Issaquah, WA — Trolley May Return

Rail Transit Online, May, 2003

Members of the Issaquah Historical Society have raised enough money to purchase three historic streetcars and hope to have at least one of them carrying passengers this summer.  The society formed the Issaquah Valley Trolley project several years ago and in the summer of 2001 ran a car along a one-mile (1.6 km) route from the city's historic railroad station to the Gilman Village shopping area.  The trolley, powered by a towed/pushed generator, was built in Philadelphia by J.G. Brill in 1927 for Oporto, Portugal, where it ran for 47 years until purchased for a heritage line in Yakima, Washington (see RTOL, May 2001).  The trolley was subsequently returned to Yakima and ever since a new source of rolling stock for Issaquah has been sought.  The three acquisitions include two narrow gauge Lisbon cars acquired from Aspen, Colorado, where they had been stored outdoors for years until a planned heritage project was aborted, and a surplus interurban car acquired from the San Francisco Municipal Railway that was originally manufactured for the Desio and Limbiate lines in Milan, Italy.   The Peter Witt needs its brake system rebuilt and some cosmetic work but Craig Thorpe, director of the trolley committee, is optimistic the car could be operating by July.  The Aspen cars will need substantially more mechanical work in addition to a complex gauge change, something the society cannot yet afford.  There are plans to eventually extend service north to the edge of Lake Sammamish State Park and possibly even to Redmond using a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe right-of-way.  Supporters believe the streetcars would draw tourists, giving the city an economic boost and providing an alternative method of transportation.  The society, which has already raised $100,000 for track upgrading, a car barn, signals and the three trolleys, is looking for additional cash from private sources and may seek federal funds.

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