Elizabeth and I arose in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania and following our morning routines, we ate at Donna's Family Restaurant before finding the city's station.
Pennsylvania Railroad and Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad station built in 1872.
The current Amtrak station here in Huntingdon, a stop on the Pennsylvanian. We then made our way to the Rockhill Trolley Museum and parked.
Rockhill Trolley MuseumThe Rockhill Trolley Museum is a museum and heritage railway in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania that collects and restores trolley, interurban and transit cars. Founded in 1960, the museum operates what has been historically referred to as the Shade Gap Electric Railway to demonstrate the operable pieces in its collection. "Shade Gap" refers to the name of a branch of the East Broad Top Railroad, from whom the museum leases it property.
The first car acquired by the museum in 1960 was Johnstown Traction 311. Recent acquisitions include Public Service Coordinated Transport (later New Jersey Transit), Newark, NJ Presidents' Conference Committee Car 6 and Iowa Terminal Railroad Snow Sweeper 3.
The museum formerly operated under its corporate name, Railways to Yesterday. It changed to its current name to acknowledge and enhance its relationship with, and provide mutual promotional support to, its hometown.
The museum is open from May through October and for special holiday events. For the latter, including Easter, Pumpkin Festival in October and Christmas in Coal Country, the museum partners with the East Broad Top Railroad, which is across the street. While the two organizations are not formally affiliated and do not cross-honor tickets, the railroad sells tickets for the combined events with the trolley museum and the two organizations share volunteers and labor expertise.
Our VisitWe saw an open door and inside reading a book was our host for the day, Larry Zilch. After we introduced ourselves and chatted for a few minutes, he opened the car barn for us.
Johnstown Traction Company double-truck Birney "safety car" 311 built by Wason in 1922. It was part of an order of cars for the City of Bangor, Maine, where it operated as number 14. It was sold to the Johnstown Traction Company in 1941 and served that city well, running until the end of service in 1960. Car 311 was the last Birney type car to be operated in any United States city on a regular schedule and was chartered repeatedly by trolley fans in the 1950's, as it was a favorite car of many.
This car was a lighter car than many and, most important to the transit companies, cut costs since it needed only one crew person to operate. Safety equipment brought the car to a stop should the operator become disabled. This development allowed many marginal transit systems to continue operating after they would otherwise have failed. Following the last day of service in Johnstown on June 11, 1960, trolley 311 was purchased by our newly-formed trolley museum. After much restoration, 311 became the first trolley to operate over the new museum line and also the first trolley to operate on any museum line in Pennsylvania. With periodic maintenance, car 311 has operated continuously at the museum for over 40 years, more years than it operated in Johnstown!
York Railways Company rare curved-side 163 built by Brill in 1924. The most ambitious restoration project our museum has undertaken to date is York Railways 163. Another trolley builder, the Cincinnati Car Company, had a patent on the curved-side car. Brill built five curved-side cars for York Railways and in doing so, infringed on the patent. Cincinnati sued Brill. Consequently, these five curved-side cars were the only ones built by Brill. York 163 is the only preserved and operable trolley from theYork Railways system, which stopped all streetcar operations on February 4, 1939. Car 163 was sold to be used as a summer home along Conewago creek north of York and body survived there until 1972, when Hurricane Agnes completely flooded the car, knocking it off its foundation. The owners no longer wanted the car and donated the body to the museum.
Harrisburg Railways wooden semi-convertible 710 built by Brill in 1913. This is an unusual car since it was constructed with an arch roof and a semi-convertible window pattern. The windows of this car slide up into the roof of the car, as they do in Porto Cars 172 and 249, both operating at the museum. Car 710 was in operation until the end of trolley service in Harrisburg on July 15, 1939. It was quite common for old trolley bodies to be sold and used as summer homes, sheds or club houses. For 47 years, 710 was used as a summer home near Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania. After many years in Mt. Holly Springs, the car's owner passed away and the family no longer wanted the car. A building had been built around the entire car to provide additional living space during its years as a summer home. Our volunteers cleared the building away from car 710 and moved it to our site.
Car 710 is a very historic car, being one of only two cars from Harrisburg preserved today. While car 710 will take years of restoration work to return it to operation, parts are being gathered now to insure that one day car it will return to the rails.
Philadelphia & Western Railroad "Bullet car" 205 built by Brill in 1921. One of the most famous interurban trolleys ever built was the series of Bullet cars used on the Philadelphia & Western Railroad's Norristown line at a cost of $31,000. Car 205 and nine other cars like it travelled back and forth from 69th St. Terminal in Upper Darby to Norristown, fourteen miles away. Car 205 and its running mates saved the P&W from bankruptcy. The cars incorporate a lightweight aluminum design, thus decreasing weight and power needed to operate. They could run at higher speeds than the older cars and only needed a one-man crew to operate. Passengers paid their fare when they boarded or left the car. The cars were equipped with safety equipment similar to our Johnstown cars 311 and 355, to protect passengers if the motorman became disabled. These cars were nicknamed Bullet cars because of their dynamic bulletnose design, and because they were capable of over 70 mph.
Our museum acquired car 205 from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority in 1990, when it was retired after an amazing 59 years of service. The Bullet cars were operated from an electrified third rail only and were built without trolley poles. Museum volunteers designed and built roof supports for the installation of trolley poles needed to operate safely at our museum. Car 205 has no steps and high level platforms only, since the Norristown line has no street operation.
Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto single-truck semi-convertible 172 built by S.T.C.P in 1929. Car 172 is a Brill semi-convertible design, meaning the windows can be raised into roof pockets. This creates an open summer car effect with the convenience of being able to lower the windows in case of a rain storm or cool weather.
Car 172 is our example of a Toonerville trolley, a small two-axle trolley. The nickname comes from a series of silent comedy films by that name, which featured a rickety little trolley bouncing along the countryside as its motorman engaged in a series of comical adventures. Car 172 which is coincidentally where the first Toonerville trolley movies were made, before Hollywood even existed. Car 172 was built in Porto, Portugal in 1929, although it looks very similar to cars that operated in the United States around 1900. Porto built a large fleet of these cars in their shops. Car 172 has an attractive interior, the very ornate carved wood trim, fancy brass fittings and sliding end doors. It also has a unique seating arrangement, with two seats on one side and one seat on the other, made necessary by the narrow twisting streets of Porto. Car 172 came across the Atlantic Ocean with Porto work car 64 in 1967.
Both cars were trucked aboard highway trailers from Philadelphia to our museum. While several other American museums and groups have acquired cars from Porto, our Museum was the first to import cars from that city. Car 172 was in operating condition upon arrival at the museum and was placed in passenger operations immediately. Its four wheels give a bouncy ride, as frequently parodied in the Toonerville Trolley films. The body of 172 has been restored in our Buehler Shop and is a favourite with our visitors. Like sister car 249 from hilly Porto, 172 has three separate braking systems: air brakes, hand brakes, and dynamic brakes.
Scranton Transit Sweeper single-truck snow sweeper 107, a one-of-a-kind vehicle built by Chicago and Joliet Electric Railway in 1910 and is a four-wheeled car with rotating brooms at both ends. It is a "steeple cab" design with operator controls only in the middle. After the C&JER stopped operations in 1933, it went to Scranton until they stopped operating trolleys on December 18, 1954. Scranton snowsweeper 107 and passenger car 505 were taken to the Rail City museum in Sandy Pond, New York and ultimately to the Magee Transportation Museum in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1972, Hurricane Agnes flooded the Magee museum, forcing its closing. Our Museum acquired 107 (and 505) in 1973. Sweeper 107 has been returned to operation at our museum and has been used many times to clear snow from the museum tracks.
Philadelphia & Western freight motor 402 built by Detroit United Railways in 1920. The exact origins of very unique Philadelphia and Western Freight Motor 402 remain somewhat unclear. It can be reasonably assumed that the car was constructed around 1920 in the Highland Park shops of the Detroit United Railway and numbered 2010. The DUR both built and reconstructed a number of cars in house during the 1920s that have similar construction details to the 2010.
n 1943, the Philadelphia & Western lost its wooden freight motor 402 due to fire and needed a replacement due to wartime demands. The P&W acquired the 2010 from Frank Judge as part of an insurance settlement from the destruction of the original 402. Thus, 2010 was loaded on a flatcar and was delivered to the P&W via its interchange connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad's Cardington Branch at 69th Street in Upper Darby. Upon receipt by the P&W, the car was converted to a double-ended third-rail only motor and a door was cut into the former rear end of the car. The door enabled the car to carry long loads, like sticks of rail.
The 402 was used to haul freight as part of the P&W's meager interchange freight operation, which dwindled down to only a few carloads per year by the 1950's. The car was extensively used in work service and for towing of disabled equipment. The 402 towed both former Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee Electroliners from the Pennsylvania Railroad interchange in 1963 and would later rescue these trains when they broke down on the line as well. The car also frequently towed the "pickle car", which was a flatcar equipped to spray de-icing chemicals on the third rail in freezing weather. The car would later be modified with a small plow under each platform to clear snow away from the third rail. The car passed into ownership of the PST Company in 1954 and SEPTA in 1970.
The car continued in use by SEPTA until 1990, when it was retired and offered for museum preservation. Railways To Yesterday, Inc., operators of the Rockhill Trolley Museum, acquired the car the same year and transported it to the museum site in Rockhill Furnace where it entered service in 1991. The car needed extensive control system work after acquisition by the museum as it had been used by SEPTA for load testing of new substations which caused significant damage.
Companhia de Transportes Coletivos open car 1875 built by Brill in 1912. Open cars were very expensive for the transit companies to operate. Unless the climate was always warm, the transit company needed to have a second set of cars for the passengers to ride during the winter weather. Rainstorms were also a problem, although curtains that could be drawn provided some relief. The public still loved the open cars in the hot summer months. It was necessary to have a crew of two people to operate an open car, a motorman to run the car and a conductor to collect the fares. This was a dangerous job for the conductor as he walked along the side running boards to collect the fares as traffic in the busy streets flew by him. For these reasons the open cars were replaced by closed cars or semi-convertible cars.
U.S. Steel Clairton Works 50 ton switcher 21 built by Davenport in 1923. This company was a coke plant situated about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.
The track speeder, details unknown.
Valley Railways suburban car 12 built by Jackson & Sharp in 1895. The Valley Railways was a little known trolley system that ran on the west shore of the Susquehanna River and connected Harrisburg with Cumberland County suburbs and the county seat, Carlisle. Trolley service was abandoned on Harrisburg's West Shore on April 9, 1938. It is the only known survivor of the Valley system and is one of few Jackson & Sharp cars preserved.
When built, Car 12 used a unique, single "Robinson-Radial" truck with six wheels. Around 1905, Car 12 was fitted with a pair of four wheel trucks, converting it into a double truck car. Declining ridership on the Valley Railways system left a need for fewer cars and it was removed from service in 1923. The trucks were used under another car and the body was tucked away in the Carlisle trolley barn until it was sold for $25 in 1930. Like several other trolleys in our collection, Car 12 was used as a summer home from 1932 until we acquired it. It was located northwest of Plainfield, Pennsylvania by one of our members in 1983 and moved to the museum in 1990, being the first car to be placed inside our new Carbarn Two, protected from the weather. For the first time in 74 years, Car 12 has been placed on wheels to permit movement on the museum's track, which is a temporary measure while a world-wide search continues for the proper trucks suitable for use under the car. Like other former trolley car summer homes, this car will take many thousands of hours and dollars to return to its former glory.
East Broad Top Railroad coach 15 built by Laconia Car Company in 1882. It was purchased in 1916 from the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn.
Switcher of unknown idenity.
East Broad Top flatcar coach "Aughwick" built from a Denver and Rio Grande Western narrow gauge flat car.
Elizabeth and Larry talking about this impressive trolley museum.
Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad wooden interurban car 315 built by Kuhlman in 1909 for what was then the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railroad, later known as the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad. Capable of speeds up to 80 mph, car 315 was built with stained glass windows, inlaid mahogany woodwork, brass baggage racks, a smoking compartment and comfortable leather seats. As cities grew larger, the streetcar lines followed the expanding city boundaries and continued on to other cities. These interurban lines often operated different types of cars than those which operated in the cities, were more comfortable for the passengers as well as being faster and more ornate.
The CA&E operated to the western suburbs of Chicago until July 3, 1957 when passenger service was discontinued. Car 315 was the lead car of the last train. Proposals to reopen the line continued for several years with all equipment stored in the Wheaton, Illinoi yards of the company until 1961, when car 315 was acquired by our museum. Moving car 315 from Chicago to our museum was accomplished by removing the trucks from the car, placing them in a gondola car and setting the carbody on a long flatcar. The car then was moved by the Pennsylvania Railroad to Mount Union, Pennsylvnia and was transported by highway the final 11 miles to the Museum. Although not fully restored, car 315 has had much restoration work done at our Museum.
CTC (Companhia de Transportes Coletivos) traction motors from the Rio de Janeiro open car that were sent for offsite work in Huntingdon but the building caught fire about five years ago and damaged them.
We then went outside and waited while the trolleys that were to be run today were brought out of the carbarn and tested. So a few photographs of the adjacent East Broad Top Railroad were in order including the freight house, built in 1906.
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East Broad Top 2-8-2 16 making up the train.
Three trolley history boards.
Johnstown 355 passed us on the way to the station.
York Railways Company 163 was to be the car we would ride later this morning. We started walking to the east shop building and Larry then followed us.
Canadian National sleeping car "Terra Nova 2", nee Canadian National 317 "Bonavista" built by Canadian Car and Foundry in 1955. It was rebuilt as a business car and is owned by Henry Posner, President of the East Broad Top Foundation.
Liberty Liner 4-section articulated "Independence Hall" built by St. Louis Car Company in 1941. It is actually a four-car, air-conditioned interurban train which is permanently coupled together. The length of the train is 156 feet and was designed to be able to operate on the famous Chicago "El" picking up and discharging passengers. Both trains were designed for the North Shore line in an attempt to win back ridership from the competing Chicago Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, as well as the personal automobile. At the time of their construction, the trains were the most modern interurban trains ever constructed.
The trains are unique in that they each had a tavern lounge car, famous for their "Electroburgers". Known as "Electroliners" on the North Shore, both trains operated between Chicago and Milwaukee, running for millions of miles over the years. The trains could easily operate at 90 MPH and had eight electric traction motors of 125 horsepower each giving the train 1,000 horsepower. The North Shore line abandoned operations on January 21, 1963 and both trains were sold to the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, known as the Red Arrow Lines, of Upper Darby in suburban Philadelphia. They were moved on their own wheels from Chicago to suburban Philadelphia.
Once on the Norristown line, both trains were refurbished inside and out and were renamed Liberty Liners, one being named "Independence Hall" and the other "Valley Forge". The tavern lounge car served the passengers various breakfast, snack and light meal items in the mornings and afternoons. They even carried a liquor license, which was quite unusual for an interurban rapid transit operation. Both trains operated on the Norristown line into the 1970's.
The Liners were not well-suited for the type of operation on this 14-mile line which is full of curves, hills and short distances between stations. Rather they were designed for flat, mid-western terrain to operate at long distances between station stops. Both trains were put up for sale by SEPTA in 1981. Our museum was the successful bidder for the "Independence Hall". Six tractor trailers and a large crane were needed to dismantle the train, move it from Philadelphia and reassemble it at the museum. Since its arrival, our priorities have been to perform preventive maintenance, getting the train to operate and moving the train indoors for the first time in over 35 years. It is currently stored in the museum's Carbarn Two.
Brookville 8 ton switcher built by Brookville Locomotive Works in 1938. The original purchaser of the Brookville is unknown. According to a source familiar with the locomotive, John Meehan & Sons, a contractor still in business in Philadelphia, bought the locomotive used. That company used the locomotive to build a section of the Broad Street subway in Philadelphia in the late 1930's. Meehan had an office in New York City and the locomotive was apparently used on subway projects there as well. It was then leased to Conduit and Foundation Corp. of Philadelphia, who also used it on New York City subway work. The next known use by Meehan was a repair job on the Broad Street subway in the 1950's. Many people know that Pennsylvania is home to General Electric's locomotive lant in Erie. Not so many know that Brookville Equipment Company, founded as Brookville Locomotive Works, has been providing locomotives and mining equipment to the world for over 84 years. Brookville has recently even entered the trolley car market, rebuilding cars for New Orleans and Philadelphia. We are very proud to own and operate this interesting piece of our state's transportation history.
Daimler Chrysler (Adtranz) Rockhill 25 ton switcher M-25 built by General Electric Company in 1942 for use at a Hudson Motor Car plant at Centerline, Michigan. Information received from a Hudson authority in 2006 indicates this plant built 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns for the Navy. (The Hudson Motor Car plant has sometimes mistakenly been thought to have built torpedo boats). Centerline reportedly had space for 20 rail cars on a 900 foot loading dock, so the loco was probably kept quite busy at its first home. Hudson lost the contract to operate that plant in October 1943; sometime around that date the locomotive was moved to the Naval Mine Depot at Yorktown, Virginia. Following World War II, it was sold to Tidewater Oil Company in Delaware City, Delaware. By 1972, it had been sold to the American Bridge Division of US Steel at Elmira, New York. While with AmBridge, the locomotive reportedly served during construction of the Interstate 81 bridge over the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was used to shuffle loads of steel out onto the bridge for placement by a traveling crane.
The locomotive was at the AmBridge plant in Elmira when it changed hands to Sumitomo Corporation, ABB Traction, Adtranz and finally DaimlerChrysler. All these companies performed construction and overhaul of trolley, subway and light rail equipment.
New Jersey Transit PCC Car 6 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1946. The car, which would become Public Service Coordinated Transport 6, was originally ordered by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota in January 1945 as car 325, part of an order for 40 cars from the St. Louis Car Company. Twin City Rapid Transit specified extra wide cars with both gongs as well as electric horns, galvanized steel carbodies to help deter corrosion during the harsh winter conditions in which the car would operate, and backup controllers, which are mall auxiliary controllers located behind the rear seat for safer operation in reverse. Twin City Rapid Transit had several lines that terminated at wyes, necessitating lengthy operation in reverse. Electrical equipment for this order was split between General Electric and Westinghouse, and this order of cars was built with conductor's booths for two-man operation.
Public Service Coordinated Transport purchased the cars, including 325, for operation on the municipally owned 4.5 mile “City Subway” in Newark. At one time, PSCT and its predecessors operated trolley lines covering most of the state of New Jersey but started converting operations to bus as early as 1929. The City Subway, originally called the "City Railway", was built between 1929 and 1935 by the city of Newark in the bed of the abandoned Morris Canal to help relieve traffic congestion in downtown Newark and provide a faster entry and exit to downtown. At one time, five different trolley lines used all or part of the City Subway to enter and exit downtown Newark, but by 1952 only the 7 – City Subway line, operating from the northern edge of the city to Penn Station, remained in operation. PSCT requested the city pave the City Subway in 1952 to permit operation by dual-mode electric-diesel buses, but the city refused and requested PSCT purchase modern railway equipment after an engineering study determined paving of the subway was not feasible. PSCT first inspected the 25 "Brilliner" cars in operation in Atlantic City but were rejected due to the availability of 30 excellent second-hand PCC cars at very low prices from TCRT. TCRT Car 325 became PSCT 6 and the entire fleet of 30 cars was placed in service between December 1953 and January 1954 on the City Subway, sending the last of PSCT's conventional cars, all of which were over 30 years old, to the scrapyard. After the abandonment of streetcar service in Atlantic City in 1955, the City Subway became the last electric trolley line in New Jersey and would remain so for more than 40 years.
Aerial Bucket Lift Car X-4 built by the Rockhill Trolley Museum shop in 1998.
Reading Railroad crossing shanty, which was the museum's former ticket booth.
Gang Car M-100 built by Kalamazoo Manufacturing in 1945 used by the US Navy.
Philadelphia Suburban center door 61 built by Brill in 1925, which was the museum's first trolley acquired from the Philadelphia area. It was originally built for the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Company, which later became part of Red Arrow Lines. Car 61 operated from 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby to Media, Sharon Hill, West Chester and Ardmore. It could be operated as a single unit or together with another car as a train. These cars were always operated with a crew of two: a motorman and a conductor who operated the center doors and collected the fares.
When they were operated in trains of two cars, two conductors and one motorman were required. Our museum acquired Car 61 in 1971. These center-door cars operated into the 1970's due to the large size of their wheels, which enabled them to run in deep snow without their motors getting wet. The line on which 61 operated was built to what is known as Pennsylvania trolley gauge, which is wider than our museum's railroad standard gauge. The track gauge this car was built for is 5 feet, 2.25 inches, and the measurement for Ssandard gauge is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Before Trolley 61 can operate at the museum, its trucks must be re-gauged, which is a very costly process. Nearly $25,000 has been spent on this project alone. The body of the car will also require many hours and dollars of restoration work before the car returns to service.
S.T.C.P. Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto single-truck freight flat C-64 built by the railroad in 1933. One of the most useful trolleys at our museum is our track service car from Porto, Portugal. According to the Porto trolley museum, some of these cars hauled coal straight from mines to the company's electric power plant. Others were used to remove ash from the power plant and some to haul odd freight – including fish – between the port and the markets. The sides of the four-wheeled car fold down, allowing easy access to the load. Car 64 was acquired by our museum in 1967 along with Porto car 172. Both cars were brought across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a ship to Philadelphia. Two trucks were then used to transport the antique trolley cars to our Museum. Since its arrival at our Museum, car 64 has been outfitted with an electric arc welder, acetylene cutting torch, air compressor, generator and numerous hand and power tools.
Canron Mark 2 Tamper built by Canron year unknown and acquired in March 2008 to enable more ties to be replaced in the annual track rebuilding projects.
Southeast Pennsylvanuia Transportation Authority tower car D-39 built by Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company in 1908. It has had a long and varied career began its life in 1908 as PRT ash car 2621. It was constructed at Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company's 6th Street Shops and was used to haul ashes from PRT's power houses to several dumps located within the city. It was also used to haul garbage under a contract PRT signed with the City of Philadelphia in 1908. Upon the cancellation of the rubbish contract in 1915, PRT had a surplus of ash cars. Three of the old ash cars had their hopper bodies removed and replaced with enclosed wooden bodies. Ash car 2621 was constructed as freight car F-25.
Declining freight revenues led PRT to end all trolley freight service on June 1, 1922. PRT found car F-25 too useful to scrap and thus it served as a general work car until 1950. D-39 served as the sole tower car on the Media and Sharon Hill lines from 1993 until 2002. D-39 served its intended purpose, repair and inspection of the overhead trolley wires for the last time in December 2002 and was finally retired from active service in spring 2003 and the Rockhill Trolley Museum purchased it June. D-39 left SEPTA's 69th Street Yard early on the morning of November 20, 2003 and arrived at Rockhill the following day. Upon its arrival at Rockhill, the car was placed on its original 1908 Curtis trucks that were obtained in a trade with another trolley museum. These trucks were regauged to standard gauge when the car was transferred to the Broad Street Subway in 1950.
S.T.C.P. Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto 'Maxi-traction' semi-convertible 249 built by Brill in 1904. The windows on this car can be raised into the roof of the car to create an airy 'open car' effect and coudl also be lowered quickly in the event of a rainstorm or cool weather. This Brill-built, designed and patented car is typical of thousands of similar small cars that operated around small town and through the streets of United States cities. Semi-convertible cars like 249 replaced convertible and open cars on many systems, because they could operate year-round. In 1924, car 249 was re-motorized with two motors and continued serving citizens of Porto until 1972, when it was retired. It was acquired by Rockhill Trolley Museum in October of that year. After being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in a large wooden box, 249 was unloaded in Philadelphia and trucked to the museum. Unlike many other cars that have arrived at the museum needing years of costly restoration work, 249 arrived in good condition and entered regular service immediately.
Philadelphia & Western 162 interurban car built by J.G. Brill Company in 1927. As originally constructed, the car had ground level steps, end doors and trolley poles, as well as parcel racks inside the car and a separate smoking compartment. The car was designed for operation by both a motorman and a conductor and had a top or "balancing" speed of 44 miles per hour as constructed. Car 62 and the other 10 cars of this class became virtually obsolete with the arrival of the high-speed "Bullet" cars in 1931. Thus, the entire class of cars was rebuilt between 1931 and 1935 which included a lowering of the car's center of gravity via new floors and smaller wheels, removal of the end doors, steps, trolley poles and side entrance doors. The maximum speed of the car was also increased to 68 miles per hour in order to maintain the new, faster schedules.
Car 162 and the other cars of its class spent most of their lives after their rebuilding in use on the Strafford Branch of the P&W, hence the nickname, Strafford cars. Following the abandonment of the Strafford Branch in 1956, the car was used primarily for short-turn local trips and especially during snow emergencies. Car 162 was the last car of its class in service when it was retired in 1990. It currently is not in service but is operable under its own power and will join our operating fleet of cars as time, money and volunteer effort permit.
Ballast/Dump Car built by Rockhill Trolley Museum Shops in 1999.
Philadelphia subway car 1009 built by J.R. Brill in 1909. Car 1009 was sold to the Broad St. subway in Philadelphia after the bridge line closed in 1968. (This line was later reopened as part of the present Lindenwold high speed line.) It was used by the cityowned Broad Streety Subway until 1984 when new cars from Japan replaced the older cars. Car 1009 was donated to the museum and moved on its own wheels in a Conrail freight train to Mt. Union, Pennsylvania. From there it had its wheels removed and was trucked eleven miles over the highway. When the 67 foot long car reached our museum, it was reassembled. To permit operation of 1009 at the museum, trolley poles have been added to the roof of the car since this car operated solely from an electrified third rail during its service life in Philadelphia.
San Diego Metropolitain Transit System U2 LRV 1019 built by Siemens-Duewag in 1982. In 2014, the Rockhill Trolley Museum acquired this car which used to operate on the San Diego Trolley System in San Diego, California and was used for the opening of the first new-generation Light Rail system in the United States and have served well throughout their three decades of service.
Philadelphia & Western snowplough 10 built by Wason in 1915 and used to clear heavy snows from tracks of the Philadelphia & Western Railroad. Known as a shear plough, car 10 pushed snow to the right side of the track only. Some plows were also built which pushed snow to both sides of the track. The ploughs of car 10 can be raised manually or pneumatically. It served its entire career operating on fourteen miles of track between Norristown and 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby. It is believed the car may have occasionally been used to clear snow from the city streets of Norristown and the tracks of the Lehigh Valley Transit system as far north as Lansdale. Trolley plough 10 was in use until 1988 when it was acquired by our museum from SEPTA and was the last operating trolley snowplough on any American transit system. Since its arrival at the museum, it has had some woodwork done to the body, the entire car has been repainted and relettered, and it has received mechanical maintenance. It is one of few trolley snowploughs in existence today.
Mason City and Clear Lake Railroad snow sweeper 3, nee Mason City and Clear Lake 102 built by McGuire-Cummings in 1911. Most trolley systems in Pennsylvania had at least one snow sweeper on their roster as many towns and cities required the electric railway companies to maintain the streets they laid their tracks in, including snow removal. The last transit system in the United States to use a snow sweeper to clear its tracks was New Jersey Transit, where a 1920's vintage sweeper was used to clear snow from the tracks of the former Newark City Subway into the first decade of the 21st century.
This was the only sweeper owned by the Mason City and Clear Lake Railroad, whose primary purpose in later years was the handling of freight by interurban electric locomotives. It was merged into the Iowa Terminal Railroad in 1961 and the car was renumbered 3 at that time.
With this work nearly complete in 2011, representatives from National Capital Trolley Museum asked Rockhill Trolley Museum if they would consider a trade of former DC Transit snow sweeper 09, which had been at Rockhill Trolley Museum since the end of streetcar service in Washington, DC in 1962 and had been cosmetically restored in 1999 by Rockhill Trolley Museum volunteers. In a spirit of cooperation and good will, Rockhill Trolley Museum traded former DC Transit 09 to the National Capital Trolley Museum in exchange for former Iowa Terminal 3 and a pair of Brill 27F trucks suitable for future use under Valley Railways car 12 in 2012, 50 years after the end of streetcar service in Washington, DC. Car 3 is much better suited to operation at the Rockhill Trolley Museum due to the profile and condition of its wheels. Car 09 is now displayed in operating condition at the museum closest to its "home".
With that, the tour of the trolley shops was complete and the three of us walked back to the front to wait for our trolley ride.
Pennsylvania Railroad caboose 477138 built by the railroad in 1917.
East Broad Top outside-braced box car 168 built by the railroad in 1920.
Pop-Up Metro Vivarail 230 multiple unit power car 230011. This 60-foot rail car, weighing 36 tons, was converted to run on Lithium Iron Magnesium Phosphate (LiFeMgPO4) batteries. These batteries have a longer life cycle than lithium-ion batteries and are considered safer. Two battery rafts, each containing 60 cells, can run the train up to 60 miles on a full charge, depending on speed and grades.
An affiliate of Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), Pop-Up Metro is a fresh Transit Infrastructure alternative utilizing existing low-density freight rail lines and North America's only battery -propelled passenger cars. Pop-Up Metro offers a reliable, low-cost and sustainable option allowing communities considering rail options to both prove the concept and prove the market in an expedited, economic, low-risk manner. Pop-Up Metro is offered as a Turnkey "Kit" incorporating trains, ADA complaint modular platforms, charging equipment, maintenance infrastructure, training and operating plan as an annual lease, eliminating the high up-front capital commitment typically associated with light Metro start-ups or service extensions. Pop-Up Metro trains can be used to maximize the utility of existing light density freight lines in communities interested in rail transit options. For less than the cost of a full feasibility study, communities can test actual ridership and evaluate the operation while jump-startingthe development of rail transit corridors.
Two active battery powered train-sets are now active in demonstration operations at Rockhill Furnace on a 1.8 mile test track on the East Broad Top Railroad.
A little after 11:00, we were ready for a ride on Johnstown Railway 163 and found an information placard in the car.
We boarded the trolley car and I took the seat near the motorman, who was our tour guide, Larry. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the ride of the Rockhill Trolley.
This is the ride from Rockhill Trolley Museum to Blacklog Narrows. On the return trip, Elizabeth sat at the rear of the car so she could take photographs while I sat near the front.
Our trolley car at Blacklog Narrows.
The Blacklog Narrows sign. On the return trip we stopped at the remains of the Rockhill Furnaces.
These are the remains of Rockhill Furnaces 1 and 2, casthouse and the Blast Engine House.
This diagram shows the layout of the facility.
The remains of Rockhill Furance. We returned and while Elizabeth was shopping for us, I watched the East Broad Top train return and its trip around the wye.
The train on the northeast leg of the wye. Now we watched it reverse.
The East Broad Top train reversed around the southeast leg of the wye then we thanked the Rockhill Trolley Museum crew for having us today and the great tour Larry gave. We left but remembered seeing a covered bridge just south of Blacklog Narrows station so we drove there.
The St. Mary's Covered Bridge Huntingdon County Bridge No. 8 is located on Covered Bridge Road over Shade Creek in Cromwell Township. It was built in 1888.
The sign on the bridge. From here I drove us to Mifflin where we had a surprise awaiting us.
Norfolk Southern 4552 East.
Pennsylvania Railroad Mifflin station built in 1908. Next I drove us to Newport.
Pennsylvania Railroad Newport station built in 1908. We then made our way to Duncannon.
Pennsylvania Railroad Duncannon station built in 1902. Blue Ridge Communications, a cable company, purchased the building in 2005. After totally remodeling the building and trying to keep it as original as possible, but still making it functional, the building had a grand re-opening in 2009.
We were surprised to learn that the Aerotrain ran through here in 1957.
The Railroads of Duncannon display board.
Clark's Ferry Bridge display board.
The highway bridge which we will drive across the Susquehanna River on the way to our next stop in Millersburg.
The builders date of Pennsylvania Railroad freighthouse.
Pennsylvania Railroad Millersburg freighthouse built in 1900.
Reading Railroad Millersburg station built in 1898 by the Northern Central Railroad. This was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1861, when the PRR acquired a controlling interest in the Northern Central's stock to compete with the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. For eleven decades the Northern Central operated as a subsidiary of the PRR until much of its Maryland trackage was washed out by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, after which most of its operations ceased as the Penn Central declined to repair sections. It is now a fallen flag railway, having come under the control of the later Penn Central (merger of the PRR and the New York Central), Conrail, and then broken apart and disestablished.
The northern part in Pennsylvania is now the York County Heritage Rail Trail which connects to a similar hike/bike trail in Northern Maryland down to Baltimore, named the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail. Trackage around Baltimore remains in rail service as well as most of the trackage in Pennsylvania which is operated by Norfolk Southern and the southernmost section in Pennsylvania is operated by the Northern Central Heritage Railway.
Millersburg station plaque.
Railroad Passenger station historical plaque. From here I drove us to Elizabethville.
A railroad crossing warning sign.
Pennsylvania Railroad Elizabethville station built in 1872 which now houses Dauphin County Weatherization. The tracks were torn up in 1976 and the last passenger train was 1958. In 1881, the PRR renamed the station Elizabethville from it original name of Cross Roads Station.
We proceeded to the final station of the day.
Pennsylvania Railroad Lykens station built in 1892.
A railroad station warning sign. I then drove us to a petrol station in Barnesville then Elizabeth drove us to Dummore and we stopped at Perkins Restaurant for dinner before checking into the Baymont Inn for the night.
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