Monday, August 07, 2006

How to see a trolley in Charlotte

The Charlotte Trolley, a charming bit of local history, isn’t running at the moment. But a reader wants to know if there’s still a way see a local trolley – and the answer is yes.

“Riding the old trolley downtown for dinner or shows was a fun thing to do. I know it will be off-line for almost a year, but can you take the kids to see it?” the reader e-mailed.

Charlotte Trolley Inc. is the nonprofit set up to restore Charlotte’s old streetcars. Martin Wheeler, a sales associate with the group, said several steetcars are on display at the group’s museum at 2104 South Boulevard, open Mon.-Fri., 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Trolleys ran between uptown and South End for almost two years before the city put the service on hiatus earlier this year to build a light rail line through south Charlotte.

Charlotte’s original No. 85 car has been sent off for some maintenance, but the group has several other streetcars owned by the city at the museum. They’ll be running once service is restored sometime next year, he said. (The date depends on the light rail line's completion).

Charlotte Trolley also sponsors children’s activities at ImaginOn uptown. More information: www.charlottetrolley.org.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ladies and Gentleman,
One time I was on the 'charlotte trolley' with my extended family when we began to smell this awful odor. After a few moments of the stench we started to become very concerned as a violet cloud of smoke rose from the floor of the trolley. After alerting the trolley conductor he informed us that he would have his attendant would check the controls in the back of the car. Seconds later we heard a terrible sound like that of metal scraping against metal. Our speed quickly doubled and the attendant said the brakes had fallen off! We sped towards downtown at 150 mph, until we crashed into a Honda odyssey passing the tracks. No one was hurt but it was the most terrifying experience of my life. So, in conclusion, if you want to see the trolley in Charlotte, look for it speeding uncontrollably towards your car next time you cross the tracks.

7:04 PM  

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