Sacramento — Heritage Plan
Rail Transit Online, April 2003
A group of rail transit enthusiasts who were instrumental in helping make
LRT a reality in Sacramento is now working on a plan to introduce a downtown
heritage trolley service. The nonprofit Friends of Light Rail organization
has had four old Sacramento streetcars ready for restoration but no place to
do the work. Now developer Dain Domich, who specializes in commercial real
estate ventures geared toward the light rail system, has come up with the
necessary facilities. “We've got shop space that's finally being completed,
and we'll start work as soon as we can,”" Domich told the Sacramento Bee.
First on the list is No. 65, built for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in 1929
and retired when the streetcar system was scrapped in 1947. It was a
restaurant in several locations before being rescued for restoration.
However, Regional Transit District (RT) spokesman Mike Wiley said there are
significant obstacles to the proposal, not the least of which is track
capacity. “It would probably work on a Sunday, but otherwise there would be
problems with power draw and also with operating within our regular schedule
of service, particularly after the (new) south line is in operation,” Wiley
told The Bee. RT already owns and infrequently operates historic Sacramento
car No. 35, which is always a crowd pleaser and gives Friends of Light Rail
hope that their old trolleys will someday be running on RT’s rails.
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