Just found this 1959 photo showing a Johnstown, PA trolley in its last days and the vehicle that killed it. I've asked this before, but what is left from Johnstown's trolley system? I know several cars survive operable, but what about carbarns, buried tracks in the streets, etc.. Wasn't there a proposal to return a trolley operation to Johnstown?

http://abpr2.railfan.net/cgi-bin/thumb/abprphoto.cgi?/railpix/ABPR/february02/02-19-02/JTC311on9-19-59TW.jpg
bobyar2001@yahoo.com

Here's a better one. What's left at this location?

> Just found this 1959 photo showing a
> Johnstown, PA trolley in its last days and
> the vehicle that killed it. I've asked this
> before, but what is left from Johnstown's
> trolley system? I know several cars survive
> operable, but what about carbarns, buried
> tracks in the streets, etc.. Wasn't there a
> proposal to return a trolley operation to
> Johnstown?


http://abpr2.railfan.net/cgi-bin/thumb/abprphoto.cgi?/railpix/ABPR/february02/02-20-02/JTC413atMoxhamCarhouse3-14-59TW.jpg
bobyar2001@yahoo.com

Not an answer to your question, but a mildly interesting tidbit of information. Johnstown Traction 311, shown in the photo, is still around. It is at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania (right next to the East Broad Top). The car is operational, and actually looks quite a bit better than it does in this photo!

Frank Hicks

Rockhill Trolley Museum
frank@gats.com

Bob,

I can't help with Johnstown itself, but andrew Youngs Vintage Trolleys book is a great source for finding surviving equipment. As the last small town trolley system, there is a lot of equipment around from it.And the smallest city to run PCCs.
The Market Street Railway here in San Francisco is restoring one of the Johnstown cars.

Ted Miles

ted_miles@NPS.gov

Bob,

The first Johnstown trolley to be preserved was #350, a double end lightweight car built by St. Louis Car Co in 1926. It is preserved and displayed in its original condition at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Washington, PA.

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
ptm@pa-trolley.org

I am aware of the surviving trolleys and appreciate the responses, but still haven't found out about the Johnstown infrastructure itself, nor the plan to return a trolley operation there. Surely someone on the list must have visited Johnstown (I've never been there) and noticed if rails were peeking through the asphalt, or at least heard something about a proposal to bring back a trolley operation.

bobyar2001@yahoo.com

I don't live in Johnstown so I can not answer where the picture of 311 is located. As Frank Hicks mentioned in his post, # 311 is at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill Furnace. We acquired the car in October of 1960 and began operating the car in the summer of 1962. It has been in operation at our museum longer than it had operated in Johnstown. We also have JTC 355 at our museum and recieved a $150,000 TEA-21 grant for the car. The car is under restoration.

Our museum recently recieved a phone call from the Cambria County Transit Authority as they had found some old trolley car parts stored in a loft in the old Moxham trolley carbarn, now used as the bus maintenance facility. We acquired many door leaves (many with hinges and some with good wire glass) from the 350 series cars, rattan seats and a few overhead pieces. Amazing these parts were there after 40 years of trolleys being gone from Johnstown.

The Moxham carbarn is still very much like it was when the trolleys were operating. In one bay the overhead trough is still up and the track is still in the floor. There are many other reminders of trolleys in Johnstown. The buildings were recently brickpointed and they are in very good condition. In the offices, there are photographs of trolleys in Johnstown and a mural of a PCC car with an actual Pepsi bottlecap on it. They even have an old K-35 controller on display. They also have an old bus painted in JTC colors and I understand it is operational.

There are many Johnstown trolleys preserved. Here is a list from memory.

311 - Rockhill Trolley Museum
350 - Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
351 - San Francisco
352 - National Capital Trolley Museum
355 - Rockhill Trolley Museum
356 - Shoreline Trolley Museum
357 - Shoreline Trolley Museum
362 - Fox River Trolley Museum
The Brick - Shore Line Trolley Museum.

The Brick was a four wheeled flatcar with only a controller and hand brakes. I think Shoreline was in the process of rebuilding it sigificantly last I heard.

Joel Salomon


http://www.rockhilltrolley.org
jdstrolley@enter.net

> 311 - Rockhill Trolley Museum
> 350 - Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
> 351 - San Francisco
> 352 - National Capital Trolley Museum
> 355 - Rockhill Trolley Museum
> 356 - Shoreline Trolley Museum
> 357 - Shoreline Trolley Museum
> 362 - Fox River Trolley Museum
> The Brick - Shore Line Trolley Museum.

There's also 358, which was rebuilt by a tourist line with some sort of gas engine and is now at the Trolley Museum of New York in Kingston. They've restored the car, but retained the gas engine until they've strung overhead.

Frank Hicks

frank@gats.com

Ed Metka has a large fleet of PCC cars in Windber, south of Johnstown. He had the Toronto cars which are now operating in Kenosha. He has been trying to establish some sort of trolley operation in Johnstown for several years now. I have no idea of what the current status is.

Unfortunately, all of his cars were sitting outdoors when we visited.

jdstrolley@enter.net

Yes, 358 is alive and kicking. Click the attached link to see pictures.

358
n2xjk@yahoo.com