{"id":10108,"date":"2024-02-09T18:37:56","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T08:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=10108"},"modified":"2024-02-09T18:37:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T08:37:56","slug":"shelburne-falls-trolley-museum-expands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=10108","title":{"rendered":"Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum Expands"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Justin Franz<\/span><\/p>\n

Massachusetts\u2019 Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum is expanding its car barn to protect and restore two newly acquired pieces of equipment: a maintenance of way \u201cline car\u201d and a rare Berkshire Street Railway parlor car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The museum was founded in the 1990s after a local man donated Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway Car 10 to a local group. The group offers rides aboard the trolley in the summer and fall. In 2016, the group expanded its car barn but according to Restoration Manager Josh Redenz they have since outgrown that space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I walk into the existing barn, I wish we had more room,\u201d he said in a press release. \u201cWhen this is finished in the spring we will have room for more trolleys as well as a more organized shop space for our restoration activities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

This former MTA line car was recently acquired by the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum. Courtesy Photo.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

That extra room will be quickly filled by the Metropolitan Transit Authority line car (acquired last fall) and \u201cBerkshire Hills,\u201d a rare streetcar parlor car that once worked on the Berkshire Street Railway, which ran in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The car was built in 1903 and retired in 1923. The \u201cBerkshire Hills\u201d was beautifully appointed inside and out, with large windows, wicker chairs, carved interior embellishments and carpeted floors. Passengers could ride the \u201cBerkshire Hills\u201d from Bennington, Vt. to Great Barrington, Mass., for double the price of a ride on a regular trolley car. The \u201cBerkshire Hills\u201d was sold in 1932, and converted to a diner. It served for many years, first known as the \u201cBerkshire Hills Diner.\u201d In the early 1990s, the interior was badly burned in a fire, and after that, it was donated to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine. Seashore has since donated it to Shelburne.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The car barn expansion is being funded in part with a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council\u2019s Cultural Facilities Fund, as well as donations from the Amherst Railway Society and Massachusetts Bay Railway Enthusiasts.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information and to learn how to donate to the effort, visit <\/span>www.sftm.org<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A model of the \u201cBerkshire Hills\u201d parlor car that will be restored at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum Expands<\/a> appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Justin Franz Massachusetts\u2019 Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum is expanding its car barn to protect and restore two newly acquired pieces of equipment: a maintenance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-10108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t