Rockhill Trolley Museum

The Rockhill Trolley Museum is located at 430 Meadow Street, Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania, 19 miles (31 km) north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 11 miles (18 km) south of US 22, the William Penn Highway.

Founded in 1960,[1] the museum collects and restores traction equipment (trolley, interurban and transit cars). The museum operates what has been historically referred to as the Shade Gap Electric Railway to demonstrate the operable pieces in its collection. "Shade Gap" refers to the name of a branch of the East Broad Top Railroad, from whom the museum leases it property.

The first car acquired by the museum in 1960 is Johnstown Traction #311.[1] Recent acquisitions include Public Service Coordinated Transport (later New Jersey Transit), Newark, NJ Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) Car #6[2] and Iowa Terminal Railroad Snow Sweeper #3.[3]

Johnstown Traction 311, the Rockhill Trolley Museum's first acquisition in its collection.

"Railways to Yesterday Inc." is the corporate name of the organization, and for some years the museum operated under the name directly, until a desire to acknowledge and enhance its relationship with its hometown and help provide mutual promotional support resulted in its new operating name.

The museum season runs from Memorial Day weekend through October and is open additionally for special events during the holiday season, such as Polar Bear Express[4] and Santa's Trolley.[5]

The East Broad Top Railroad is across the street from the museum. The two organizations are not formally affiliated, and tickets are not cross-honored.[6] However, both organizations share volunteers and labor expertise between them. The railroad has not operated public excursions since December 2011 and has operated no excursions since October 2013.

Roster

Number Type Heritage Builder Date Condition Notes
3 Snow sweeper Emery, Iowa McGuire-Cummings Manufacturing Company 1911 Operating Acquired in a trade wherein the National Capital Trolley Museum received Snow Sweeper #09 from the museum[7]
6 PCC streetcar Public Service Coordinated Transport, later New Jersey Transit St. Louis Car Company 1949 Operating Originally Twin City Rapid Transit car #325
10 Snowplow Philadelphia and Western Railroad Wason Manufacturing Company 1915 Operating Retired 1988, last operating trolley snowplow in the United States outside of a museum.
12 Tram Valley Railways, west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Jackson and Sharp Company 1895 Inoperable
61 Tram Philadelphia Suburban Brill 1925 Inoperable Center door
107 Snow sweeper Scranton Transit Chicago and Joliet Electric Railway 1910 Operating Steeple-cab
162 Tram Philadelphia and Western Brill 1927 Inoperable High-speed interurban car
163 Tram York Railways Brill 1924 Operating Rare curved-sides car
172 Tram CCFP/STCP (Porto, Portugal) CCFP 1929 Operating Semi-convertible (open/closed) car.
205 Tram Philadelphia and Western Brill 1931 Operating Only operating Brill bullet, originally 3rd rail powered
249 Tram CCFP/STCP Brill 1904 Operating Semi-convertible.
311 streetcar Johnstown Traction Company Wason 1922 Operating First car of the museum.
315 Tram Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad G. C. Kuhlman Car Company 1909 Operating Wooden interurban car
355 Tram Johnstown Traction Company St. Louis Car Company 1926 Operating
402 Box motor Philadelphia and Western Detroit United Railway 1920 Operating Double-ended
710 Tram Harrisburg Railways Brill 1913 Inoperable Semi-convertible.
1009 Rapid transit car Delaware River Port Authority Bridge-line car Brill 1936 Inoperable Sold to Philadelphia Broad Street Subway for $10,000 following the formation of the PATCO Speedline in 1968.
1875 Tram Rio de Janeiro Tramways Brill 1912 Operating Only operating open car in Pennsylvania.
2743 PCC streetcar Philadelphia Transportation Company, later SEPTA St. Louis Car Company 1947 Operating Originally broad gauge.
19137 Caboose Pennsylvania Railroad 1900s Not used N-5 steel
C-64 Freight flat CCFP/STCP CCFP 1933 Operating Now used as a track maintenance car.
D-39 Tower car SEPTA Philadelphia Rapid Transit 1908 not Operating Overhead wire maintenance car.
M-25 GE 25-ton switcher Adtranz General Electric Transportation Systems 1942 Operating Originally owned by United States Navy
M-100 Speeder United States Navy Kalamazoo Manufacturing 1945 Operating Petrol engine
X-4 Cherry picker car Rockhill Trolley Museum 1998 Operating
X-39 Caboose Central of Georgia Railway Not used Wooden
BT-1 Boom truck Curry Supply Company GMC 1981 Operating
Liberty Liner

Independence Hall

Electroliner Philadelphia Suburban St. Louis Car Company 1941 Operating Originally Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad No. 803-804
Ballast car Rockhill Trolley Museum 1999 In use
Railroad tie nipper Rockhill Trolley Museum 2000 In use

References

External links

Coordinates: 40°14′27″N 77°53′54.5″W / 40.24083°N 77.898472°W / 40.24083; -77.898472


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