At Kingston Point, June 2009

Johnstown Traction Company Trolley No. 358

358 was originally an electric trolley car built in 1925 by St. Louis Car Co. for the Johnstown Traction Company.

Johnstown Pennsylvania was one of the last cities in the United States to abandon street railways. The last day of trolley operation in Johnstown was June 11, 1960. After which Johnstown's entire PCC fleet was shipped to South America as a spare parts supply. However, being that the remaining trolleys no longer had any commercial value most went intact directly to museums across the US. The furthest flung is No. 351 in San Francisco.

Car 358 arrives in Kingston, 1991, needing restoration

No. 358, however, was an exception. Instead of going to a museum, the car was acquired by Stone Mountain, Georgia, to run a tourist ride around the mountain. The Stone Mountain shop modified the car by removing the electric motors and controls and installed a Detroit Diesel 453 engine with an Allison transmission. Stone Mt. renumbered the car 1910 and ran it until the 1980's. The Trolley Museum of New York acquired the car in 1991 for the purpose of resting the venerable No. 120 gas car.

Beginning in 2000, No. 358 carried its first passengers in Kingston after undergoing an extensive restoration. In excess of 5000 hours of all-volunteer effort has gone into restoring No. 358, making it the largest restoration project undertaken by the museum so far. The windows, doors and other details of the car continue to be worked on to further complete the restoration, but for the time being the diesel engine will be retained since the line in Kingston is not electrified yet.

In 2003, the car had major wheel work done.

Dimensions: 41'-5" x 8'-2" x 11'-4"
Weight: 38,680 lbs.
Seating Capacity: 44 (original), 28 (current configuration).
 

The trolley served Stone Mountain for a number of years as No. 1910

Where are the remaining Johnstown trolley cars? Here is what is known of the surviving Johnstown trolleys. 350 Pennsylvania Trolley Museum 351 Market Street Railway 311, 355 Rockhill Trolley Museum 356, 357 Shore Line Trolley Museum 358 Trolley Museum of New York 362 Fox River Trolley Museum

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This page was last updated by Evan Jennings on July 24, 2017.
Photo credits: 1) S. Ladin 2) E. Jennings 3) Curteichcolor postcard