May 7, 2013 2 min read

About 70 people attended the unveiling of the newly renovated Car 2227, a streetcar that began running the rails in Ohio nearly a century ago.

“It’s a beautiful car,” said Scott Becker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. “We’re happy to have it and we feel very lucky that we had so many generous people that made donations to make it possible.”

Car 2227 was built in 1919 and originally ran on the Cincinnati Street Railway. When that city abandoned its streetcar system in 1951, it served in Cleveland, Ohio, before making it to several train and trolley museums in Ohio. It was shipped to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington in 2009.

Becker said the museum has spent that last four years and roughly $70,000 renovating the streetcar. The undercarriage had to be modified to fit the wider tracks at museum’s 4-mile course and Ohio company Swiger Coil Systems donated the overhaul of the four trolley motors that power the car.

The classic orange-and-cream streetcar with decked roof and black wheels, lettering and striping will soon be thrilling visitors. The new arrival to the museum’s fleet arrives just in time for the museum’s 50th anniversary – which it celebrates this year.

“We’re going to operate it in the museum and display it,” Becker said. “It’s part of our mission to preserve and interpret the trolley era – and it’s a classic.”

More information on the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum can be found at its website, www.pa-trolley.org.