Development of Trolleys. Electric trolleys were introduced to the United States in 1888 in Richmond, Virginia, and quickly became the predominant mode of public transportation used throughout the first third of the 20th century. These vehicles ran more efficiently than horse and cable cars, and changed people's perception of speed and distance. Nearly all cities built trolley lines.
They carried people to work and to their homes, and stimulated the development of suburban communities like Glen Echo. By World War I trolley transport was the fifth largest industry in the country. To increase off-hour ridership, many trolley companies established amusement parks, called "trolley parks" at the end of their lines.
Trolleys to Glen Echo. Glen Echo Park was one such "trolley park". Originally opened as an amusement park in 1898, the land was purchased by The Washington Railway and Electric Company (WRECO) in 1903, and their number 20 line stopped at Glen Echo. This line began at Union Station in Washington D.C., ran west along Pennsylvania Avenue and M Street to Georgetown, and followed a private right-of-way parallel to the Potomac River. The line ended in Cabin John, Maryland at the one lane bridge. This trolley line offered a scenic ride from the city to the country.
The PCC Trolley. In the late 1920's, the Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee, a group of the presidents of larger trolley companies, held a meeting to develop the first entirely modern trolley car with a standardized design to be used throughout the country. The PCC Trolley, named after the committee, was created in 1936 and provided a smoother ride, faster acceleration and more comfortable seats than previous trolleys. PCCs were extremely successful and are still used in some cites today.
Trolley 2732. You are looking at trolley car 2732, a PCC car built in 1947 by the St. Louis Car Company. It was operated by the Philadelphia Transportation Company on Route 23, running from South Philadelphia through Center City and North Philadelphia to Chestnut Hill. This trolley car is slightly longer but otherwise nearly identical to those that ran on the number 20 line to Glen Echo Park and is a gift from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
Plans for Trolley 2732. 2732 serves as a testament to the 64 years that trolleys came to Glen Echo. We plan to make this trolley car look like a 1940's Capital Transit car. We hope to electrify the car so it lights up at night, paint the car in traditional Capitol Transit colors of green and gray, and place it on the original tracks which you can see in the concrete roadway. Although this trolley is working condition, we do not intend to make it run. Instead it will be made handicapped-accessible and will be used for exhibits depicting its history and for guided tours.
Trolleys made Glen Echo Amusement Park the major attraction that it was, bringing large numbers of people to this spot, until January 3, 1960. Trolley car number 2732 has returned to Glen Echo to bring back memories of the park's past and to remind us of the nationwide phenomenon of the trolley park.
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