He drove a truck in World War II, but he wasn’t allowed to drive a streetcar in D.C. | The Washington Post

John Kelly from the Washington Post has been writing his column on Washington street cars for the past few weeks. Kelly's column in today's edition of The Post features the story of Howard Stokes, one of Capital Transit's first African American street car motormen (assigned to the famous Cabin John line) and a US Army veteran. You can read the complete article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-streetcars/2021/02/20/36196e64-72f6-11eb-85fa-e0ccb3660358_story.html

Trolley vs Interurban car

For decades, Maryland had high speed electric interurban service connecting the cities of Washington, Baltimore and the Maryland state capital of Annapolis. The Washington Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad (WB&A) ended service in 1935; the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad, successor to the WB&A, ended rail passenger service to Annapolis in 1950. Annapolis remains one of only a handful of state capitals to not have any rail service.
For a brief history on the WB&A, check out this article from our TrolleyTime blog: https://trolleytime.blogspot.com/2020/08/washington-baltimore-and-annapolis.html
Image on right: A WB&A electric interurban car crosses the Severn River. From the collection of Lt. Col. John Merriken, NCTM Collections.
#TrolleyTerminology

TBT: Cabin Fever Day

There is a tradition amongst trolley museums of holding a "Cabin Fever Day" each winter; this fun (and usually cold) event allows volunteers from different trolley museums to meet for a day or two of streetcar operations, photography, spare parts trading and networking. A different museum hosts the event each year, and it was eight years ago today that we last hosted Cabin Fever Day. Bill Monaghan sends this picture from that chilly February afternoon of DC Transit 1101 exiting the Plaza Loop with a load of trolley museum volunteers. CTCo 09, then a fairly recent acquisition from the Rockhill Trolley Museum, and HTM 1329 are in the background. Participants from multiple museums took turns operating several of the cars in the NCTM collection, including the open air boat car in the 30 degree weather (it later snowed briefly.) When the museum hosted the event in 1999, the late NCTM volunteer Bob Schnabel famously managed to serve "Army Beef Stew" to 55 hungry participants.
Jack Demnyan has uploaded a video to YouTube of the day's activities; you can view it here: https://youtu.be/CIaXqHNDENs

Trolley Pole vs Pantograph

Street cars are sometimes known as trolleys because they utilize a small device, called a trolley, at the end of a long roof-mounted pole (called a trolley pole) to collect electricity. Some street cars have a pantograph instead of a trolley pole, and thus are not "technically" trolleys. The street cars in our collection either have trolley poles or pantographs, and we are one of the few transit museums in the United States that regularly operates a street car with a pantograph.
#TrolleyTerminology

Motorman/Conductor... What's the Difference?

Many times during museum operations our volunteers are approached by visitors wondering what the difference is between an operator and conductor. Most assume the conductor is the one "driving" the trolley, when, in fact, the one operating the trolley is called the motorman (or operator.) Sometimes a trolley might only require one crew member; in these cases, the motorman assumes the conductor responsibilities outlined below. The next time you're visiting the Trolley Museum, pay attention to the number of uniformed crew members and watch as they take care of their own set of responsibilities.

Fast food: Story time with Ms. Lipson (Follow up activity)

NCTM Director of Education Karen Lipson has shared another transportation themed story time video! If you haven't watched the video already, you can view it here: https://youtu.be/Qc3OAw413IY

We also have included a follow up activity that we recommend for kids who watched the video: click the link below to download the MS Word document.

http://files.tsrrm.org/dctrolley/Follow%20Up%20Activities%20for%20the%20story%20Fast%20Food.docx

Jim Crow on Street cars

In lieu of our typical African American History Month exhibits, we invite you to join our friends at the Washington DC Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) on February 19 for a live presentation, “JIM CROW ON STREETCARS,” by Eric Madison and Larry Velte, trustees and volunteers at the Trolley Museum.
The program is FREE and open to all. Advance registration is required. Register now at www.dcnrhs.org by clicking the "Register Now" link in the Upcoming Programs block on the DCNRHS web page. Once you register, you will be sent a link and instructions on how to join this program. If you are not already a member, we encourage you to consider joining DCNRHS by making a donation in any amount (membership information on how to join may also be found on the DCNRHS web page).
https://fb.me/e/1RK8YifSb

TARS 678 Seat Covers

One of the streetcars you can explore in the virtual Trolley Museum tour we launched last week is 1939-built Third Avenue Railway System (TARS) 678. This car is one of the most unique in our collection, so returning the car to service after the museum reopens was a priority. However the authentic rattan seats are not particularly compatible with pandemic-necessitated disinfectant. So, with the financial assistance of a local county grant, cleanable vinyl covers were obtained and installed, as seen here, to ensure this car can remain in service throughout the pandemic.
We still have no estimated date of reopening. However when the time does come, we are ready to welcome you back for a safe and enjoyable experience.
You can tour this car and more by visiting our virtual museum: http://capitalskyeye.com/virtual/dctrolley