The most common form of transportation in the first half of the 20th Century was the Electric Streetcar. Like their horse-drawn predecessors the cars operated over tracks set into the city streets, but the horses and feedbags had been replaced by electric motors and overhead wire. Power was collected by a long pole equipped with a wheel or shoe that would "troll" behind the car along the underside of the wire, probably the origin of the the popular term "Trolley Car."
Lines Served On:
Lorain & Elyria Railroad / Lorain Street Railroad
Status:
Restorable Car Body
Click an image to
enlarge it
Builder's Photo of car 37. As built, the cars were numbered 35 through 40, it is likely that this car became our 83 when the set was renumbered as 80 through 85. (Museum Collection)
This photo shows car 83 at Sages Grove. (Museum Collection)
This photo taken in November of 2009 shows the car temporarily spotted outside the barn at NORM with Rio de Janeiro Tramways 1774 and Toledo Railway & Light Company 588 for a car move. (S. Heister)
Rio de Janeiro Tramways Power & Light Open Car # 1774
Before air conditioning, a trolley without sides was the obvious solution to summer heat. Air
blowing through the speedy car was its “climate control” and the cars became appropriately
known as "Breezers". By the 1920s mechanical ventilation had made closed trolleys more
comfortable in summer and open cars in northern Ohio were relegated to memories. With America’s open trolleys long gone, preservationists turned to Latin America for examples of the type as the temperate climate there allowed them to remain in service for for many years. 1774 is one of a dozen such cars of this type brought to U.S. museums from Rio de Janeiro in 1965. It was built in the Rio de Janeiro Tramways' shops in 1912 and incorporates many Brill inspired features. The car was a part of two other museum's collections before coming to NORM.
RdJL&P 1774 Specifications:
Type:
Electric Street Car
Description:
Double End, Double Truck, Deck Roof, Open Car
Builder:
Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light & Power Company, Rio de Janeiro
Year Built:
1912
Retired:
1962
Acquired by NORM:
2007
Dimensions:
Length: ft. in., Width: ft. in., Height: ft. in.
Weight:
39,683 lbs.
Seats:
65, Full Width Bench
Trucks:
Shop
Lines Served On:
Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light & Power Company
Status:
Restorable Car Body
Click an image to
enlarge it
This photo shows sister car 1794 in service in Rio de Janeiro. (Allen Morrison Collection)
This photo shows 1774 along with another car of the same type at Mt. Union, PA in 1965. (Museum Collection)
This photo taken in November of 2009 shows 1774 temporarily spotted outside the Bennet Carhouse for a car move. (S. Heister)
Toledo Railway & Light Company Semi-Convertible Car # 588
Toledo Railway & Light Company car 588 was built in 1910 by the Kuhlman Car Comapany. It is a semi-convertible car featuring fixed lower side panels and large upper windows that can be retracted into pockets in the roof for added ventilation in warm weather. Another distinctive feature of the car is its "empire" roof with a clerestory style front end and simple deck roof over the rear platform. 588 is the only remaining car from the Toledo Railway fleet.
TR&LC 588 Specifications:
Type:
Electric Street Car
Description:
Single End, Double Truck, Railroad Roof (front), Deck Roof (rear), Semi-Convertable Car
Builder:
G. C. Kuhlman Car Company, Cleveland, Ohio
Year Built:
1910
Retired:
1948
Acquired by NORM:
2000
Trucks:
Shop
Lines Served On:
Toledo Railway & Light Company
Status:
Restorable Car Body
Click an image to enlarge it
The car's unusual roof can clearly be seen in this photo taken in November of 2009. The car is outdoors temporarily for a car move. (S. Heister)
To the left is the interior detail of the car, great woodwork. The traction controller can be seen through the window. (Museum Collection)
Toronto Transportation Commission Peter Witt Car # 2778
What makes TTC 2778 a "Peter Witt" Car?
Appointed Cleveland's Street Railroad Commissioner in 1912 by newly elected mayor Newton D. Baker, Peter Witt's challenge was to develop a transit vehicle that would reduce the time needed for loading and unloading while also improving the efficiency of fare collection. In 1911 Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company Manager Tom Mitten introduced his Nearside car, which allowed entrance to the cars from the curb (or near) side of the car, eliminating the need for the traffic obstructing and often dangerous "safety islands" in the middle of the streets required by some of the older car designs.
The Cleveland Railway Company's center-door streetcars were of the Nearside type and Witt, inspired by Mitten's innovations, selected car 33 for conversion to his prototype, personally supervising the project. To improve the speed of loading he added a large entrance doorway at the front by the motorman. Patrons could then ride in the front of the car (configured for maximum standing room), and leave through the first center door, or they could pass through to the rear (where most of the seats were), exiting via the second center door. Either way, riders paid as they passed the fare box at the conductor's station, which was relocated from between the center doors to just ahead of them. This "Pay As You Pass" system eliminated time formerly lost at stops collecting each fare under the old "Pay As You Enter" system.
The car was introduced to the public as the Car Rider's Car in the Spring of 1915. The double center doors of the converted car were replaced by a single large doorway on later cars of this type. These innovations improved the ability of public transit to better serve the masses by reducing both ride times and traffic congestion. The car exceeded even Mitten's innovations and thousands were built for use all over the world. A commission of $50.00 per car was paid to Witt by other transit systems that used his design, including 1920s era cars built for Philadelphia, Toronto and many more where they were known as "Peter Witt" cars.
Toronto Transportation Commission Peter Witt Car 2778 was built by the Canadian Car & Foundry Company in 1923. One of the line's "short" class P-1 cars, it is meant to operate without a trailer. The car served Toronto, Ontario until its retirement in 1964. Mechanically and aesthetically this car is very similar to contemporary Peter Witt cars built and operated in Cleveland. Because no Cleveland Witt cars have survived, this car is as close as we can come to documenting this vital step in Cleveland's transit history.
TTC 2778 Specifications:
Type:
Electric Street Car
Description:
Single End, Double Truck, Arch Roof, Peter Witt
Builder:
Canadian Car and Foundry Company, Montreal, Canada
Like many other urban systems, The Cleveland Railway Company used trailer cars to increase capacity during peak hours. In 1917 the line took delivery of 50 such cars from the Kuhlman Car Company of Cleveland. Designed as mates to the 1100 and 1200 series street cars then in service, they seated an additional 59 riders and were a familiar sight on the streets of downtown Cleveland for many years. After the end of street car service in Cleveland a handful of the cars were acquired by the Shaker line to be used in rapid transit service with their aging fleet of second-hand 1200 series cars. Car 2318 was among them and was renumbered to 56 on the Shaker. With the coming of the PCC cars, which were capable of multiple-unit service, the trailers became superfluous. Relegated to its final assignment on the line as a track-side shed, 2318 was renumbered yet again as 44. The car carried its coal stove as the only source of heat until in was retired from service.
In 1968 the Shaker went through a house cleaning and some the older equipment on the property was either scrapped or sold to collectors or museums. Thanks to the preservation efforts of those collectors we are fortunate to have in our collection one of the remaining two CRC Kuhlman 2300 series trailers left today. Car 2318 was among those spared from the scrappers and spent a few years as a shed in Homerville, Ohio before being acquired by the Seashore Trolley Museum of Kennebunkport, Maine. In October of 2009 Seashore acquired car 2365, the other remaining CRC trailer, in the dissolution of the Lake Shore Electric Railway Museum's ex-Trolleyville collection, making 2318 redundant. The car was acquired by NORM and moved to the Museum in October of 2010.
CRC 2318 Specifications:
Type:
Electric Streetcar Trailer
Description:
Single End, Double Truck, Arch Roof, Trailer
Builder:
G. C. Kuhlman Car Company, Cleveland, Ohio
Lines Served On:
Cleveland Railway Company / Shaker Heights Rapid Transit / Cleveland Transit System
Status:
Restorable Car Body
Click an image to
enlarge it
Here is trailer car 2318 with sister 2365 shortly after their arrival at the Shaker's Kingsbury Shops in October 1946. The cars still had their window guards and Cleveland Railway paint scheme in this photo. (John Peterson Photo, Museum Collection)
This photo shows the car in 1977 in use as a shed at the Homerville, Ohio home of Ron Jedlicka. (B. Hays)
Here is 2318 shortly after arrival at NORM on Octerber 28, 2010. (B. Hays)
Apart for over 40 years, CRC 1225 and trailer 2318 are together again in this October 2010 photo at NORM. (S. Heister)
Builder's Photo of car 37. As built, the cars were numbered 35 through 40, it is likely that this car became our 83 when the set was renumbered as 80 through 85. (Museum Collection)
