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Preservation Coalition of Erie County (Home Page)

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October 1995

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Vintage Trolleys
By Gordon Thompson

A member of the Citizens Rapid Transit Committee, Catherine Fanasello, has suggested that the proposed Cobblestone District Metro Rail loop also be used for a vintage trolley service. The rolling stock would be authentic antique trolleys or interurban cars, or ones built to blueprints of early Buffalo open trolleys. They are not to be confused with gas-powered, rubber-tired buses made to resemble old trolleys.

Under Ms. Fanasello’s proposal, the trolleys would run in the existing free-fare zone, from the Theater Historic District to the Cobblestone Historic District. On the way it would bisect the Joseph Ellicott Historic District, as well as pass many individually-listed structures.

Vintage service is a popular and growing mode of transit and leisure riding nationally. There are 29 cities with 37 vintage lines operating in North America, while 24 new lines are in planning stages (including a third line for Portland, Oregon, and lines for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Kingston, and Rochester).

Unfortunately, there are no known local trolleys or interurbans left to restore. The International Railway Company (IRC) policy was to burn the trolleys to remove all wood and sell the remaining metal for scrap.

In addition to restored or replica cars, aged, yet well-maintained and serviceable trolleys from overseas can be used. Tucson bought an Osaka streetcar for $840 and shipped it for $27,000. San Francisco's Market Street line has an annual summer-long trolley festival–running regular service with trolleys donated from abroad.

No real market price can be placed on rebuilt or secondhand antique trolleys, but trolleys newly manufactured to vintage designs typically cost 25% to 33% as much as new light-rail cars. They are literally handmade,.

Financing of vintage service is highly varied. Some are owned and operated by the transit system, others are privately owned and operated by volunteers. In Portland, Oregon, the cars of one of the two lines are owned by a special-purpose company, staffed by transit authority operators with volunteer conductors, and are sponsored by companies along the 4.5-mile route.

Since the vintage services are peripheral to regular operations, they cannot be operated at a loss. Premium fares are charged, and income from advertising and souvenir sales can be significant. In some cases, maintenance of individual cars is through sponsors, in others benefiting businesses contribute to operational costs.

Vintage trolleys could run on standard Metro Rail track, but, with combustible materials inside, could not carry passengers in the underground portion of the system.

Few North American vintage trolley lines serve a single purpose, and some are seasonal. A line in Buffalo would serve multiple purposes while supplementing regular service: A downtown shuttle service, a waterfront shuttle, historic district shuttle, and a ‘downtown-to-feature’ role, the ‘feature’ being the Cobblestone District, Crossroads Arena, and adjacent waterfront.