Arizona Rail Passenger Association

The Phoenix Trolley Museum has resumed work and has a new website.

The Sister Cities of Scottsdale on October 8 accepted, on behalf of Interlaken, Switzerland, a railroad clock as a symbol of cooperation between these two Sister Cities. The clock may be seen at the boarding platform of the McCormick – Stillman Railroad Park.

Tucson, April 13
by Robyn Forkos
Submitted by Tony Haswell on 4/13/93

On behalf of Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc., welcome to our grand opening! This is an historic event… electric streetcars have not run in Tucson since December 31, 1930. Trolleys began operating in Tucson on June 1, 1906 and replaced the horse and mule drawn cars as a mark of Tucson’s “modernity”. The event drew quite a crowd including the mayor, L.H.Manning and C.K Durbin, owner of the new line. The Tucson Citizen ran an article “Electric Cars Running in Old Pueblo” in their Friday June 1, 1906 edition.

It reported that two new electric cars left the corner of Stone Avenue and Congress Street at 2:00 P.M. for the University Of Arizona filled with dignitaries and invited guests while an orchestra played a few tunes at the corner. The return trip was to Elysian Grove via Seventeenth where Emanual Drachman provided seats and refreshments for the banquet that followed. One car wore the banner “The Goods Are Delivered L. H. M.”, demonstrating that Mayor Manning had come through on his campaign platform to “promote and establish an electric streetcar system”. Hence, Tucson was brought up to date into the electric era.

Eighty-seven years later, Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc., a non-profit operating trolley museum celebrates the grand opening of our electric trolley system. Echoing the events of June 1,1906, we restore a bit of history and thrust Tucson into the future with a “new” form of city transportation. It began as the dream of Ruth Cross, director for the University of Arizona’s Centennial Celebration in 1983, to see the historic street cars returned to the Old Pueblo for the University’s centennial. The dedication of a core of enthusiasts made that dream a reality.

Today you can experience a touch of the past by catching a ride on OPT’s Car 10 to the University of Arizona’s main gate. Ten years worth of volunteer hours,labor and materials in kind have made this possible. The efforts of Old Pueblo Trolley”s founders, donors and volunteers are responsible for the streetcars running in the Old Pueblo again.

This, however, is not the end of the line for Old Pueblo Trolley. Regular operations is only the beginning. Plans to build a restoration facility and transportation museum at the carbarn are underway. Future plans include extending operations from the southern end of the route int the Downtown Arts District and the Ronstandt transit Center. With Community and City support these plans will be accomplished.

To the citizens of Tucson and OPT members who have waited ten years for this day, we say “The goods are delivered.” For those new to Old Pueblo Trolley, we encourage you to take advantage of this exciting event and learn more about the history and future of the electric streetcars in Tucson.