The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Inc. (PTM) is pleased to announce the addition of vintage 1923 Philadelphia streetcar 8042. PTM greatly appreciates the assistance of the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, the Electric City Trolley Museum Association, and the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority for making this car available to PTM for preservation and interpretation. Car 8042 is a great addition to PTM’s collection because it represents streetcars that ran on Philadelphia’s heavily traveled downtown routes and complements a streetcar of similar vintage PTM already has that ran on Philadelphia’s less populated routes.

Car 8042 is being placed in PTM’s new 28,000 sq ft Trolley Display Building where it will be prominently displayed. It was built by the J.G. Brill Company in Philadelphia in 1923 as part of a very large order of streetcars for Philadelphia Rapid Transit (PTM has two other cars from this order). To make the car more appealing to riders, 8042 was modernized in 1940 by successor Philadelphia Transportation Company who ran it in service until 1957. It passed into individual ownership before being acquired by Electric City Trolley Museum Association. Electric City Trolley Museum Association is being recognized as the car’s sponsor for the many years that they preserved this car. They help to operate the Electric City Trolley Station and Museum in Scranton, PA.

The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum’s mission to preserve and interpret Pennsylvania’s Trolley Era and it is open to the public April-December. For photos of 8042 go to PTM's website at www.pa-trolley.org.

The photos show a car that is in need of work, but in complete condition. Also, it looks like you have plenty of extra poles! What kind of work will be needed to restore the car? I am impressed by the work of the PTM ever since I read the article about them back in the old Locomotive and Railway Preservation magazine, and the recent construction of a building to keep about everything under cover is simply impressive!

It does look like it need alot of works before it can operate. But I think it'll fit right into the museum collection.

Your observations of car 8042 are quite correct, the car is mechanically and electrically complete and shows every sign of being able to be placed in operating condition with a modest effort. Cosmetically however the car will require a fair amount of work to be presentable for public operation. We at PTM take great pride in our recent accomplishments in the field of electric railway preservation, education, and interpretation. We are in the beginning stages of a recruitment drive to increase participation in the museum's various program and activities. I would encourage any railfans with an interest in street railways, interurbans, and yes, even steam railroading (we have two historic diesels, both operable, and several cabooses) to visit PTM and join our efforts. Although the museum is not in public operations between January and early April, there is plenty of activity going on each weekend. Stop by on a Saturday afternoon and sample our offerings.

Dave Hamley, PTM President

8042 (which is NOT a Peter Witt car) was overhauled by a SEPTA contractor in 1975 for a stillborn Bicentennial tourtram in Philadelphia, but was never operated.

With the insults of bouncing around from place to place, it is essentially zero time from that overhaul.

For those keeping score at home, the car is a Single-End Remodelled car, built in 1923 with one-man equipment and remodelled around 1940 as a one-man car with padded seats and herringbone gears, and a new paint scheme. The conductor's booth was removed in the remodelling.

Probably in the 1940s remodelling, it also received 2 battery-opperated rear marker lights, and near the end before 1957, the fare registers were replaced with a farebox (probably modern for then).