U.S. Vintage Trolley Systems

John Smatlak - Railway Preservation Resources

California Vintage Trolley Systems

San Diego

San Diego Vintage Trolley

Began Operation: proposed

Miles of Line:  tbd

Stations:  tbd

Org: tbd  

Schedule: tbd

Photo: A former Muni PCC car (R), newly arrived in San Diego, December 2005. Andy Goddard photo 

As the home of the pioneering San Diego Trolley, which began the U.S. light rail renaissance in 1980, it only seems natural that the city would also have a vintage trolley service. The non-profit San Diego Vintage Trolley Inc. has purchased three former San Francisco PCC cars (which in turn had come to San Francisco from St. Louis) and is in the process of restoring them for operation over a portion of the San Diego Trolley system in downtown. Work on the vehicles is taking place at the San Diego Trolley maintenance facility. Click here for a link to a San Diego Union Tribune article covering the arrival of the cars. Also, the San Diego Electric Railway Association has some additional coverage on their website. 

Arrival in San Diego	Chairman Harry Mathis talks to reporters	Map of proposed trolley service
Photos from San Diego Vintage Trolley Inc.

North Park Main Street

In addition to the activities of San Diego Vintage Trolley Inc., the North Park Main Street Association had also proposed a line that would link the world-famous San Diego Zoo with remote parking areas and the North Park neighborhood. The new 3.5-mile line would utilize an historic streetcar routing along University Ave. and Park Blvd.

North Park Main Street is a non-profit neighborhood revitalization organization. In their proposal, they pointed out four primary benefits for the streetcar project:

• Transportation Enhancement

• Economic Development Engine

• Tourist Attraction

• Preservation of Heritage 

A grass-roots campaign to engage the local community resulted in an impressive list of local business, planning and historical groups supporting the proposal. North Park Main Street also researched vintage trolley success stories around the country, looking for ideas that have potential for application in San Diego. A formal feasibility was conducted in 2002, but as of late 2007 there has not been any recent activity reported on the grou['s website.   

Locally-owned historic San Diego streetcar carbody	Georgia St. Bridge 2001	Historic view of the Georgia St. bridge	View of University Ave. from bridge
Richard Kurylo Photos