The heritage trolley operation at Issaquah made progress in 2012 by taking delivery of rebuilt car 519 from Gomaco. The car was regauged from Lisbon narrow gauge (900mm or 35-7/16") to standard and reconditioned. A schedule for 2013 has been announced.

Restoration process:
http://www.railwaypreservation.com/vintagetrolley/issaquah.htm
Official Website:
http://www.issaquahhistory.org/issaquah-valley-trolley
More about narrow gauge traction, trams and trolleys:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ng-traction

Looking at the IVT's website, it mentions that they have to other cars, a sister to the #519, and another mentioned as a steel interurban from Milan, Italy, #96.

Just out of curiosity I was wondering what the car looked like/is. I can't seem to find any pictures of it other than the ones of 519 where 96 is under a tarp out of focus.

I just noticed today (1/22/13) on the Seattle-area Craigslist that Milan car #96 in Issaquah is for sale.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/atq/3563962221.html

Hi

I do not believe that the re gauged Lisbon car has it's original (re-gauged) truck, but the city of Issaquah did what they had money for. Hopefully the original truck was kept. After all these years they can make their dream come true. It looked like (when I was there many years ago) a very promising line.

The # 96 was a great car, to big for city street running in San Francisco, but i hope it goes to a good home. The car had these great automatic acceleration controllers with this odd (to me) pendulum that would advance the controller drum depending on the load, even with the handle "on the brass" (so to speak). To bad they didn't have the money to restore that car. Neat stuff.

Cheers--Karl Johnson

Karl,

That's interesting about pendulum-controlled automatic acceleration. The experimental pre-PCC car at IRM built in 1934 by Pullman used a similar method for controlling the rate of dynamic braking, i.e. a mechanical pendulum activating electrical contacts. Unfortunately the actual gadget itself hasn't survived. I wonder whether this kind of device was more common in Europe than here?

Sorry to see them getting rid of this car!

That said, if they have no hope to ever restore it, that makes sense. But I have to wonder if they couldn't find some place better to offer it that on Craigslist?!?!

As an engineer and a controls freak (not to be confused with "control freak"), I am intrigued. I am thinking now this car is unusual enough that it really needs to find a good home at a museum. The ad claims the car was designed by American, Peter Witt. If that is true then it does have a connection to American history, and thus might fit with the mission of some museum here in the US. Let's hope.

I have no way of knowing why whoever placed the ad for Milan interurban called it a Peter Witt car; the only reason I can think of is that the Milano trams in San Francisco are of a Peter Witt configuration. It's a center entrance interurban, like preserved Illinois Terminal cars 101 and 104. One could also mention Pacific Electric 170 class streetcars (a.k.a. "Submarines"). Peter Witt cars have doors at the front and center. One could even call the typical PCC a variation on the Peter Witt concept. Pacific Electric "Hollywood" cars have been called a "modified Peter Witt design", since they are double ended and only have single doors at the ends. Getting back to Milan 96, one disadvantage of a car like this is that it is by design a two-person car, although in a museum setting it might be feasible to run it with just a driver, as long as there were some way of making sure the doors could not be opened while the car was in motion.

Update on that Milan interurban, as some may have noticed in the Classifieds section.
It sold on Ebay Feb 26.
The price:
$51.00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unique-Historic-Antique-Electric-Trolley-Milan-Interurban-Car-96-/111015129002?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d9046faa

I was watching it here in NJ and thought of putting in a bid of $100 to satisfy my fantasy of owning it. I'm glad I didn't participate because it went for $51. Yeah. I know how Ebay works and that my bid may not have been the highest. But there would be no way I could have gotten it home. I'm guessing it would cost 50 K to get it across country.

So who got it?

Charles

The original listing said the opening bid was supposed to be $20k. Not sure that they actually sold it. I think they were trying to avoid a higher listing fee.

I received an email back from the Issaquah group just the other day, as I am interested in becoming a motorman there. I was told that they're still trying to sell the Milan car.