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The
Old Pueblo Trolley (OPT) is an all-volunteer "operating transit
museum" which provides streetcar service in central Tucson on Friday
evenings, as well as a longer schedule on weekends. The line connects the
University of Arizona with the Fourth Ave. business district.
The idea for returning streetcars to Tucson came out
of the University of Arizona's 1985 Centennial celebration planning.
Fundraising for a "bring back the trolley" campaign began in May
1983, and a formal feasibility study was completed in 1984. Although a
1984 ballot initiative for a bond issue to fund the project failed, the
Old Pueblo Trolley group persisted in their efforts and pursued alternate
plans. A single-truck Birney car was leased from the Orange Empire Railway
Museum in 1985, followed by formal City approval for the privately-funded
volunteer effort to construct the line in public streets.
OPT was able to utilize 6 blocks of vintage Tucson
streetcar tracks, which the City uncovered in 1985. Following City
approval of the complete track and overhead plan, track installation on
the remainder of the route began in 1987 and was completed in 1992.
Installation of historic light poles and overhead wire were also completed
in 1992. In 1990, OPT had received a significant boost in the form of a
$500,000 allocation from State Lottery transportation funding for support
of the trolley as a demonstration light rail project. The money, which
ensured completion of the project's initial phase, was administered to OPT
by the City of Tucson.
Operations began in 1993, with the Birney car being
joined by an Osaka, Japan double-truck car. In its first year of operation,
the line saw 25,000 paying passengers. In 1995, the ten-year lease of the
Birney car came to an end, and it returned to the museum who had leased
OPT the car. To supplement their Osaka car, the group
has also acquired a Belgium single-truck car (now in service, see photos
below), a Toronto PCC, and two Los Angeles Railway streetcar bodies.
OPT is also seeking funding for their Downtown
extension proposal which is covered in good detail on their
website. The extension would change the character of the line from a
tourist attraction / museum to more of a transportation service, and would
require the use of additional trolleys.
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Belgian single-truck
streetcar 1511, a 1936-vintage car acquired by OPT in 1995 |
OPT
operates in mixed traffic on city streets.
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This
is the turn off of 4th St. to the OPT "carbarn".
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The
OPT "carbarn" The restoration of car 1511 was
completed in 2002.
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John
Smatlak photos 
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News
and Updates
May
2002: OPT has completed construction of a wye on 4th Ave.
and 8th St., adjacent to their carbarn. An article
in the Arizona Daily Wildcat provides an overview of Old Pueblo
Trolley's other expansion plans. The line extension into downtown is
being supported by "Citizens for a Sensible Transportation
Solution" who have included the project as a component of
their ballot initiative, detailed on their website.  4th
Avenue Underpass- OPT's goal of serving the downtown core
is about to take a major step forward. The 1916-vintage 4th Ave.
underpass currently blocks access for the trolleys, but a new underpass
is scheduled to be under construction by
late 2002. The new underpass will accommodate both auto traffic and the
trolley line, while the existing 1916 underpass will be converted to
pedestrian and bicycle use. The excellent Tucson Downtown Alliance website
includes coverage of this and other interesting projects,
including the restoration of the historic Southern Pacific
Railroad depot which is immediately adjacent to the underpass. John Smatlak
photos- click to enlarge.
February
2003: OPT has acquired one of the ex-Libson
single truck meter-gauge trams that the City of Aspen recently
disposed of. Car 524 arrived in Tucson in January along with parts
from a second car which was deemed to far gone to be saved. OPT
staff are now working on re-gauging the car. In addition, the
group continues to work on their yard track expansion plan. Thanks
to Eric Sitiko for the news.
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photo montage showing
move of Libson 524 |
Brill truck which is to
be re-gauged |
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OPT
photos
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March
2006: The City of Tucson is
working through a major transit investment study for the
urban core. Options studied in the initial alternatives
analysis included both Vintage Trolleys and Modern
Streetcars. The concept of a Modern Streetcar and a recommended alignment were
unanimously approved by Tucson's Mayor and Council in
January 2006. The Tucson DOT has a very informative website,
including details of the proposed alignment.
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4th
Ave. underpass rendering. Credit: Design Build Collaborative
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 January
2008: The long-awaited extension of the Old Pueblo
Trolley is finally underway. The $26 million dollar
reconstruction of the 4th
Avenue Underpass is currently underway, and the project will include the addition of
track and overhead for the trolley. Improved pedestrian
walkways will also be added, including a walkway to the
adjacent historic railroad depot. A short in-street trolley
loop will be constructed on the other side of the underpass
that will allow the trolleys to loop around and return.
Although under a half-mile in length, the extension will
bring the trolleys closer to the heart of downtown, and help
create a more seamless linkage between the Fourth Avenue
shopping and entertainment district and the rest of
downtown. Project completion is currently scheduled for
Spring 2009. Additional details are available in a 1/2/08
article in the Arizona Daily Star.
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In
other Tucson news, the city's Modern Streetcar project
continues to move ahead. The new streetcar would travel over
much the same route as today's Old Pueblo Trolley (the 4th
Ave. and University Ave. corridors), as well as accessing
the downtown and U of A campus areas. The project is
presently in the environmental assessment and advanced
conceptual design phase. More information is available on
the project
website.
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Links
Tucson
DOT Transit Investment Study website
Article
on 4th Ave. Underpass project on Tucson Weekly website
Tucson
page on the new APTA Heritage Trolley site
Official
OPT website
Route
Map
This
page was last updated on 1/3/08
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