TCRT #322, a restored PCC car in Minneapolis

The PCC car was commissioned in the 1930s by the Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee, which understood that the old, boxy trolley cars were increasingly seen as noisy, uncomfortable and outdated; and that automobiles were becoming serious competition to public transit. The ERPCC hired engineers and designers from outside the railway industry, among them automotive engineers. The new streetcar that was thus created had a 1930s-style streamlined, all-steel body and many technological improvements which made for a very smooth and quiet ride. These cars were built by several manufacturers from 1936 into 1951, and they operated in cities from coast to coast. They were durable, and well-received by commuters.

While the Second World War, with its shortages and rationing, gave public transit a much needed boost, the end of the war brought big changes. The prosperity of the 1950s, the popularity of automobiles, the rush to build more highways, and some shady backroom deals all helped to put an end to streetcars in most American cities. From the end of the war to the early 1960s, streetcar systems were scrapped in all but a dozen or so cities. Those very few that kept streetcars relied mainly on PCC cars to keep going. Streetcar lines continued to decline into the 1970s, albeit more slowly because there weren't many left anyway. The dwindling number of remaining PCC cars were bought, sold and traded among the few cities that still needed them. By the late 1970s, the remaining ones had outlived their intended lifespan, but some still kept running.

In the 1980s, light rail transit began to appear. New light rail systems were built in some towns, and new light rail vehicles began to replace the aging PCCs on the older transit systems.

This PCC car, #322, was built in 1946 by the St. Louis Car Company of Missouri. It was one of 140 built in three years for Twin City Rapid Transit of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In 1953, just before TCRT ended streetcar operations, the car was one of 30 sold to the operators of the City Subway in Newark, New Jersey. (The other PCCs in that Newark batch kept running until 2001!) In 1978 it was one of 4 sold to the operators of the Rapid Transit Lines in Shaker Heights, Ohio. In 1986 it was retired and brought back to Minnesota. In 2000, after a long and painstaking restoration by the Minnesota Transportation Museum (now the MN Streetcar Museum), it was returned to service (in its original TCRT colors) on the museum's restored portion of the old Como Harriet line in southwest Minneapolis. In this video it approaches 42nd Street at Queen Avenue during the summer of 2006.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• PCC
• streetcar
• trolley
• light
• rail
• LRT
• Minneapolis
• Minnesota

[Jeffbear1]

That is truely a gorgeous restoration in Minneapolis. The Golden Glow headlight and chrome headlight wings look great. I tried to get N. J. Transit to do a car up in the original Minneapolis scheme and lettering, but they never did. There are still six PCC cars in storage in New Jersey. I was successful in getting them to paint and letter one in the mid 1950's Public Service scheme.

[cleostreet]

The mid-50s Public Service design was still the rule in the mid 60s, when I "discovered" the city subway. At that time the cars were impeccably maintained, the paint was shiny inside and out, and there were no visible blemishes, rust nor corrosion. Two versions of that paint scheme (blue/white; grey/white) were also applied to their huge fleet of GMC transit buses from the 40s and 50s - it looked as good on those as on PCC cars (which had the grey scheme).

[GoofyNewf]

I ride the MBTA's original Mattapan PCC's every day on my way to work. They are great trains and were recently restored to include an AC unit on each train!(summer afternoons were brutal!) Great vid!

[cleostreet]

I recall that in the '60s the M'pan-Ashmont line had mostly ex-Dallas double end PCCs. There were all-electrics like TCRT 322 on M'pan-Ash and Huntington Av lines. The cars now on the M'pan line were on the Green Line in the '60s. There were also "picture window" PCCs ~ looked ideal for a/c, which they didn't have. Those were mostly on the Riverside and Beacon St lines. All were built by Pullman-Std. You'd like "PCC Cars of Boston 1937-67" by Bradley Clarke; a great book. Thanx for your note!

[mikeggera]

Great to see the old PCCs. Between 1987 and 1990 I commuted on those same PCCs that Newark, NJ bought from Minneapolis, and they continued to be used until 2001!

[cleostreet]

Those were (are) really good cars. I first rode the Newark City Subway in the '60s. Another YouTuber named joesavana has posted a movie of the Newark City Subway in the '80s, when the stations still had their very old original signs and such. Well worth a look, you' like that.

[Tubes12AX7k]

As a kid I was always impressed how quiet they were: they would just glide past (as long as they weren't making a tight turn). PCC trolley cars are still being used in Philly to this day, and the current cars have air conditioning and a nice new interior with cloth-covered seats. The PCC is a seemingly near-perfect rail car and I wish there were more of them.

[italobambino43]

Your welcome Cleo, there's a clip you can view on youtube, type in 'Philadelphia streetcars 1951" a viewer posted it, it shows the line that ran on Market street under the Elevated in West Philly, it also shows the old Subway-surface line exit and the old trestle that carried both the subway and the trolleys over the Skuylkill river, also the surface car stop in front of the Pennsylvania RR's 30 th. Street station with the old section of Elevated that was removed in 1956 in the background.

[italobambino43]

Hello Cleo, thnks for your reply, I will give you a little tip, type in the youtube browser, "Philadelphia Streecars 1951" it will be to your liking, it is a clip showing some of Philly's old street scenes from the early 50's, it captured the Elevated in West Philly and a few of the street car lines running in West Philly near and under the Elevated.

[cleostreet]

That's very true, and I think it's a big part of why a lot of those old cars survived so long even if they were seen as outdated, noisy and bumpy. Peter Witts, Nearsides, Type 5s in Boston, Gate Cars in MSP - whatever they were in each city before the era of modern standardization, those cars were durable and reliable. Fortunately, that's also why they make good operating museum pieces in the twenty-first century.

Thanks for posting that, Italobambino.