Joplin, MO/Trolley car turned coffee shop

Sloan · **Posted:** Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:41 am

http://www.koamtv.com/story/15698473/tr ... offee-shop

I think this is a fake trolley. It certainly looks like a rubber tired variety.

I find no reference to a Joplin trolley on Frank Hicks' preserved car list. But.....I seem to recall that Andrew Young in New Electric Railway Journal listed a Joplin trolley—gas powered—that ran in Joplin in much the same way as the Rockford(IL) Park District car runs.

Sloan

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Sat Oct 15, 2011 3:22 pm

Sloan wrote:

I find no reference to a Joplin trolley on Frank Hicks' preserved car list. But.....I seem to recall that Andrew Young in New Electric Railway Journal listed a Joplin trolley—gas powered—that ran in Joplin in much the same way as the Rockford(IL) Park District car runs.

The car you mention is a real trolley, from the old Southwest Missouri Electric Railway, an interurban line that ran in the region. The car is preserved in neighboring Webb City, MO

The listing on the PNAERC site is here:

http://www.bera.org/cgi-bin/pnaerc-query.pl?sel_curown=Southwest+Missouri+Electric+Railway&match_target=&Tech=Yes&pagelen=200

The group that operates the trolley, also called the Southwet Missouri Electric Railway. They used to have a site, but I can't seem to find it.

From what I remember, the carbody itself is in very nice shape. It sits on appropriate Brill trucks, but uses a Corvair engine for power.

Bob Davis · **Joined:** Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:25 am **Posts:** 1025

Interesting that the Webb City car uses a Corvair engine; there's a former Los Angeles Ry. single-truck streetcar in Poway, Calif. with a Corvair "mill" that was installed by a movie company for use in a "period" street scene. The LA Ry cars ran on 42-inch gauge tracks, and so did the steam locomotive that the Poway group acquired, so it worked out well for them.

1702 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 15, 2011 5:49 pm

The Webb City car operates in King Jack Park there. There are several videos from last year on youtube. http://tinyurl.com/6cqh6z2

Jim Tatum.

Charlie · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:00 am

Weren't the two LARY trolleys at Travel Town also powered with Corvair engines? Seems like Corvair was the engine of choice for old trolleys.

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:32 am

So does that mean these Corvair-powered streetcars are unsafe at any speed?

(Ducks for cover...)

PJS · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:31 am

Quote:

So does that mean these Corvair-powered streetcars are unsafe at any speed?

(Ducks for cover...)

Absolutely, the oil slick on the rails makes stopping difficult!

BTW, weren't Corvair engines air cooled? That could be ther reason they are used so often. Somehow I think a radiator grille on the front of a streetcar would ruin the illusion.

wilkinsd · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:43 pm

PJS wrote:

Quote:

So does that mean these Corvair-powered streetcars are unsafe at any speed?

(Ducks for cover...)

Absolutely, the oil slick on the rails makes stopping difficult!

BTW, weren't Corvair engines air cooled? That could be ther reason they are used so often. Somehow I think a radiator grille on the front of a streetcar would ruin the illusion.

Yes, Corvair engines are air cooled, and designed as a "flat" or boxer profile, which probably makes it easy to mount under the floor.

Some of the Corvair engines could be pretty peppy. Growing up, one of my neighbors put one in a VW bug.

Gary Gray · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:22 pm

If you really wanted to build a "hot rod" trolley, wouldn't it be possible to slip in an early Porsche engine.........:)