Johnstown Traction Company Part 1

This 8mm film shows the streetcars of Johnstown, Pa. in 1959 and 1960. The films were taken by Richard D. Vible.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• streetcar
• trolley
• tram
• johnstown
• pennsylvania
• PCC
• traction

[trolleyjolly]

Very nice footage! When I think of the quintessential small town USA trolley line, JTC. is at the forefront.

Incidentally, while JTC 350 is preserved at the PA Trolley Museum it can't operate because of a gauge difference (JTC had standard gauge- Pittsburgh was 6" wider).

Your best bet is at the Rockhill Trolley Museum (by East Broad Top Railroad in Orbisonia, PA). They have 350's sister- 355 (which was recently restored) and double truck Birney car 311 (which is also in this movie).

[ArtStone]

The Johnstown PCC's were unusually long. The basic PCC design allowed for variations - muti-unit (Cleveland, Boston), three sets of doors with two man crews (Chicago), underground current collection (Washington DC), foot petals bs hand controls

In one shot , the back end of the turning PCC has so much overhang in back it intrudes into the the space of the tracks in the opposite direction.

[theqman1956]

General Motors encouraged many cities to get rid of their trolley systems so they had a steady stream of bus orders.  the trolleys were rarely replaced and kept running with spare parts for years. the tracks came up almost immediately after decommission with the West penn Railways so they couldn't change their minds!

[smokeythebear13]

@jjason23296

the section 8 houses are slum, the rest of the city isnt bad

[jlhilden]

Excellent video, but now I feel like having a Pepsi...

[Glentrasna]

Wow. I didn't realize the trackless trollies ran until 1967. They were fascinating critters. I wonder who else used them. Note to jjason23296 -- Johnstown has fallen on hard times, but it is not a slum by a long shot.

[catfan]

@Glentrasna The trackless trolleys ran from @1951 to 11 November 1967. Then, they ceased operations.

[piratef2004]

I alway wondered what Car 350 looking like when it is running. PTM is hoping someday to restore 350 to operating condition. It is to bad that none of the Johnstown PCC's were preserved. I would have enjoyed them.

[pantsanat]

@krizvasa I think by then parts were getting scarce for the decades-old cars, but from what I have read, the official reason given was that Johnstown was about to introduce one-way traffic patterns to downtown.

Most of the routes were tracks embedded in the street for which bus service could easily replace the trolleys. Johnstown does have some unusually wide streets, though, which is a carryover from the days of the trolleys.

[KutWrite]

I used to ride these cars when I grew up in Johnstown in the 50s. It was a fun way to get around, esp. for a kid. It was special if I got to ride in the "streamlined" PCC cars. Usually just the old Brills went my way. But, I got to watch the motorman turn it around - even "help" him!

Bye-bye heyday of Johnstown & trolleys. I had to leave because of layoffs. Today no jobs and light rail is just a gov't boondoggle.

Thanks for posting. Fun to watch.