Hi Everyone: Did you know that the streetcar is not totally gone in the USA? This blog is about what cities have PCC Streetcars operating daily in the USA. San Francisco is the Grand Daddy of all PCC Streetcars in this day and age. Both the F Line (Castro to the Wharves) and the E Line (Wharves to Cal-Trains) operate both PCC Streetcars and some older heritage style streetcars. The F Line operates PCCs and Milan Witts and the E Line operates double ended PCCs and at least one Melbourne Double Ended Streetcar. Other cities that have reconditioned PCCs cars in operation are San Diego--2 PCCs that were bought from Muni in San Francisco, Boston, Mass that operates several Air Electric PCCs on the Mattapan-Ashmont Line, Philadelphia that operates several PCCs on the #15 Girard Streetcar Line, and Kenosha, Wisconsin that operates 7 PCCs on a Heritage Circle Line.
The biggest news is good ole El Paso, Texas or should I say beautiful El Paso. It was the only town in the USA that had a streetcar line that crossed over the border to Juarez, Mexico until 1973. The city of Juarez Mexico did not want there streetcar anymore. So the El Paso International Streetcar ran for one more year in El Paso only. Then the cars were stored in a carbarn in El Paso until 1983. The streetcars were trucked to a field in El Paso, Texas were they baked and rusted until the folks in El Paso decided they wanted a new streetcar line. So, someone had the idea to rebuild the streetcars, languishing in that field in El Paso a few years back, and bring them to life on a "New Streetcar Line" in downtown El Paso. The council people and many others got together and built a 4 mile loop streetcar line in El Paso and it is now done. They trucked the rusted bodies in that field to Brookville Equipment Corporation in Brookville, Pennsylvania and low and behold, 6 out of 9 bruised and battered streetcars from a field are now coming to life in downtown El Paso. Brookville Equipment Company is fantastic. They build new modern streetcars and they will repair, rebuild, build or in the case of El Paso take the bodies of the old El Paso Streetcars and turn them into a very handsome new Air-Electric Streetcar that use to run on the streets of El Paso. The City of El Paso asked Juarez if they wanted to reinstate the International Streetcar Line and they opted out. So the New El Paso Streetcar Line will serve El Paso only. Personally, I think this is just a start for mass rail transit coming back to El Paso. Perhaps in the near future, Juarez might change there mind and build a streetcar line to connect again with the El Paso Streetcar Line.
Now---if you have You-Tube on your computer or Wifi Cable on home tv, etc, you can watch videos on this new streetcar line on your big screen TV. The streetcars look very similar to the original El Paso PCC Cars (which were bought second hand from San Diego). They have modern amenities on this new streetcar---Air Conditioning, numerous tv cameras for safety purposes, turn signals, wheel chair lift, bicycle racks, etc. So--get going and search out The New El Paso Streetcar Line on You-Tube and you will be amazed what is happening. There is a guy by the name of Tim Migloire who most likely will get to El Paso to film this streetcar line. Tim is a world traveler photographing streetcars, trams, subways, elevated subways, trolley buses, and buses. So if you can't get to El Paso, take a ride on the El Paso Streetcar on You-Tube. sincerely ours railbear601
PS: I am amazed at the amount of films that Tim Migloire has on You-Tube. Got to hand it to You-Tube, they really know what they are doing. From Streetcars to Lionel Trains, it is on You-Tube.
I might of misspelled Tim Migloire name and you cannot look at his films per say via his name. Just go streetcar (tram) hunting on You-Tube and Tim's name will pop up as taking credit for his films.
