Happy Birthday Johnstown Trolley 355 We have another 100-year-old trolley you can ride on while visiting with us at Rockhill Trolley Museum! Here’s a bit of history about Car 355. The museum’s second trolley car from Johnstown ran in that city from the time it was built until the Johnstown’s trolley system was abandoned on June 11, 1960. Car 355 is a comfortable car built by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1925, typical of hundreds of double-ended lightweight arched roof trolleys that operated in many American cities. St. Louis Car Co. was known as the “Quality Shops,” where trolleys, rapid transit cars, and even airplanes were built for nearly 90 years, with production finally ceasing in 1973. Car 355 now has controls at both ends of the car, although it was built with controls at one end only. Trolley 355 has a safety air brake system similar to that on Johnstown Trolley Car 311, which permitted the car to be operated with a crew of one. If the motorman became disabled while the car was in motion, the safety air brake system would automatically stop the car. This type of air brake system saved the transit company many salaries, as it allowed only one person to both operate the car and collect fares. Instead of paying a roving conductor, passengers paid their fares when they boarded or left the car. When trolleys stopped operating in Johnstown in 1960, car 355 left for a proposed museum in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Our museum acquired Car 355 in 1970 when it became apparent that the proposed museum would never be developed. In 2003, the museum sent the trucks and motors to a contractor for restoration to like-new condition. With the award of Federal Transportation Enhancement grant of $270,000, this enabled the car body of Car 355 to be restored by an outside contractor. The car body was completed after 16 months of work in July 2006 and returned to the museum where volunteers completed the restoration work. Volunteers had a huge part of the restoration work, as they were tasked with refinishing and supplying completed components to the contractor for use in the car’s restoration. Volunteers also committed to the inspections of the project’s progress all the necessary paperwork. Car 355 returned to the museum in July 2006. Volunteers completed the details of the restoration project and started testing the car for operation in the spring of 2007. The trolley was ready for dedication on June 9, 2007, which was very close to the 47th anniversary of the abandonment of the Johnstown trolley system. (fb)

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for next weekend! Come celebrate Johnstown car weekend and 355’s 100th birthday! (fb)