Jerry sent this to me. Heard anything about this Ed? ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- This story was sent to you by: Jerry Matsick -------------------- A streetcar named Oscar will make tracks to museum -------------------- Mark Schlueb Sentinel Staff Writer May 24, 2006 The streetcar no one desired is leaving town. After years languishing in a warehouse, Orlando's first and only electric trolley -- dubbed Oscar for "Orlando Streetcar" -- has found a buyer. The sale to a Pennsylvania museum closes a chapter of Orlando history plenty of folks at City Hall would like to forget. Many taxpayers considered the streetcar a prime example of government waste -- Orlando's own version of the $600 toilet seat. It's not a perfect comparison, though. Oscar got less use. The story started in 1990, when former Mayor Bill Frederick talked the City Council into buying it from a Sarasota toy store. Frederick's vision of a bustling streetcar system in the City Beautiful was so enticing the City Council overlooked a few small details: there were no rails for the streetcar to ride on; an open-air streetcar probably wasn't the best choice for commuters in a state prone to oppressive heat and afternoon thunderstorms; and it was the 1990s, not the 1890s. The city bought the trolley for $125,000, then spent $80,000 to restore it and $2.5 million on a plan for a streetcar system. But when federal transportation dollars failed to materialize, Oscar turned out to be the little engine that couldn't. Oscar has been mothballed ever since, costing Orlando taxpayers more than $40,000 in storage costs over the years. "There aren't crowds of potential trolley buyers out there," said Frank Billingsley, head of the city's Downtown Development Board. But there is at least one: the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, which is paying $187,800 to add Oscar to its collection of 46 other streetcars. At the museum about 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh, Oscar will find something he never had in Orlando -- passengers. He'll carry visitors around the museum's two-mile rail line. Built about 1907, the trolley spent most of its working life on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1966, it was sold to another museum in Pennsylvania. The museum closed a few years later after suffering damage from Hurricane Agnes. From there, the streetcar made its way to Florida. After its journey back to Pennsylvania, who knows what the future holds? Someday maybe Oscar will end up back in Orlando. After all, museum director Scott Becker points out, streetcars are experiencing something of a resurgence. "A lot of places call them light-rail systems," he said. Mark Schlueb can be reached at mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417. Copyright (c) 2006, Orlando Sentinel | Get home delivery - up to 50% off Visit OrlandoSentinel.com