[PRCo] Cleveland trolleys

[Bob Rathke]

Harold,

Here it is:

Bob 7/25/03
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Vintage trolleys do test run 

07/25/03
Rich Exner 
Plain Dealer Reporter


Trolleyville U.S.A.'s collection of about 40 trolleys
could end up in downtown Cleveland, with some of the
cars operating as a new tourist attraction on RTA's
Waterfront Line. 

The public will get a taste of Trolleyville's dream
tomorrow and Sunday as a 1906 car that once operated
on the Chicago Aurora and Elgin railroad is put to use
on the line. 

A second car, built in 1902, also could be used if a
motor is repaired in time. 
     
Trolleyville, a family-run streetcar museum in Olmsted
Township, closed in October. 

The streetcars must be removed from the museum by June
2006 because the property has been sold. 

Rail museums near Scranton, Pa., and Chicago have
shown interest in taking over the collection, but
Trolleyville wants to move to downtown Cleveland and
is working with local officials. 

"The time has come to bring these cars home," said
Cleveland Planning Director Chris Ronayne, noting that
Cleveland's last streetcars left the city for Toronto
nearly 50 years ago. 

"Our hope is to keep it here in Cleveland, restore
some of our history and do something fun for the
future." 

Mark Brookins, president of Trolleyville U.S.A., said
he would like to build an interactive museum somewhere
along the Waterfront Line and offer rides on the
track. The Greater Cleveland Transit Authority
welcomes the idea. 

He hopes this weekend's event will stir up interest
because a fund-raising drive would be necessary to
cover costs expected to total "millions of dollars." 

Trolleyville was founded by Gerald Brookins, who died
in 1983. He purchased four streetcars from Shaker
Heights in 1954. In 1963, as his grandson Mark tells
it, he went to Chicago under orders from his wife to
"come home with one car." Instead, he purchased eight
cars on the trip, including the two on display this
weekend. 

The 1906 car, built by the Niles Car and Manufacturing
Co. of Niles, Ohio, has been renovated close to its
original look with stained mahogany, black leather
seats and overhead brass baggage holders. 

The second car, a 1902 Stephenson, appears as it did
in its "modernized" state - painted green and tan -
when it was taken out of service in 1957. 

A bigger vision is to someday link the Waterfront Line
with trolleys crossing the Cuyahoga River on the lower
level of the Veterans Memorial (Detroit-Superior)
Bridge to the West Side Market area. 

Bob Corna, developer of a new housing and office
complex called Stonebridge on the west bank of the
Cuyahoga River, said such an expansion would make
downtown more enticing for tourists and residents. 

Brookins said he was optimistic Trolleyville will be
able to make the move. 

"We have a lot of support," he said. "We already have
the cars and RTA already has the track." 

---

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: 
rexner at plaind.com, 216-999-3505 

---

When: 1 to 7 p.m. tomorrow and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Trolley boardings will be offered at all six stations
from Terminal Tower to the lakefront. 

Fare: $3 per ride. Riders choosing to use an all-day
RTA pass to board the trolley can have unlimited rides
on all buses and trains each day. 

Elsewhere: On the West Side of the Flats, another
trolley will offer free rides on the dead-end Superior
Viaduct tomorrow from 4 p.m. until dark.

-----------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Harold Geissenheimer" <transitmgr2 at earthlink.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 10:18 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Cleveland trolleys