U.S. Vintage Trolley Systems

John Smatlak - Railway Preservation Resources

Colorado Vintage Trolley Systems

The Pike's Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation is working to return trolleys to the Colorado Springs area, as the Colorado Springs & Interurban Railway. The foundation owns 11 PCC-type streetcars and is currently pursuing construction of a 5-mile trolley line from downtown Colorado Springs through Old Colorado City to Manitou Springs. Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs are both popular tourist destinations, the latter being the terminus of the famous cog railroad to the top of Pike's Peak. The line would follow a former streetcar route along Colorado Avenue, the major east-west commercial street that directly connects the two cities.

History: The non-profit Pike's Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation was founded in 1982 and originally envisioned operation of a restored Colorado Springs trolley in a local park. The group broadened its focus in the 1990s to encompass operation of a vintage trolley system in the Colorado Springs area. In 1994, a restoration facility was located and leased. In 1995, the foundation acquired nine surplus PCC cars from Philadelphia, and has also acquired PCCs from Los Angeles and Toronto.  The group also owns several local street railway and interurban car bodies which are being restored at their restoration facility. The group has also received donation of several miles of track from a local army facility.

In addition to assembling a group of rolling stock and leasing a restoration shop, the foundation has completed an initial route feasibility study, obtained an operating franchise from the City of Colorado Springs, and worked out most of the details of its proposed operating system with City officials and neighborhood and retail associations. An engineering firm has been retained to finalize system details with the City, to assist the Foundation in costing the project out and in securing construction bids, and to put together a final proposal for Colorado Springs City Council approval. In September 2000, the foundation received a $190,000 donation towards the $300,000 cost of the preliminary engineering work, and is working on fundraising the balance.

A coalition of downtown Colorado Springs business interests has also developed a Downtown Loop proposal, which is currently being studied along with rubber-tired alternatives. If the electric railway option is selected, the Downtown Loop would be operated in conjunction with the Colorado Springs-Manitou Springs line.

Equipment: The nine Philadelphia PCCs were all acquired as broad-gauge cars, as was the group's Toronto PCC. Their Los Angeles PCC car is 3'6" narrow gauge. The plan is to reequip all of the cars with standard gauge trucks from retired Boston PCC cars. The Toronto car has been designated as a parts source. In addition to the PCCs, the group also owns several local carbodies, being restored for potential special operations on the new trolley line. These include two Colorado Springs wooden cars and a single-truck "Birney" type car originally from Ft. Collins.