Trolley Museum of New York facts for kids
The Trolley Museum of New York is a special place in Kingston, New York. It's a non-profit group that works to save old trolleys and subway cars. You can visit the museum at certain times of the year. But volunteers work all year long to keep these old vehicles safe and sound.
History of the Trolley Museum
The museum started in 1955 in Brooklyn. Its main goal was to save some of the last trolley cars in New York City. For many years, the museum did not have a permanent home. Its growing collection of trolleys and subway cars were stored in different places. These included Staten Island and northern New Jersey.
In the early 1960s, the city removed the last of the overhead wires for trolleys. Before that, the museum sometimes ran a Swedish trolley car in Brooklyn. The museum also held movie nights for its members. These events took place in an old Peter Witt streetcar on St. George, Staten Island.
In 1983, the museum finally found a permanent home. It moved to Kingston, New York. The museum took over the old Rondout shops area. This area was once part of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. The city of Kingston had one rule for the museum. It had to start public operations right away.
At that time, all the museum's vehicles ran on electricity. But the old railroad tracks did not have electricity. So, the museum got a special car called a Doodlebug. This car used to belong to Sperry Rail Service. On July 4, 1983, the museum began offering rides to the public.
At first, only a short section of track was ready. But within two years, the rides were extended to Kingston Point. This longer ride offered beautiful views of the Hudson River. In 2000, the museum started running a trolley from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. This trolley had been restored for nine years.
Today, the museum leases the yard and about 1.5 miles of track. This includes the old main line from Kingston Point. It also has a special track that runs along Ferry Street. This track goes to T. R. Gallo Park. The museum is open on weekends and holidays during its season.
Amazing Collection of Transit Vehicles
The museum has many interesting vehicles in its collection. Here are some of the special ones:
- Brill No. 120: This is a rare car that used to work for Sperry Rail Service. It has recently been fixed up and is now running again.
- Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation No. 1000: This is a very special PCC streetcar. It was the only one built by Clark Equipment. It's also the only PCC car with an aluminum body. Since 2013, it has been on the New York State list of Historic Places.
- Hamburg No. 3584: This is one of only two V6E class trams from Hamburg, Germany, in the United States. The other one is in San Francisco.
- Holmenkolbanen No. 3: This tram is from Oslo, Norway. It was built in 1897. King Olav V of Norway used to ride in this very tram!
- Johnstown Traction Company No. 358: This trolley was changed to run on diesel fuel in 1962. It has been running at the museum since 2000.
- PATH PA-1 commuter No. 143: This train car has an incredible story. It survived the collapse of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 events.
- Standard Lo-V (New York City Subway car) No. 5600: An example of an older New York City subway car.
- R4 (New York City Subway car) No. 825: Another classic New York City subway car.
- R16 (New York City Subway car) No. 6398: This train has been fully restored and looks great.
- Whitcomb diesel electric locomotive No. 9: This is a rare working example of a 65-ton military locomotive. These locomotives were famous for their service in Europe during World War II. It has been restored and is now working.
- Q-type Queens car (New York City Subway car) No. 1602A: This car is waiting to be restored so it can be enjoyed by visitors.
- R3 Drill Motor No. 41: This car needs a generator installed to power it and other cars.
- MARTA CQ310 No. 510: This is one of 20 single cars ordered by MARTA. These single cars were not updated like the other train pairs.
The museum has also recently added some retired transit buses to its collection.
