Rockhill Trolley Museum to acquire two historic trolley cars.
Railways To Yesterday Inc, operators of the Rockhill Trolley Museum of Rockhill Furnace, PA, is acquiring two historic electric trolley car bodies from the collection of the late Wendell J. Dillinger at the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad in Middletown, PA. The museum plans to restore and operate one of the cars while preserving the other as an exhibit.

Lewistown & Reedsville Electric Railway car 23 - Car 23 was built by the J.G. Brill Company in 1914 for Jersey Central Traction Company and one year later purchased by the Lewistown & Reedsville Electric Railway (L&R). The L&R operated approximately 12 miles of track between Lewistown, Burnham, Yeagertown, and Reedsville. Following abandonment of trolley operations in 1933, car 23 survived as a summer cottage near Lewistown from 1933 to 2002. Car 23 will need a complete restoration, including locating all the mechanical and electrical components required to return it to an operating trolley car. This will be the second fully restored trolley car at the museum to have been transformed from a trolley to a cottage and returned to an operating trolley. Having originally operated in revenue service less than 40 miles from the museum, car 23 will be the most local car in the collection.

York Railways car 162 - Car 162 was built by the J.G. Brill Company in 1924 for York Railways. Following the abandonment of trolley operations in 1939, both cars 162 and 163 survived together as summer cottages until flooded in 1972 by Hurricane Agnes. With car 163 already restored and operating at the museum since 1989, car 162 will be preserved as a cottage. This will help educate visitors and tell the story of how trolley car bodies often led a second life after no longer serving the need as public transportation.

The first step in preserving these cars at the Rockhill Trolley Museum is to relocate them from Middletown to Rockhill Furnace, about 80 miles. Donations toward this expense will be gratefully accepted. Any remaining funds after transporting the cars will be applied to restoration or preservation work of the cars. Donations may be designated to either car.

The Museum was founded in 1960 with a single trolley from Johnstown, PA, and was incorporated in 1962. With the addition of these two trolleys, the museum now has a collection of 25 trolley cars from as close as Lewistown, Johnstown, Harrisburg, York, Scranton, and as far away as Chicago, San Diego, Brazil, and Portugal.
The museum is staffed by mostly all volunteers, who are dedicated to the preservation of electric trolley cars. The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives no regular government funding, relying instead upon donations from members and friends as well as grants from foundations. Interested visitors are invited to join the museum and volunteer to preserve historic electric trolley cars for future generations to see and ride.