the TCRT cars, it had been rebuilt for one-man operation. As part of the restoration, the car was backdated by enclosing the front platform and replicating the rear wire gates. It was restored in the Excelsior carbarn and returned to service on the Excelsior line in 2006.
That was our walking tour of the Excelsior Streetcar line. With over two hours free, I drove looking to find a place to park by the lake but when I could not find anywhere, I drove back and some shade in view of the lake and continued to work on the Mid-Continent Railway Museum story then accessed the Internet and uploaded the pictures and checked my e-mail. At 12:30 PM, I returned to the boarding area and waited.
I liked the flowers and sat on the bench as I waited for the streetcar.
I walked down a little way and a few minutes later, saw the streetcar come around the corner into view.
Streetcar 1239 came by my photo location.
Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcar 1239 was built at the 31st Street Shops in Minneapolis in March 1907. It was one of 25 H-6 class streetcars built between February and April and was one of the final streetcars built at 31st Street as the Twin City Lines' streetcar manufacturing moved to the new Snelling Shops at Snelling and University Avenues in St. Paul. The old 31st Street Shops were demolished and replaced by the new Nicollet Station, strictly a carbarn with facilities for routine maintenance and repair. Today, the site is occupied by Metro Transit's Nicollet Garage.
In 1935, 1239 was rebuilt with front and rear double-stream folding doors to permit operation by one or two men, identical to the current configuration of TCRT streetcar 1300. It was retired in August 1953 and the body was sold to the Transportation Sales Company for disposition. The body was acquired by the Museum in December 1987 and moved to Jackson Street Roundhouse a year later, where limited restoration work was done. On November 24 and 25, 1998, it was moved to the newly-built Excelsior Carbarn on the Museum's Excelsior Streetcar Line in west-suburban Excelsior, where it would be restored for operation. 1239, in its as-built 1907 appearance and configuration, was dedicated and began operations on the Excelsior Streetcar Line on September 11, 2004.
The crew put up a sign.
The sign advertising trolley rides today.
The crew and their sign.
The interior of Streetcar 1239. We waited for some other passengers.
The streetcar approached the grade crossing and stopped before we proceeded through.
Our streetcar came to the first of the two bridges under which we would pass.
Approaching the shop where we would stop for a tour.
The passengers detraining.
The steps have holes so passengers could walk aboard and the snow would come off the soles of their shoes.
The pole rope holder on the front of the streetcar.
We ventured into the shop and here is their track speeder.
Duluth Street Railway streetcar 78 was one of twenty delivered by the LaClede Car Company of St. Louis, Missouri in October 1893. It served Duluth until it was retired and its carbody was given to Mrs. Florence Lee of Duluth on September 11, 1911.
Between 1899 and 1905, it was rebuilt from double-ended operation to single-ended. Also, between 1899-1901 or 1904-1907, the rheostat controller was replaced with a K-2 series-parallel controller.
Museum members located the body near Duluth. In December 1971, it was acquired and moved to a University of Minnesota research facility. In September 1973, it was again moved, this time to the Northern Pacific's Como Shops (today's Bandana Square) where the Museum was then doing restoration work. Another move occurred in November 1984, when it was moved to the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line;s Linden Hills Carbarn and Shops for restoration. Because of its deteriorated condition and the amount of new material required, 78 could almost be termed a replication instead of a restoration. The body, including the bulkheads, is essentially original material. Both platforms and vestibules are new material. The power truck came from Belgium via the East Troy Electric Railroad Museum. When finished in May 1991, it was the Museum’s third operable streetcar and the oldest operating streetcar in the nation.
In the spring of 1999, this streetcar was moved to the new Excelsior Streetcar Line in time for its grand opening.
Mesaba Railway Company interurban car 10 built by Niles Car and Manufacturing in 1912. This line operated interurbans between Hibbing and Gilbert, Minnesota from 1912 until 1927. At the end of operations in 1927, 10's trucks and motors were sold for scrap to the Duluth Iron and Metal Company and the carbody was sold.
Mesaba No. 10 has not been restored. Until now, a major obstacle has been the general scarcity of electrical and mechanical components for these old wooden carbodies. The Museum had the good fortune of receiving three pairs of trucks from Japan. Made in the United States, they were exported in the 1920's and used in Osaka, Japan. The Japanese kept them in excellent shape and they came to us freshly out of service. Among them are a pair of Baldwin 75's that will look excellent under the interurban. There are no immediate plans to restore 10, which is stored at the Excelsior Carbarn.
The line car used to work on the wires on this streetcar line.
Display boards.
Our operator discusses the streetcar operations in the Excelsior area.
Here he shows the car from Duluth.
The other display board.
Fargo & Moorhead Street Railway streetcar 28 built by the American Car Company in 1923 with a Brill 79E1 truck. It was one of 16 Birney cars acquired for the small Fargo-Moorhead system. This small system served the twin cities of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota on the Red River of the North. The first street railway activities in Fargo, the larger of the two cities, were short-lived horsecar lines built in 1879 and 1882. The Fargo and Moorhead Street Railway Company was formed in 1902, began construction and opened in 1904 serving Fargo via the North Side Loop, the South Side Loop, and the Oak Grove line and Moorhead via a line from Fargo to the Moorhead Normal College (now Minnesota State University at Moorhead). The system opened with seven single-truck closed streetcars and a single-truck, double-end, arch-roofed wedge plow. Additional lines were built in Fargo to the State Fairgrounds and the North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University).
Additional cars were acquired for new lines, including a number of second-hand streetcars bought from the Twin City Rapid Transit Company as it replaced its first generation with the TCRT standard streetcar, three versions of which are in the Museum's collection. By 1912, the system was at its zenith except for a short 1923 extension to Concordia College in Moorhead when the system reached its peak mileage of 15.81 miles. From 1923 to 1925, the system employed 29 motor cars, 16 trailers, 4 service motor cars, and 2 service trailers. But by 1933, the system was all-Birney except for one passenger trailer and the work fleet.
In 1916, Northern States Power, now Xcel Energy, the Minneapolis-based power company, acquired the Consumers Power Company and, with it, its streetcar line. The 16-car Birney fleet, including 28, was part of NSP's modernization of the line. In addition to the usual duties of a small-town trolley, the Fargo and Moorhead Street Railway served North Dakota State University and the North Dakota State Fairgrounds in Fargo and Concordia College and Moorhead State University in Moorhead. The system shut down in stages in 1937 – the Moorhead local lines closed on June 30, the "interurban" line from Fargo to Dilworth, Minnesota (home of a major Northern Pacific facility) on July 2, and the last Fargo line, the South Side Loop, on August 21.
The Museum has no immediate plans for the restoration or use of this streetcar.
We all exited the shop building and reboarded Streetcar 1239.
The old bridge on which streetcars used to operate.
We were approaching the end of the line.
We stopped at the end of the line for a few minutes before returning to where we started.
A view on the way back.
The motorman at work. I enjoyed the my ride and thanked the crew for a great trip.
One last view before I drove to Plymouth and checked into the Best Western Plymouth Inn for the night. I worked on stories and did laundry then had a steak for dinner in the hotels' restaurant then my friend Dennis Larsen, who lives in the area, stopped by for a visit. I called it a night after a very restful day.
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