67-618: The Charlotte Trolley was a heritage streetcar that operated in Charlotte in the U.S. state of North Carolina . The line ran along the former Norfolk Southern right of way between Tremont Avenue in the Historic South End in a northerly direction to its terminus at 9th Street Uptown . It ran on tracks mostly shared with the Lynx Blue Line . The Charlotte Trolley represented the return of streetcar service to
134-411: A Huntersville resident, who moved it into her backyard and converted it into a mobile home to house relatives. The car was subsequently occupied by various renters. Its last occupant, construction worker Clay Thompson, lived in the former Car 85 from approximately 1972 to late 1987, when the town of Huntersville condemned the makeshift residence as it lacked indoor plumbing. Though Moore had intended to use
201-463: A few vintage trams, buses and trolleybuses. Trams are in service on certain summer weekends. Otherwise, they are operated less regularly, mostly on certain occasions. For about a one-month period near Christmas, each city operates light trams (trams that are decorated with LED strips and/or Christmas decoration). These trams operate on various lines around the cities in the late afternoons, evenings, and can be used by normal (seasonal) tickets usually. At
268-565: A group of volunteers (some retirees) where some of them were hired by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) which has operated the Trolley since that time. At that time, CATS purchased three replica trolleys similar to number 85, an original Charlotte car dating from the 1920s. Service was temporarily halted on February 5, 2006, when construction began to convert the route into a light rail line. Initially service
335-820: A heritage tramway because of its continued use of vintage or, since 2015, faux-vintage tramcars. A heritage tramway was opened in Iquique in 2004. A heritage tramway was opened in Lima in 1997. The first heritage tramway in Latin America opened in Montevideo in 1967, using a restored vintage tram on a reopened section of former tram line. It closed in 1974. Heritage trams operate in Changchun , Jilin and Dalian , Liaoning . The Hong Kong Tramways and Peak Tram on Hong Kong Island are considered part of
402-567: A part of the efforts to preserve rail transit heritage. In addition to preserving street-running rail vehicles, heritage streetcar operations can include upkeep of historic rail infrastructure. Working heritage streetcars are closely related to the growing global heritage railway movement and form a part of the living history of rail transport. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in
469-888: A part on the once SNCB line 109 after regauging to 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) metre gauge . In Sofia there are operating heritage trams. In Prague the Prague Integrated Transport operates Historical Tram Line No. 41 at weekends using historical tram vehicles and a week-long operating Nostalgic Tram Line No. 23 using old PCC based ČKD Tatra T3 tram vehicles. Historical trams are also seasonally operated in Brno . In Tallinn there are renovated retrotrams in public use since 2017. In Helsinki , Oy Stadin Ratikat Ab offers charter tramrides with vintage cars and in summer months operates an in-street heritage tram line on
536-884: A proposal for a heritage tram in colonial San Telmo is under discussion. Buenos Aires also hosts the La Brugeoise cars , the Buenos Aires Metro ( Subte ) Line A rolling stock , since its inauguration in 1913. They were built by Belgian railway rolling stock manufacturer La Brugeoise, et Nicaise, et Delcuve between 1911 and 1919 for the Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company's ( Compañía de Tranvías Anglo-Argentina , CTAA in Spanish) first metro line. They were originally designed to run both as metro and tramway cars, but they were refurbished in 1927 for underground use only. They are
603-452: A system in Lowell, Massachusetts . In San Francisco , parts of the cable car and Muni streetcar system (specifically the above-mentioned F Market & Wharves line) are heritage lines, although they are also functioning parts of the city's transit system. The cable cars are a National Historic Landmark and are rare examples of vehicles with this distinction. Located east of San Francisco
670-521: Is also one vintage tram line - Tram Line 1956 - operating yearly in late October as a memorial for the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , it can be used with normal (seasonal) tickets. In Debrecen there are also a few vintage trams. They are operated less regularly, mostly on certain occasions. In Miskolc there are also a few vintage trams and buses. They are operated less regularly, mostly on certain occasions. In Szeged there are also
737-483: Is being extended, and additional trams have been added. Belém : A heritage tramway was opened in the city of Belém in 2005. Campinas : A heritage tramway has been in operation at Campinas's Parque Portugal since 1972. Rio de Janeiro : The Santa Teresa Tramway , which has operated in the Santa Teresa district of Rio de Janeiro since the 19th century, is not primarily a tourist line but can be considered
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#1732801931422804-620: Is one of several museums in the U.S. that restore and operate vintage streetcars and interurbans , the Western Railway Museum . The Fort Collins Municipal Railway operates Birney Safety Cars on a restored track that runs from City Park to Old Town in Fort Collins , Colorado. In Buenos Aires , a heritage tram line was inaugurated In 1980 in the Caballito neighbourhood on existing vintage street tracks. Presently
871-453: Is operating in Styria between the railway station of Mariazell and the nearby Erlaufsee, mainly with Ex-Vienna streetcars. This line was recently electrified on longer sections and also extended towards the city center. In Innsbruck the city's trams are collected and renovated – together with other Tyrolean railway vehicles – by the association Tiroler MuseumsBahnen which has its museum in
938-677: The Blue or Orange Lines) or a modern light rail line (like the Green Line ). It is also unique in that it used almost exclusively by commuters and is not particularly popular with tourists (and thus may not really be a true heritage system, despite the historic rolling stock). Dallas has the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority . Denver has the Platte Valley Trolley , a heritage line recalling
1005-990: The Christchurch tramway . Invercargill No.16 was recently rediscovered and recovered to the Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill and is being restored for static display. In the United States, the Gomaco Trolley Company has built at least 18 replica Birney cars, in the style of the less-common double-truck Birney car design, since 1999. Gomaco fitted these with trucks from ex- Milan , Italy Peter Witt streetcars . These have been supplied to Tampa, Florida ; Charlotte, North Carolina ; Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee . Gomaco also restored an original single-truck Birney car body in 2002–3 for
1072-909: The Helsinki tram network. In France, the Deûle Valley tramway near Lille which runs along a 3 km (1.9 mi) track from Marquette-lez-Lille to Wambrechies features several tram vehicles dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Woltersdorf Tramway located in Woltersdorf, Brandenburg , near Berlin, Germany. Open in 1913 tramway, It is one of the smallest tram operators in Germany, Other heritage Trams in Naumburg also open in 1907 located in Naumburg . Stuttgart classic tram Maschinenfabrik Esslingen GT4 . In Hungary all of
1139-469: The Lynx Blue Line , the Charlotte Trolley ended its daily service. It continued to run on weekends until the service completely ended on June 28, 2010. However, Charlotte Trolley still maintains a trolley museum just outside East/West Boulevard station . The line operated three replica streetcars, numbered 91, 92 and 93. They were delivered to Charlotte Trolley from Gomaco Trolley Company in
1206-632: The Melbourne Electric Supply Company (Geelong) purchased two. The two Birneys in Geelong were unusual, having been built with longitudinal seating. These and the four Adelaide cars were transferred to Bendigo in 1947, where four of them remained in revenue service until 1972. One each of the Geelong and Adelaide cars is operational on the Bendigo Tramways heritage line; the three other Adelaide cars are held by
1273-735: The Tramway Museum, St Kilda , South Australia, with one in regular service. A number of Birney cars remain in use today in North America at trolley museums and heritage streetcar operations. Single examples of original Birney cars are in service on heritage streetcar lines in Tampa, Florida ; Fort Collins, Colorado ; San Jose, California , and Fort Smith, Arkansas , as well as on the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority line in Dallas , Texas . Three of these cars, Fort Collins car 21 , Fort Collins car 22 , and Fort Smith car 224 , are listed on
1340-716: The city of Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada, bought up Birneys secondhand from other systems (including 22 acquired from the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) and five from Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway ) across North America to build an "all-Birney fleet" and keep its streetcar system going in the difficult years of the Great Depression and World War II , finally retiring its last car in 1949. The Toronto Civic Railways operated 25 Birney cars in Toronto from 1920 to 1921 when
1407-471: The heritage of Hong Kong. The Nagasaki Electric Tramway and Hiroshima Electric Railway both regularly operate vintage trams alongside modern rolling stock. Additionally, the Hakodate City Tram operates vintage trams for use on tourist runs during the summer. Birney Safety Car A Birney or Birney Safety Car is a type of streetcar that was manufactured in the United States in
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#17328019314221474-552: The slogan "A Car in Sight at all Times". This latter attraction was one of the street railway industry's first attempts to deal directly with automobile competition. The Birney Car also introduced the use of pneumatically balanced and interlocked doors. If a door was stuck open, or a passenger or other object blocked the door, the motors could not be started. The controls on the Birney Car also included an early application of
1541-558: The " deadman control ". This device removed power from the car's motors and applied the air brakes if the controller handle was released for any reason, causing the car to come to an abrupt stop. A longer, double- truck version of the Birney car was developed in the 1920s, incorporating its most successful features. The first of these were ordered in 1918 by the Cape Breton Electric Company , which later cancelled
1608-462: The "Birney" car. The vehicle was a return to single-truck (single- bogie ) streetcars. Birneys were small and light, about a third the weight of conventional cars of the period; were of rugged, standardized construction; mass-produced and inexpensively built. Twin motors gave them nimble acceleration. Birney cars averaged about 28 feet (8.5 m) in length and typically had seating for about 32 passengers. The largest producer of Birney Safety Cars
1675-508: The 1910s and 1920s. The design was small and light and was intended to be an economical means of providing frequent service at a lower infrastructure and labor cost than conventional streetcars. Production of Birney cars lasted from 1915 until 1930, and more than 6,000 of the original, single- truck version were built. Several different manufacturers built Birney cars. The design was "the first mass-produced standard streetcar (albeit with minor variations)" in North America. The Birney car
1742-702: The Adelaide Tramway Museum, St Kilda , and one Melbourne X class housed at the Hawthorn tram depot in Melbourne . Thus, Australia has a high proportion of the world's surviving, operable Birney cars. In New Zealand, New Plymouth Birney No. 8 is preserved by Wanganui Tramways , and Invercargill Birney car No. 15, restored by the Tramway Historical Society at Ferrymead Heritage Park , Christchurch , operates on
1809-517: The Asian side. The former opened in 1990 between Tünel (funicular station) and Taksim metro station , and the latter in 2003 in the suburb of Kadıköy . A heritage tram line opened in 2003 in the city of Antalya serving the Antalya Museum , the historic city centre, Hadrian's Gate , and ending at the eastern end of Işıklar Road. Another one opened in 2011 in the city of Bursa . In
1876-638: The Charlotte streetcars and a period trolley bell were located and donated to the project. By the end of 1989, the streetcar had been moved to a former city bus barn, where restoration continued. Motors, trucks, wheels and electrics were sourced from retired streetcars in Melbourne, Australia. Initially named "Trolley Car No. 2" but unofficially called "Car 85", the streetcar was conclusively identified as Car 85 when surviving interior identifying numbers were revealed during restoration work in 1990. Its restoration
1943-652: The CityLynx Gold Line, it was loaned to the N.C. Transportation Museum and displayed there for four years. In June 2018, Lakewood Trolley, a Charlotte nonprofit, secured a 10-year lease for the future use of Car 85 on a former trolley line located along the Stewart Creek Greenway west of uptown Charlotte. Car 85 returned to Charlotte in July 2018. Work to restore the trolley line and develop the necessary infrastructure remains ongoing. Asheville 117
2010-591: The TTC took over the TCR and continued operating the cars until 1940 (remaining 14 cars were sold to Halifax excluding 3 sold to Cornwall in 1926 and 8 to Halifax in 1927). Although the vast majority of the cars built were sold to streetcar operators in North America (including in Mexico and Cuba), a small number went to much more distant places, such as Australia and New Zealand. In the latter, Birney cars were imported for use by
2077-502: The Texas Interurban operated three unusual Birney-based double-truck express cars without passenger seats or windows– the only cars of this type ever built. Thousands of the cars were purchased from their inception to a few years after the end of the war. Production peaked in 1920, with 1,699 cars built in that year alone, but then declined rapidly and ended in 1930. Birney cars began to fall from favor in part because of
Charlotte Trolley - Misplaced Pages Continue
2144-457: The Tibidabo tramway, has been in operation since 1904 but still uses trams built in 1904–15, and thus has become a heritage line. Similarly, the tramway connecting Sóller with Puerto de Sóller , on the island of Mallorca , is operated with vintage trams and has been open since 1913. Therefore, it is a heritage line. In Malmö , a technical museum operates an in-street heritage tram line in
2211-586: The U.S. National Register of Historic Places . In Canada, the Nelson Electric Tramway (in Nelson, B.C. ) has one fully restored Birney car. Additionally, replica Birney cars built by Gomaco are in service in at least four U.S. cities (see below). In Australia, seven of the eight Birney cars imported there have survived in operating condition: five are at Bendigo Tramways including the two ex-Geelong cars and three from Adelaide, one G type at
2278-796: The United Kingdom the majority of tram lines were lifted before the heritage movement began to flourish, and tracks and trams scrapped. Although trams are returning to British cities, they are modern transportation systems (also known as light rail ), not heritage operations. There are, however, three notable heritage tram operations in the UK and Crown dependencies. (There is also a modern " Heritage Tramway " [1] in Birkenhead , Merseyside .) The San Francisco Municipal Railway , or Muni, runs exclusively historic trolleys on its heavily used F Market & Wharves line. The line serves Market Street and
2345-735: The United States, with trolley being preferred in the eastern US and streetcar in Canada and the western US. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses , the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as " trolley-replica buses ". Museums, heritage tram line operators, and amateur enthusiasts can preserve original vintage vehicles or create replicas of historic vehicles to re-create or preserve streetcar technology of
2412-490: The city of Charlotte since the closure of its original network on March 14, 1938, which had been in operation since May 18, 1891. The return of the trolley came on August 30, 1996, running in the evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons for an initial six-month trial period. The trial period occurred on a 1.8-mile rail line between the Atherton Mill trolley barn and Stonewall Street. Through
2479-515: The city – and other in Antwerp . The 70-kilometre long (43 mi) Kusttram (the coastal line between Knokke and De Panne via Ostend ) features also some vehicles of the once extensive interurban network stored in the depot of De Panne and Knokke operated by TTO. ASVi run a museum in Thuin and an 8 km (5 mi) line with electric and diesel cars on a part of the once SNCV line 92 and on
2546-499: The coaches had already been preserved for touristic purposes, and now the rest of the fleet is under careful restoration and is intended to render service on weekends and holidays. Santos : After briefly operating a short heritage line along Embaré Beach in the mid-1980s, the city of Santos in 2000 opened a new heritage tramway in the historic Valongo district, using a car built in 1911 with a peculiar rail gauge of 1,350 mm ( 4 ft 5 + 5 ⁄ 32 in ). The line
2613-692: The fall of 2004. Beginning in July 2015, these units were then used to operate Phase 1 of the CityLynx Gold Line between Charlotte Transportation Center and Hawthorne & 5th station , and were withdrawn in June 2019 when Gold Line service was suspended to allow for completion of Phase 2. They were sold in late 2020 to the Memphis Area Transit Authority , for eventual use on the MATA Trolley system. Trolley No. 1
2680-549: The features that had originally made them attractive. Their light weight could be a problem in snow that a heavier car could easily plow through. Their short length made their ride quality comparatively poor, and on poorly maintained track they derailed easily. The public began to deride them as flimsy. Their limited passenger capacity rendered them unsuitable for busy routes and rush hour service, causing them to be relegated to minor lines or to be sold mostly to small-town streetcar systems. The streetcar companies also found that
2747-501: The former Vasileostrovsky tram depot , which closed in the 1990s after the city's extensive tram network was cut down due to increasing automobile traffic, was converted into the Museum of Electrical Transport . Apart from excursions to itself, the museum organizes museum fleet rides along downtown tracks (including some now otherwise unused for regular tram service) on a number of public festivals and some summer weekends. A heritage tram of
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2814-832: The former streetcar as a storage shed, she sold it to the Emergency Properties Fund of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission for $ 1,000 on April 12, 1988. Following the streetcar's discovery, the Charlotte Historic Landmarks Commission led the charge in its restoration. On May 6, 1988, the streetcar was returned by road to Charlotte and stored behind the Discovery Place Museum for preservation and restoration. Original drivers' stools from
2881-573: The former's fleet being made up entirely of Birney cars – 61 of them – of both single- and double-truck configuration. In 1930, the Curitiba , Brazil, tramway system bought 20 second-hand Birney cars from Boston and these cars were converted to metre gauge. In Australia the Municipal Tramways Trust , Adelaide purchased four as its Type G tram; the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board purchased two as its X class ; and
2948-778: The four tram systems ( Budapest , Debrecen , Miskolc , Szeged ) have operating heritage trams. In Budapest heritage trams first operated in 1987. Its fleet contains quite a few vehicles (trams, buses, trolleybuses, even metrocars) from the late 19th century until recent years and there are many more waiting to be repaired. Heritage services are mainly operated from April/May to September/October on weekends. There are both heritage and retro lines. The retro lines can be used with normal (seasonal) tickets, however, on heritage lines other, heritage (seasonal) tickets are needed. In 2019 there are two heritage tram lines. one retro tram line, one heritage bus line and one retro bus line operated regularly. Occasionally there are other lines in operation. There
3015-527: The initial six months of operation ending on February 28, 1997, the trolley saw a ridership of 25,000. As a result of the success of the trial run of the trolley, Norfolk Southern awarded the trolley a one-year extension of the agreement to use its track. After a new bridge was completed over Stonewall Street, 7-days-a-week service commenced between Atherton Mill in the South End and 9th Street Uptown on June 28, 2004. Operations prior to that date were run by
3082-539: The nearby metropolis of Milan , the continued, extensive use of the "Series 1500 tram" is an example of a heritage tramway which blends into everyday urban life to the extent that it is not regarded as one. In Bergen the Bergens Elektriske Sporvei has operated a short heritage tramway since 1993. In Oslo the Tramway Museum operates veteran trams on the tram network of Oslo on the first Sunday of every month. Heritage trams provide all of
3149-707: The old station of the Stubaitalbahn . In Amsterdam the Electrisch Museumtramlijn operates historic trams over a 7 km (4.3 mi) length of former railway line. The tram networks of The Hague and Rotterdam have also their tram museums. The association Tramweg Stichting maintains and operates in every three cities its own vehicles, partly as collection of these museums. In Belgium there are three tram museums, one in Brussels – organizing several weekend rides to Tervueren and around
3216-437: The oldest metro rolling stock in commercial service in the world as well as a tourist attraction and part of Buenos Aires cultural heritage. The A line also contains a vintage station, Perú . They have been in continuous use for a whole century from 1913 to January 2013 when they were replaced by new coaches, with an average of about 300,000 daily passengers, up from the 170,000 who traveled on them on their first day. Some of
3283-468: The open-sided streetcars of the early 20th century. The VTA in San Jose, California , also maintains a heritage trolley fleet for occasional use on the downtown portion of a new light rail system opened in 1988. Other cities with heritage streetcar lines include Galveston, Texas ; Kenosha, Wisconsin ; and San Pedro, California (home of the port of Los Angeles ). The National Park Service operates
3350-482: The opening of the Blue Line in 2007. Car 85 was subsequently sold, stripped of its motors and seats, and sold to the N.C. Air National Guard, which used it for office space at the Charlotte airport. In 1939-1940, it was again sold and converted into a diner/concession stand at Caldwell Station, N.C., being used in this role until the early 1950s. Around late 1951, it was purchased for $ 125-150 by Daisy Mae Trapp Moore,
3417-591: The order. The two cars – the only double-truck center-entrance Birney cars to be built – were eventually delivered to the Waterbury and Milldale Tramway in 1921. Double-truck Birney cars were sold to a number of systems, including that of Tampa, Florida , and to the Texas Interurban Railway , which used them exclusively. In addition to 11 double-truck passenger cars, which featured deluxe interior appointments and toilets for interurban service,
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#17328019314223484-405: The past. Heritage vehicles that are kept fully functional can be used on heritage tramlines or for charter traffic. The Remise Museum in Vienna, opened in 2014, covers the history of public transport in the city of Vienna and offers an extensive tram collection to visitors. The Styrian municipality centre Graz has a tram museum since 1971 located in the depot of Mariatrost. Another heritage tram
3551-451: The provincial centres of New Plymouth in the North Island and Invercargill in the South Island, reputedly the world's most southerly tramway system. Cities in South America whose streetcar companies purchased Birney cars included Concordia and Paraná , in Argentina, while Guayaquil in Ecuador obtained Birneys secondhand from Trenton, New Jersey . The Colombian cities of Medellín and Pereira both were served by Birney streetcars,
3618-544: The safety features of the Birney, such as the use of interlocked doors to prevent the car from starting if a door was open or a passenger was stuck, could be incorporated in larger cars and that the public was not as disturbed by the absence of the conductor as the companies had feared. Its initial rise and fall notwithstanding, the Birney car was useful and durable, and many were shipped to streetcar systems in other countries, especially ones located in smaller cities and towns, where they served for additional decades. For example,
3685-429: The same time each of these cities, except Miskolc, light trolleybuses are operated in the same way as trams. Turin operates the historical route 7, a double way circular route around the town centre. Turin is the first town in Italy with tramway lines powered by historical streetcars. The inauguration of the heritage tramway line was during the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of national unity, in March 2011. In
3752-495: The service on some of the Lisbon tramway network in Portugal , and in Porto a long-closed section of tramway in the historic Batalha section of the town center was reopened in 2007 for use by historic trams. There are now three such heritage routes in Porto, as well as a tram museum . In Sintra , there is a seasonally operated heritage tramway. STB in Bucharest maintains an extensive fleet of heritage trams on its tram system . In Saint Petersburg on Vasilyevsky Island
3819-414: The summer months. In Stockholm , a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) section of former route 7 was reopened in 1991 as a heritage tramway , using vintage cars. There is another tram museum in Malmköping. Museispårvägen Malmköping runs along a short stretch of the former m|s|j between Malmköping and Hosjö. Two separate heritage tramways operate in Istanbul ; T2 on the European side of the Bosporus and T3 on
3886-404: The tourist areas along the Embarcadero, including Fisherman's Wharf . Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority runs exclusively PCC streetcars on its Mattapan Line , part of that authority's Red Line . The historic rolling stock is retained because doing so cost less than would a full rebuild of the line to accommodate either a heavy rail line (like the rest of the Red Line or
3953-479: The type that used to run from the inner city nearly to the nearby front line during the World War II siege of the city is installed as a war and tram memorial, not far from Avtovo metro station. A modern replica of a late-19th-century horsecar stands in front of Vasileostrovskaya metro station. In Spain, a new heritage tramway was opened in A Coruña (La Coruña) in 1997. However, since 2011 it has been out of order. Tramvia Blau in Barcelona , also known as
4020-469: Was completed in 1991 at a cost of just over $ 100,000. That year, when car 85 was reintroduced to service, passengers on its first official, public run included a number of Collie's descendants: son Charles Reid Collie, Sr. and wife Louise Briggs Collie, and grandsons John Wayne Collie, Thomas Alexander Collie, and Roy Alan Collie (born after the death of his grandfather, Collie, Sr.) Returning to service in 1996, number 85 served riders through 2006 when service
4087-401: Was driving car 85 for its final run in 1938. In his personal diary, Collie Sr. wrote of the car's final run into the barn. Directing his son, Collie, Jr. to "move over," he took the controls of number 85 for its final run. After retirement it was sold for $ 100, along with all the remaining cars. Following the system closure, Charlotte would rely solely on bus transit to serve its citizens until
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#17328019314224154-406: Was manufactured in 1927 by J.G. Brill and is commonly known as a Birney Safety Car . In the fall of that year, the Carolina Power & Light Company purchased ten of these cars to operate in Asheville, North Carolina . It currently awaits restoration at the Charlotte Trolley Car Barn. Other transit in the United States: Heritage streetcar Heritage streetcars or heritage trams are
4221-416: Was originally built in Philadelphia by J.G. Brill in 1907 for Athens, Greece . The trolley's restoration was complete in 1989 by trolley restorer Bruce Thain of Guilford, Connecticut . Car 85, built in 1927, was the last electric streetcar to run in Charlotte on March 14, 1938. Alexander Garfield Collie, Sr. supervised the drivers when the streetcars were retired. His son, Alexander Garfield Collie, Jr.
4288-518: Was temporally halted. In March 2007, it was announced that due to safety concerns, it would not be used as part of the historic trolley network after its reopening in 2007. Charlotte Trolley, Inc., which owns the car, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2008 with the City of Charlotte to allow special excursions for it up to twice per year. Car 85 was housed in CATS' light rail maintenance facility on South Blvd until 2014, when in order to make room for three replica trolleys intended for use on
4355-471: Was the American Car Company , a subsidiary of the J. G. Brill Company , but several other companies also manufactured Birneys (e.g. Ottawa Car Company ). The Birney was designed to operate with only a motorman , saving the cost of the conductor . The advent of World War I made single-person operation additionally attractive as it addressed the wartime labor shortage. When labor was available, Birneys could be operated at more frequent intervals, prompting
4422-442: Was the joint 1915 invention of Charles Birney and Joseph Bosenbury (who was issued the patents in 1917 and 1919, and assigned half to Birney; see Brill page 140). Birney was an engineer with the firm of Stone & Webster , an operator of a number of trolley systems in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. The design was named the "Safety Car", and became known as the "Birney Safety Car" and ultimately simply as
4489-399: Was to only be halted for a year, with the trolley running approximately a year before light rail service commenced. However, by November 2006 CATS determined it would be unfeasible to run the trolley service with the corridor still under construction. Service resumed on April 20, 2008, with the vintage trolley cars running on the same tracks as the LYNX light rail vehicles. With the opening of
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