Charlotte Heritage Trolley System and Trolley Barn/Museum

[monsoon]

[monsoon]

[Norm2]

OK, that man has hia hand on that woman's ass in that picture! Oh, and has anyone been on the trolley yet!?

[UptownGrrl]

OK, that man has hia hand on that woman's ass in that picture! Oh, and has anyone been on the trolley yet!?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I went for a ride on it a couple of months ago just after it opened. Went down to South End, had lunch, then rode it back. Its a lot of fun on a nice day - and a fun novelty for showing to out of town visitors.

The reproduction seats are rather nifty too. Instead of the whole trolley turning around, each of the seating benches switches direction by reversing the position of the seat back.

[Delta]

So cute. I love the coloring too.

Even with tradtional conductors with uniforms?

The Gomaco assembly line in the link has great pics too.

[ezcheese]

I don't know how many cars total they have now, but I have ridden three of them. My fav is the original one. I think it has the most comfortable seats. The last time I rode, I took my family from atherton mill down to sixth street and we walked around the center city, then caught the trolley back to atherton mill.

[jolive]

I have owned one home in NoDa and will be buying my second. While I have been excited about the light-rail eventually coming to the area (which will make NoDa property continue to appreciate while other areas flatten out), I think the trolley would compliment the area more. I have read at least one article that proposes the trolley line being extended to NoDa, but have heard little concrete information regarding the matter. Has anyone else heard/read anything? What are everyone's thoughts about the trolley coming to NoDa?

[monsoon]

Honestly, I think the trolley is a nice tourist attraction and possibly away to get around while shopping and partying at night. It is not a very effective mass transit alternative however and the area will be better served by LRT. I would be opposed to any more tax money going to expand the Trolley when the remaining rail system has so many needs money wise.

[jolive]

Yeah, good point. Both would be nice eventually though.

[ndray]

I've been pondering this one for a while and I just can't figure it out. CATS and Charlotte Trolley have always maintained that the the Trolley would continue to operate as a distinct system once LRT is implemented.

Doesn't that seem a little silly? Would you really want to see an LRT vehicle roll on by you while you were waiting at a trolley stop?

I always thought CATS was just saying that so that the City wouldn't think they were wasting money on the trolley -- since the stations don't necessarily correspond with the South LRT.

Seems to me like they should just do what Portland Streetcar does (and i think TriMet too) and run the vintage cars on the regular line making regular stops on weekends.

Don't get me wrong I think what Charlotte Trolley/CATS have done is great. The stations in particular are very classy. I just don't see dual operation as a practical thing in the future.

[uptownliving]

Your suggestion is what they are going to do...most likely run the Trolleys on the weekends on the regular line...the reason they have to have different stops than the LRT is that the Trolley does not have a low floor like the LRT cars will.

[ndray]

Thanks for the info... One more thing does anyone have pics of the trolley going through the Convention center from the inside? I imagine that it looks pretty cool, but haven't seen any pics yet.

[monsoon]

[BlueBear]

I rode the trolley for the first time this weekend. (Saturday, around noon) We got on at Tremont and rode it to Ninth Street. We walked around, then got back on at Morehead St. and rode back. Some observations:

1. It was pretty cool. I've commuted/ridden on lots of trains (Boston, Chicago, SF, NYC, etc...) and it was pretty novel to be riding on a public transportation based rail line in Charlotte!

2. The elevated sections are pretty cool.

3. At least on Saturday, it seems like more of a tourist attraction in and of itself rather than public transport. When we rode it, we were part of a handful of people who actually got OFF the trolley. Most people were riding it round trip, just to check it out.

4. When the inbound car stopped at Tremont, it was already standing room only (and not too much standing room)...which means the train filled up at the trolley barn...and the next trolley doesn't come for another half hour. I don't know what crowds are like during the week but I don't understand how this is mass transport.

5. This thing is definitely a great investment for the city. If you haven't ridden this yet, it is worth a ride.

[dubone]

welcome to the forum, blue bear.

by the way, i didn't notice the first time i saw metro's photo, but this time, it almost looked like a plastic model! "won't you be mine, won't you be mine, oh won't you be my neighbor".

i agreed with many of your observations. it was amazing to ride a train 2-3 miles in Charlotte, and it is just as amazing that someone paid for a bridge of the freeway, next to the westin, through the convention center, and with bridges over a few other streets. I agree that it isn't mass transit. it is definitely an image-creator and history-evoker, and that works very well for tourism. it is unique enough that it is fun to take visitors on a ride. since i live uptown, we take visitors the opposite way, from 1st ward to atherton, where we eat at pike's soda shop and walk around camden. The last time we did that, it was so crowded with kids, we had to wait till the next train.

It is very successful for weekend tourism, and i believe it will pay for itself fairly quickly now that they are raising fares. i think it is slowly building the market for commuting on the trains, but it will never be a "mass transit" solution... that's why we're spending half a bil on light rail .

[BlueBear]

that's why we're spending half a bil on light rail .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Works for me! I live in between what will be the Marsh Rd. and Scaleybark Stations. I'm looking forward to riding my bike to the station and riding uptown! I hate driving...

[Raintree21]

i believe it will pay for itself fairly quickly now that they are raising fares.  ).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How much does it cost now and how much are they raising the fares to?

[dubone]

Works for me!

[BlueBear]

I noticed a few people get on and when the conductor went to take their money, they said "I paid for a round trip pass". I don't doubt that many of them did but you would think they would hand you a transfer or something more verifiable.

[dubone]

i guess they paid with their $2 bill and couldn't get change .

[dubone]

that is a huge shame about the trolley barn. it would have been a nice tie in to history. now, just like with every other piece of history in charlotte, it is a footnote that says, "here once stood"....

[monsoon]

Thanks for the information Orulz. I had not heard of diesel-hydrolic before, but I can see the advantages of it.

Dubone, the trolley barn is unfortunate, but CATS got caught with having to make up a $30M shortfall and that trolley barn was a casualty of that shortfall.

[MZT]

I always thought the historic-ness of the trolley barn was a stretch. Only 2 original walls remained? Nothing else? Housing the trolleys at the new maintenance facility and developing the old property sounds more sensible anyway. Maybe something can be developed there to stimulate foot traffic by the Arlington.

[dubone]

if the original south blvd facade remains somewhere under the modern brick expansion... then i am bigtime for someone saving it... it was really cool and unique. but i suspect that it is gone, in which case, i agree that 30 mil probably wasn't worth it.

HOWEVER... "historic-ness" does remain by using the same structure and location. Tons of history that tourists gawk at in europe is rebuilt after some disaster or fire or war. If a replica facade had been built, it would have still been an important historic gem for charlotte.

but as long as crescent does well by that property with a modern redevelopment, then that is okay with me...

perhaps the plaque on south blvd should say "here once stood the historic trolley barn... victim of massacres, industrial misuse, and a booming chinese economy".

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/new...ic/13410492.htm

As many of you know, the trolley will be shutting down for a year beginning in February. It looks like the Trolley group will be trying to keep it running in SouthEnd for that year, and will also try to revive the Trolley Barn/Museum.

Money is tight, but I hope it happens. The trolley is one of those rare whimsical things that Charlotte can really boast about.