From the Police beat of the Observer-Reporter
Car, trolley collide: Donna Alrutz of Washington was treated and released from Washington Hospital Sunday morning following an accident involving a car and a trolley on North Main Street Extension shortly before 11 a.m. According to township police, Alrutz was a passenger in a car driven by Nicholas Robert Davidson of Malone Ridge Road, Canton Township. Police said Davidson was traveling south when he collided with trolley car 832 driven by Gordon R. Green of McDonald. Green was driving the trolley east, back to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, following an inspection run. There were no passengers on the trolley. Davidson told police he did not see the warning lights or hear the warning bells. Green told police he blew the trolley's horn, and three witnesses verified that he did so. Police said the warning lights appeared to have been working. There was heavy front-end damage to Davidson's car and minor damage to the trolley car.



I certainly hope that the damage is indeed minor and glad to hear that no one was seriously injured.

An earlier automotive attack on that same car at the same crossing resulted in the trolley being pushed off the track into one of the crossing signals.

A number of years ago we had a woman make a left turn infront of our streetcar here in Fort Collins. We took the front end off a new Volvo. She got a ticket for failure to yeild and DWI. Since she had no insurance she sued us claiming that we were negilgent in not installing a proper steering wheel when we restored the car that would allow us to swerve and avoid hitting her to recover damages. When her lawer discovered that it was not one of those rubber tired trolleys that hit her he dropped the case like a hot rock.

This is something that is a continuing problem at many museums with crossings at grade. We have been fairly lucky that we have had no car vs. trolley accidents at any of our grade crossings since I have been a member, however, we have had many instances with automobiles smashing through crossing gates. One such instance involved a tractor trailer truck hitting the gate. While we were temporarily repairing that gate, a car came from the other direction and took out the other gate. People travel much too fast approaching Railroad Crossings which result in accidents. They are putting themselves in extreme danger. Also, we have had many instances of people 'running around the gates' because they feel that it takes too long for a car to approach the crossing or because they do not expect a double section.

We have 17 public grade crossings on our trolley line in Fort Collins which is why we are non insular with the FRA. Considering that we have had only 2 close encounters of the first kind with no injuries and none our fault in 24 years of operation and the fact that the intersectiion of Shields Street and Mountain Avenue is one of the most dangerous in Fort Collins we have a very good safety record.

I was able to examine car NOPSI 832 yesterday. Damage is confined to the steps, their mechanism, and the lower edges of the doors. The platform knee behind the steps may have been deformed. The auto and its occupants came off considerably worse in the encounter. Given the current work load in the PTM restoration and repair shop, 832 is likely to be out of service for some weeks. The cost will be passed on to the vehicle driver's insurance carrier.

Dave, you guys have a great operation out there. I stumbled across it back in the early '80s when crossing the tracks to get to Hankins Air Dryer Company behind you. I finished my sales call and one of your people who was eating his lunch stopped and took me out for a ride. Back then you had about 1/4 mile of track that went one way then he dropped the pole and raised the other end pole and went back. Short but very cool! You had just taken delivery of a trash car from Septa. I actually joined as a member but then the company I was working for took the Pittsburgh territory away from me so I never got back out there again.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Old Pueblo Trolley has had several auto versus trolley collisions over the years. Unlike most other trolley museums, we operate entirely in the shared public right of way and have a greatly increased risk of such incidents. The configuration of the streets, on street parking, large number of unfamiliar drivers (near the University of Arizona) and bars all contribute to the increased risk.

As an operator, I have been involved in two such collisions. One involved a student backing a brand new car into a back in parking space. He swung into my lane right in front of me-he got a citation from the University of Arizona Police Department for an illegal turn. The other collision involved a loaded taxi that attempted to make an illegal u turn in front of the car. He was cited by the Tucson Police for the illegal turn.