The Electric City Trolley Museum is a transport museum located in downtown
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
, next to the
Steamtown National Historic Site. The museum displays and operates restored
trolleys and
interurban
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
s on former lines of the
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad
The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976. Its main li ...
, which are now owned by the government of
Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton.
The county ...
and operated by the
Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad
The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area.
DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for of trackage in Lackawanna, Wayne, Northampton, ...
.
History
Established in 1999, the Electric City Trolley Museum is owned by the Electric City Trolley Museum Association. The museum began as ''Metropolitan Philadelphia Railway Association'' in the 1960s. Its first car site was in the
Tansboro section of
Winslow Township, New Jersey
Winslow Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,499, reflecting an increase of 4,888 (+14.1%) from the 34,611 counted in the 2000 census.
Winslow Township was incorpo ...
, then on a site in the
Jobstown
Jobstown (; ) is a suburb of Tallaght, and so an outer suburb of Dublin, in the administrative county of South Dublin, Ireland.
History
Jobstown takes its name from Henry Jope, who held land here in the 1250s.
Jobstown was historically a small ...
section of
Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey
Springfield Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,414 reflecting an increase of 187 (+5.8%) from the 3,227 counted in the 2000 Census, whic ...
through which a portion of railroad track ran. The local residents did not want a tourist attraction in their backyard and the governing body passed an ordinance in 1973 prohibiting trolley operation in the municipality.
In 1978 the group was renamed the ''Buckingham Valley Trolley Association'' when it relocated to
Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania. The trolleys then operated on a portion of what is now the
New Hope Railroad. As of 2019 the museum still maintained a restoration shop in the Township. In 1982 the trolley operation was moved to the
Delaware River waterfront in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
as the ''Penns Landing Trolley''. There the line operated on the
Belt Line Railroad from the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...
to Fitzwater Street. Real estate development pressure from
triads however forced the museum to move the cars from pier to pier several times. When the cars had to be moved to an outdoor location at Laurel Street they were vandalized and electrical components stripped by scrap thieves. The museum left Penns Landing in 1996 to relocate to Scranton.
Exhibits
![Electric City Trolley Station & Museum Signage - Dec 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Electric_City_Trolley_Station_%26_Museum_Signage_-_Dec_2017.jpg)
The museum displays and operates restored
trolleys and
interurban
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
s on former lines of the
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad
The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976. Its main li ...
, now owned by the government of
Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton.
The county ...
and operated by the
Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad
The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area.
DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for of trackage in Lackawanna, Wayne, Northampton, ...
.
In 2006, the museum opened a extension connecting the county's trolley line from the Steamtown National Historic Site to a new station and trolley restoration facility next to
PNC Field
PNC Field is a 10,000-seat minor league baseball stadium that is located in Moosic, Pennsylvania in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area that was built in 1989 and rebuilt in 2013. The stadium is home to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRi ...
in
Moosic, Pennsylvania
Moosic ( ) is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, south of downtown Scranton and northeast of downtown Wilkes-Barre, on the Lackawanna River.
Moosic is in a former coal-mining region. A few older industries existed at one time, incl ...
. The trip, including a long tunnel, replicates a typical 1920s interurban ride. The new tracks and trolley barn are part of a $2 million project financed by capital funds from the county and the state. The barn has space for up to nine trolleys, allowing the county museum to spend more time working to bring defunct cars back to running order. It has a gallery where visitors can observe the repairs.
In September 2017, the museum became home to a
model train scene depicting Scranton. The diorama had been gifted to
WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV (channel 16) is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Montage Mountain Road in Moosi ...
by ''
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' to replace the train in the news station's backyard, but it was too large.
Gallery
File:Trolley museum, Scranton,PA (201037091).jpg, Trolley museum car 76 at the museum station
File:Trolley museum, Scranton,PA (201036792).jpg, Trolley car 506 on display inside the museum
File:Philadelphia & Western Railway 206.jpg, SEPTA Brill Bullet #206
File:Trolley museum, Scranton,PA (201036931).jpg, Philadelphia & Western #46
File:Trolley museum, Scranton,PA (201036086).jpg, Car 76 leaving the museum
File:John Oliver Train front.jpg, The John Oliver display
File:John Oliver Train side.jpg, Alternate view of the John Oliver display
See also
*
Steamtown National Historic Site
References
External links
Electric City Trolley Museum
Museums in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Railroad museums in Pennsylvania
Heritage railroads in Pennsylvania
Street railway museums in the United States
Museums established in 1999
1999 establishments in Pennsylvania
{{Pennsylvania-museum-stub