PIKES PEAK HISTORICAL STREET RAILWAY FOUNDATION
Take a look at some of the vintage and priceless pieces of equipment we preserve! Everything from street cars and trolleys, to standard gauge and narrow gauge railcars, even electric busses. Here you'll find we can restore and preserve any previous rail technology. New exhibits coming soon!
CSIR No. 135/FtCMR No. 22 “The Birney”
Of over 6,000 Birney cars built, fewer than 100 are known to survive, less than thirty with their original mechanical equipment, electric equipment, and seats. FtCMR No. 22 came to us essential complete except for damaged wood like the floor and roof. Since the last CSIR Birney was number 134 in accordance with standard railroad practice when acquiring equipment from another line we renumbered the car as CSIR No. 135. It’s Fort Collins history should not be forgotten though as the then small college town was the last to operate streetcars in Colorado and the last Birney cars in North America. CSIR No. 135 is the last streetcar to operate in revenue service in Colorado and the last Birney car to operate in North America when it came in from its last run 1045 PM June 30, 195. Charlie O’Laughlin was the operator. CSIR No. 135/FtCMR No. 22 is now on the National Historic Register.
LARy No. 3101 PCC
LaRY (Los Angeles Railways) No. 3101, our only narrow gauge streetcar with original trucks, operated in LA from 1943 until 1963. Built in 1943, the car is one of only three surviving passenger rail vehicles from that year. During World War II the War Production Board (WPB) ordered passenger rail equipment could only be built for the military. The City of Los Angeles received an exemption due to a need to transport people to support the war effort.
The car reportedly operated on a very short track in Cripple Creek Colorado for maybe a month. Although not exactly revenue operation that makes it the first PCC to operate in this state.
Allegheny Port Authority No. 4002 Interurban Car
Originally built by St. Louis Car Company as Pittsburgh No. 1702, a PCC. In the late 1980s the car received extensive rebuilding. Although it retained the original Westinghouse controls and body bolsters the car received a new operators control panel, air conditioning, and essentially a new body.
Currently the car rests on shop trucks, a pair of wide gauge Clark B2’s minus their electrical components. We have one spare pair of CTA B3 trucks to assign to the car but need the funds to rebuild those trucks, acquire a trolley base with pole, windows, air conditioning (necessitated by no operable windows), and some minor items to return the car to fully operational status.
Dr. Stephen Kuznetsov, who designed traction motors for Westinghouse, purchased the car when it left service. In 2014, he very generously donated this car to us in 2014. One of our Board members donated the shipping costs.
Denver Tramway Corporation Electric Trolley Bus No. 519
Built by the J.G. Brill Company in 1940 as a 44-seat rubber-tired trolley coach with Westinghouse controls. The coach operated from 1940 until 1955. James Kunkle restored the coach. The roof and some seat cushions require repair due to animal damage while the car was in storage in Denver.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) PCCs
1. SEPTA No. 2043
2. SEPTA No. 2097
3. SEPTA No. 2102
4. SEPTA No. 2107
5. SEPTA No. 2109
6. SEPTA No. 2114
7. SEPTA No. 2129
8. SEPTA No. 2131
9. SEPTA No. 2722
Built by St. Louis Car Company in 1947, these cars operated with Clark B2 trucks in Pennsylvania broad gauge. At the same time they became available we were able to acquire St. Louis Car Company built B3 trucks from Chicago. Built for the “L” line in Chicago they are some of the heaviest duty PCC trucks ever made. Unless some other organization offers to purchase the surplus SEPTA trucks when the rebuilding occurs, they will be stripped of all usable parts and then scrapped.
SEPTA No. 2129, renumbered as CSIR No. 2129, operates on 500 ft of track on the Chicago type trucks. SEPTA No. 2722 was originally built as a two man car then converted into single man operation.