Has anyone ever seen a roster of the Magee Trolley Museum, which was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Agnes in the early 1970's? Their equipment was scattered, but I have heard that they owned quite a few electric cars in various states of repair. Was a roster of that organization ever compiled before it disappeared?

Frank@gats.com

To my knowledge, there were the two open cars that are now in Mt.Pleasant, Ioway, and most of the Ed Blossom equipment. At McGee's was where the Liberty Bell car was worked on extensively.

We stopped by the site on a family vacation in the 70s, just after the flood. I remember being upset. I revisited it in the early 90s and saw the recreated village was still intact, with a small depot adjacent to trolley rails imbedded in concrete and a steel streetcar line pole.

> The Magee Transportation Museum in Bloomsburg PA had four operating trolley cars in its collection. The first car to operate was Scranton Transit snowsweeper 107 in 1966. 107 is now at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in operation. Four open cars from Brazil (acquired through the ARM open car purchase)were on the property and two were restored by Ed Blossom and his staff. Car # 2 is now operating at Mt. Pleasant IA, was the first passenger car restored. This was followed by Car # 3 which was made into an open end open car, having no dash windows. This car from what I've been told is in Nashville and is no longer an open car. # 3 was at Orlando FL for several years on the Grand Cypress Trolley Line although I understand it was not successful with operating there due to track problems. When I saw it there in 1991 it was not in operation. It had been in a Lionel Train museum in Sarasota after Magee closed The last car to become operable was Pittsburgh car 4145 which is now at Trolleyville in OH. The museum was privately owned by Harry Magee who also had a musum of other items in downtown Bloomsburg. The trolleys were only a small part of the museum. There were many antique cars, sleighs and other items on display. The private car Loretto (Now at Altoona RR museum)was also there.

Other trolley bodies were also on the roster. I can not say if this is a complete roster but here are a few of the cars that were at the site and where they are now.

Lehigh Valley Transit Jewett interurban 801 restored at Dushore PA, after the Magee Museum closed. Stored at Topton PA for nearly 25 years and now at the Scranton trolley museum.

C&LE 117 a body only in very poor condition from what I hear. I have not seen it since 1972 after the flood and it was in poor condition then,. Outdoors for all these years. Now in Scranton.

Rochester 157, This car was on display out along the interstate sitting on Red Arrow Center door trucks. Cosmetically painted in the eary 70's. Now at the New York Museum of Transportation.

Lehigh Valley Transit C19??? Freight Motor from the LVT which survived after LVT quit operating being used as the trash car on the Broad St. Subway in Phiadelphia. Was to supply the electrical equipment for 801. I've heard the body is still near Bloomsburg in very poor condition.

A New York interurban car 107, from the Elmira area I believe. I don't know where this is today. Trolley Museum of NY???

A Rochester horsecar was on display. I believe this went back to Rochester.

Danville & Bloomsburg car 1. This car was to be the first car to operate at Magee until the open cars arrived according to Ed Blossom. Now privatly owned in Pensylvania.

Hershey car # 4, A former Ephrata and Lebanon car this was a very poor shell ony while at Magee. In later years it was near Middletown PA privatly owned. I believe it is scrapped now.

A Reading Birney car was there, 510 I believe. This car went to the Detroit area I've heard. Anyone know for sure?

Philadelphia Standard car 2282. This was tucked away inside one of the buildings. It was owned by Ed Blossom for years but I believe he gave it to the Scranton trolley museum

The two unrestored open cars. One was owned by Ed Blossom for years until he donated it to the Scranton Trolley Museum. The other car went to Mt. Pleasant and I believe is restored now and operating. this was an arch roof car

Scranton Electromobile 505 now at Rockhill Trolley Museum in very poor condition. Some parts do exist for the car but all in poor shape.

The substation went to Trolleyvile I think.

The museum closed for two reasons. The flood (Hurricane Agnes in June 1972) caused extensive track damage and the death of Harry Magee in October of 1972. The family no longer wanted the museum and ordered a sale to be held. A sale was held in June of 1973.

I've been to the site numerous times since the museum closed. It is a flea market/auction site now. In one of the buildings about 5 years ago I found some old souvenirs for sale from the Magee Museum, which are of course in my collection now. One of the buildings still had the sign over where the tracks went in saying "Trolley Museum" You can still see some of the track in the asphalt and inside buildings and the maintenance pit is still covered over with wood planks. Various overhead poles are also there

It is a real shame the museum had to close. I remeber visiting there several time and once immediatly after the flood even though I was only 8 or 9 years old. It really was a fantastic place.

Across town in Bloomsburg was the Carrol Park & Western Railroad, another privately owned tourist operation, but that is a subject for another thread.

Rockhill Trolley Museum
jdstrolley@enter.net

Joel:

Thanks for all the information! I can add some "follow-ups" to some of this equipment.

C&LE #117 is indeed owned by the museum in Scranton, but I didn't think it had been moved there yet. Most of their equipment is still at various off-site locations.

Rochester & Eastern #157, a beautiful Niles interurban, is still at the NYMoT. A few years ago I was there and it was still on those wide gauge Red Arrow trucks (supposedly from car #62), but since then I think they acquired a pair of Chicago "L" car trucks. At least those are the right gauge!

Elmira Corning & Waverly #107 is also at NYMoT. It was sandblasted by Ed Blossom while at Magee (unusual for a wood car), and NYMoT still hasn't gotten around to painting it. It really is a neat car.

Andrew Young's 1996 book "Veteran & Vintage Transit" claimed that the Reading Birney you speak of was owned by the Detroit Citizens Railway, although I haven't been able to find any evidence that they actually do own it.

Frank@gats.com

IÂ’ve had the pleasure of riding on the two open cars now at the Midwest Electric Railway AssociationÂ’s operations in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on the grounds of the Midwest Old Threshers. TheyÂ’re in beautiful condition! HereÂ’s what their brochure says about them:

“Streetcars No. 1779 and 1718: Both of these open bench cars were built in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1911. They operated in that city until 1965 when they became part of a group of twelve cars brought to the United States by the U.S. Association of Railway Museums. 1718 and 1779 were then purchased by Magee Transportation Museum of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 1718 was bought from Magee by Old Threshers in 1970 and moved to the shops of the Iowa Terminal Railraod in Mason City for complete restoration. Car 1779 soon followed, coming to Mt. Pleasant in 1973. The design of these cars is called a Narragansett style after a type developed by the Brill Company of Philadelphia. The interior woodwork is constructed of a Brazilian hardwood called Peroba de Camp.”

Including these two cars, MERA has seven streetcars and one interurban car in its collection, all in operating condition.

If I remember correctly, one reason the Scranton Electromobile is in such bad shape is that was "stored" in a scrap yard near Lewisburg for many years before making it to Orbisonia. It would be great if the car could be restored to "visit" Scranton, since the new electric museum at Steamtown only has one wooden body of local origin. Otherwise, LVT 801 is as close as they get to "local." Ahhh, to dream...

The Carrol Park & Western equipment would make a good conversation. If I remember this right, the Climax is back in CA. The coaches and mine lokie are in Bayville, NJ off Route 9.

So now for the dream, I have a feeling that when we find that barn outside Scranton with the DL&W 4-6-4 inside, there will be a few Laurel Line cars, a Laurel Line frieght motor and one of the Northern Electric's coal hopper motors. At least, that's how the dream goes...


Inlinebob@aol.com

> The Carrol Park & Western equipment
> would make a good conversation. If I
> remember this right, the Climax is back in
> CA. The coaches and mine lokie are in
> Bayville, NJ off Route 9.

The Carrol Park & Western equipment that was at Bayville, NJ was given to the NJ Museum of Transportation / Pine Creek Railroad and has been moved to the museum's site at Allaire State Park. Included is ex-Jeddo-Highlands Coal Co. 48-inch gauge Vulcan 0-4-0 117, a combine, a coach, and another car frame. The combine is the subject of a fund raising drive for rebuilding into a handicap accessible passenger car for use on Pine Creek's trains. Due to the "coal mine gauge", the 0-4-0 will be a static display, but the passenger cars will be riding on EBT hopper car trucks.

Regards,
Jim Robinson

The Climax went to the Roaring Camp & Big Trees, a three-foot gauge tourist line, near Santa Cruz. The plan was for it to be converted from 48" gauge to 36" gauge. It seems that RC&BT is moving forward with the project after many years.

One problem along the way is that the boiler was sent off for work and -- for what ever reasons -- never returned. Another Climax boiler is reported to have been obtained and will be used.

Brian Norden

bnorden@gateway.net