According to an e-mail just received, the three vandalized cars were:
Connecticut Company open car No. 840.
Connecticut Company passenger car No. 1326
Centerville, Albia & Southern Freight motor No. 101 (one of the acquisitions from the late Lake Shore Electric museum.)
From the Museum's e-mail.
"Saturday morning, volunteers at the Connecticut Trolley Museum found three trolley cars dating back to 1905 stripped of their copper and brass components. Discovered during a convention of trolley enthusiasts from other trolley museums east of the Mississippi River, damage is estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Thieves were able to peel back a section of the metal siding on the barn to gain access. Once inside, crowbars were used to pry rass pieces off of the ceilings, windows, and exterior of these wooden cars doing extensive damage to the woodwork. Also, wiring was cut and some of the control gear was stripped out of the cars. The three cars that were stripped include car 1326 (the museum’s Birthday Car), car 840 (the last open car to operate in revenue service in the United States), and car 101 (a freight motor that the museum acquired in 2009). Now, all three will require extensive work before they can be returned to operation for museum patrons to enjoy. Parts were missing from a fourth car in the barn that was already partially disassembled.
In addition, the lock was cut on a track tool shed to gain access; however, it does not appear that any track materials were stolen."
Someone mentioned above that the parts can be replicated and the cars restored. Certainly that's true but valuable volunteer time and dollars will have to go to restore the cars simply because of a couple of brain-dead meth heads.
Thanks!
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