Kansas City PCC Streetcar Restoration

Kansas City has a rich history of public transit. The days of streetcars and trolleys may be bygone, but a Regional Transit Alliance project will help take citizens back to a day when the hustle and bustle of life was centered around the streetcar.

 

The RTA recently restored an authentic 1940s streetcar (PCC 551 model), using federal Transportation Enhancements funds.

 

RTA located a vintage car in California that was original to Kansas City, and hired a west coast company called Historic Railway Restoration — specializing in streetcars and trolleys — to restore it.

 

Streetcar ran in KC, Toronto and San Francisco

The car was built by the St. Louis Car Company for Kansas City Public Service, where it ran between 1947 and 1957. Next it went to the Toronto Transportation Commission where it was in service from 1957 to 1973; and finally to San Francisco Municipal Railway from 1973 to 1979.

 

The car was then sold to the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association in 1979 and was moved to the Western Railway Museum, in Rio Vista, Calif.. The RTA purchased the streetcar from the museum for $15,000. Restoration costs were approximately $95,000.

 

Streetcar returns to KC

Once restoration was completed in November 2006, the streetcar was trucked to Kansas City and installed along the pedestrian mall behind Union Station, thanks to a local financial match from Mike Haverty, chairman of the Board of Union Station and chairman of Kansas City Southern.

 

The location will allow easy access for viewing the streetcar, which will be close to the pedestrian bridge that links the Crossroads District to Union Station. The RTA plans to help Union Station raise an endowment to maintain the streetcar.