Once Upon a Trolley Car
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During the late 1800s, in a time when families did not own automobiles, the trolley offered an affordable, easy way to travel around and between towns. Trolleys were used not only for riding in style, but to get folks to work and haul goods.
Incorporated in 1945 as the Branford Electric Railway Association, the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, CT was founded to preserve the heritage of the trolley car which has become an endangered species. The Museum offers a great collection of almost 100 vintage vehicles including artifacts and documents, and also offers films and video productions to help recreate the various eras of the trolley. It’s the oldest continuously operating trolley line in the United States, and boasts that it can accommodate groups of up to several hundred people. A visit to www.bera.org will give you the information needed to plan a scenic ride of Connecticut’s coast on an authentic vintage trolley.
The Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, CT also offers a journey back in time to the transportation of yesteryear. You can check this Museum’s website for a calendar of events, displays and self-guided tours by visiting http://www.ct-trolley.org/. This facility offers unlimited rides on cars included in the day’s admission fee.
These Museums take pride in providing historically accurate interpretations of the electric railway as well as striving for preservation and restoration of the cars. They are great places to visit as they offer fabulous educational experiences for a family, group or party or anyone at all interested learning more about trolley history. Whether you live in Hamden, CT apartments or one of our Branford apartment rentals, you’ll find travel time to each of these museums more than manageable and certainly worth the trip.
Take a few moments to browse http://www.bera.org/ttowns.html for a list of towns running up and down the Connecticut coast that had trolley service. Undoubtedly, evolution from the trolley car to today’s mode of transportation is very interesting and quite amazing!
