What's It Like To Operate A Trolley? (feat. Miles in Transit)

It's been a longtime dream of mine to drive a trolley, and this past March I actually got to do it! The Friends of the Philadelphia Trolleys support the preservation and maintenance of former Philadelphia traction equipment, and to raise funds, they host $25 Day events periodically, where one can ride and drive historic trolleys. Join me, Miles, and Jackson at the most recent one, as we explore the Baltimore Streetcar Museum's operating collection and try our hand at being motormen!
More about the Friends of the Philadelphia Trolleys: www.friendsofphiladelphiatrol...
Classy Whale - at-least-weekly adventures, featuring trains and more!

[@MilesinTransit]

I'm a fairly passive member of this party.

[@teddawg327]

my brother drove the Philadelphia route 23 car from South Philadelphia to Chestnut Hill

[@BoxcarJerry]

Looks like everyone had a great time , wish I got to meet the others and talk with your dad more. Thanks for coming out and supporting the event .

[@Johnbaker-pt8rn]

I was there that day , I got to drive the snow plow and the Birney. It was a blast!

[@Rich-xg2cg]

I took trolleys like this to school everyday as a kid growing up in San Francisco . They are still in operation on the Embarcadero line in SF.

[@joseflavallee8577]

The Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys sponsors this event at several Trolley museums. I suggest attending as many as you can.

[@chuckmathues9276]

I lived across the street from the "50" trolley car from SEPTA. I was able to take the trolley to Jr High School and also was able to visit relatives in Feltonville. Was in service till 1974 when they switched to buses. :(

[@RayBoebel]

I have a 1 year membership to the BSM for 2024. I was there today (Mar 3, 2024) for opening day. So cool!! (Ray)

[@johnchambers8528]

This museum has a nice selection of various types of trolleys that ran in Baltimore and Philadelphia. It was nice that they let you drive both the modern PCC cars as well as the older cars that had the hand controls. I did get to operate one of SEPTA’S newer trolleys at their layover yard in southwest Philadelphia on one of the days SEPTA did a celebration of their trolleys. I was especially happy to be invited to operate the car with the controls at the rear of the car to get to the end of the demonstration track they were using. Most people only got to operate the cars going forward from the drivers seat in the front of the car. The operator supervising the operation said I did a good job running the car with smooth starts and stops.

[@yvonneplant9434]

The "newer" trolleys are 40 years old.

[@chuckschafer942]

YOU DO NOT DRIVE A TROLLEY YOU OPERATE IT

[@johnchambers8528]

Yes you operate a trolley car not drive it. To drive a vehicle that means you can steer it as well as operate the acceleration and breaking. Trolleys like trains run on tracks so the trolley can only go where the tracks run you do not steer it.

[@OperatorLogan]

Great video! You operate these trolleys, I think you guys had fun, There is another event May, 21st like this one and I hope to see you all there!

[@ClassyWhale]

I'm actually gonna be in Toronto that weekend, but I hope some of my viewers can come!

[@history_leisure]

I return to the US on the 20th (studying in Madrid but currently commenting from Nancy-which has a janky not Trolly Bus Tram thing)

[@Stanf954]

I vaguely remember the PCC in Brooklyn as a kid. Most were discontinued and replaced by trolley or diesel bus. When I moved to the Philadelphia area I was surprised to see them still in service.

[@AA_8184_1]

Wow what a fun time! That’s looks like a great experience! Nice meetups too!

[@Maurice-Navel]

Growing up in Philadelphia during the Jurassic, I rode lots of PCC's, Peter Witts (double-ended!), and even the open-sided Parkside Trolley that took people across the Schuylkill to Fairmount Park. Still a fan of trolleys, now in San Francisco.

[@NedVenture]

Great Episode!! “Keep your eyes on the track!” - hello from Sonora CA. I have some local steam trains on my channel if your interested.

[@robertknight4672]

Very nice collection of Baltimore street cars. I live fairly close to Boston Massachusetts and our Mattapan High Speed Line still has PCC cars and service. Fun fact: Boston PCC cars actually have doors on the left side. In addition to the ones on the right.

[@jacorp7476]

Still loving this channel! Keep up the good work!

[@MarkWaller2]

This looks like a great day out - one more thing to put on my "to do" list. It's also quite easily accessible by public transport - only about half a mile from Baltimore Penn station, and perhaps a bit closer to North Avenue light rail stop.

[@johnsmart964]

Thank you very much for this very interesting and entertainment, it was great fun as well as giving an insight into how the trolleys were controlled, they do a great job of preserving these fantastic trolleys going. It was great that your colleagues from Miles in Transit were there also, they really added so much to this magnificent video presentation. Your work is much appreciated by all of us.

[@alfred5674]

Hey you should check out the Halton County Radial Railway it's pretty cool.

[@briansivley2001]

This would be a dream come true for me. As a kid I wanted to become a Train Engineer for Amtrak being I'm a huge train fan but my learning disability prevented me from doing it.

[@ClassyWhale]

They're doing this all again in May! See my community tab

[@briansivley2001]

@@ClassyWhale I'm not able to because I live in Chicago and I'm currently working on getting a apartment so I don't know when I'll be free. I know that they have stuff like this at Train Museums south of Chicago in Southern Illinois but I have to concentrate on the important things first. It looks really fun I know I would have a blast doing it but fun stuff comes after important stuff.

[@ivanorlan]

great video, thank you for aircar operation view!

[@edwardmiessner6502]

That looks like loads of fun!

[@MakeItWithCalvin]

Compared to most trains where your hands operate things, the foot controls for the PCC are unique. I believe it was set up like that to make it easier to train operators.

[@hiltonlive32grnrngr]

They should add 2 Kawasaki cars to this location (a single-ender and a double-ender, one of each version). I doubt they can right now since the K-cars are still in service but once Septa retires them and bring in the new trolleys, they should bring them here and at other trolley museums. I would love to drive one just for fun!

[@chuckschafer942]

WE WILL BE GETTING ONE WHEN THEY RETIRE THEM

[@blue9multimediagroup]

The single end cars can run just fine once they upgrade the track. The double end cars not so much since they use pantographs and the museum doesn't have the wires to support this operation.

[@Thom-TRA]

I just got this recommended. This looks like so much fun!

[@dakotanorth1640]

This looks exciting!

[@rodneyfrederick6810]

I remember right that septa trolley as a child lived on girard avenue

[@phillyfan-182]

That’s awesome!!!

[@drdewott9154]

This is honestly quite funky to see, especially the PCC's. All the trolleys we had in Copenhagen back in the day (which there thankfully are preserved a ton of at the Danish tramway museum) have the opposite setup to the PCC's, with stuff like the accelerator and brakes being controlled by hand, while the bell is foot controlled. This even remained up until the very last trams they got, the German Düwag GT6's which were a direct competitor to the PCC and whose design received various variants directly based upon it like the U2, which became a stable of early North American Light rail systems. Being a volunteer at the museum back in the day, I got the opportunity to drive some of the trams during the after hours across various different models. My 2 favorites were by far an old WW2 austerity design tram numbered 470 (that thing was like a rocket with how much power it had, it just wanted to go FAST), and their operational Düwag, 2412. A car that Copenhagen loaned from Germany for a 1957 trial between it and a Belgian licensed PCC to test out which model to buy for their next generation trolleys (the PCC in question also being at the very same museum and having pedal controls) Sorry for turning this into a long rambling about the Danish trolley museum btw but if you ever visit Copenhagen I highly reccomend it, It's decently easy to get to by transit and is one of the largest and most vast trolley museums anywhere in the whole world with 2 different heritage lines, one of which being 1 mile long, and using trams from all over the world, even as far away as Australia.

[@trainsofboston3492]

This is so cool, Thank you so much for sharing this, I wish Eastern Massachusetts had a museum like this, let alone a museum that lets your drive trolleys!

[@intercityrailpal]

Wonderful program for the young. But trains are run not driven here. My Uncle worked for the BQT in Brooklyn until the last day of rail. I have his watch still, I have to give it away someday.

[@OperatorLogan]

We use Operate, Unless its a 2 man car, Then some people say motorman runs the car.

[@TheMansfieldBusGuy]

6:15 1950's moment 3:14 Also Metro moment

[@SamanthamusPrimeV28050]

My friend Catie Bowman rode the SEPTA trolley route 15 when she was younger, and she played around on the trolley model at the SEPTA transit museum, but she didn't get to go to operate an actual trolley that does move.

[@rodneyfrederick6810]

Same here I rode that trolley as a kid I still live in Philly they are bringing them trolleys back out doing track work

[@SamanthamusPrimeV28050]

@@rodneyfrederick6810 wow. My friend now currently lives in Pottstown, PA, and still has access to SEPTA with the 93 bus.

[@josephschuster1494]

GREAT VIDEO! A firsthand look at the operations of a typical PCC is a real opportunity to experience these fine cars! 🚃

[@blue9multimediagroup]

We were there that day as well

[@joseescamilla6778]

wow... looks like easy to learn how to operate them.

[@hartstukken]

Wake me up when Alan Fisher shows up in the comments

[@TonyP9279]

This is one of the things I miss about San Francisco, the trolleys (I mean the F Market Street trolley, not the electric buses that pretend to be trolleys; I'm not a fan of those).

[@actereighty4776]

Which leaves this question in my mind. When coming to an intersection driving a PCC trolley and wanting to make a left or right turn, how? It never shows what switch to use. perhaps someone can explain.

[@chuckschafer942]

SWITCHPOINTS

[@johnchambers8528]

In some cases the operator has to get out of the car and use a manual switch point metal tool that looks like a tire iron with a flat service on one end that is used to fit into the switch rail. The operator then uses the tool to move the switch points to make the turn. This is usually only used where switches are not regularly used. In my case I used to see the operator do this maneuver at the Rt. 34 turn around point at the end of the line off Baltimore avenue where there were two layover tracks but most times they only needed to use one track so the switch was manually operated.

[@royreynolds108]

Some streetcar lines used a device attached to the wire a few feet before the turnout that as the trolley shoe went through it if the car was taking power, the track switch point was operated by an electric coil and it set the point to one direction, if the car was not taking power or coasting, the switch point was set the opposite way. I believe this is the way the New Orleans trolley routes are controlled.

[@brookhavenrpjobs1633]

0:12 yoo i see that orion v dash in the backround, so sad that it retired.

[@CameronReape]

3:46 eyyyyy

[@Kaesono]

When he said "Miles IS Transit" I felt that

[@mikefit3343]

Awe man, I'd love to get behind the control of these trolleys. Are these events still accessible for the public, if so when?

[@rayizard5687]

6:48 looks like a big version of Mr Roger's trolley

[@ClassyWhale]

You ain't wrong. Wont you be my neighbor?

[@intercityrailpal]

Built on the Ma and PA RR bed right?

[@ClassyWhale]

I believe so

[@TeddyT6]

How cool is this???

[@williamperri3437]

I would’ve loved to have done this. Is this still available?

[@ClassyWhale]

They do it every 3-6 months!

[@MetroMenTransitProductions]

Would you say you “classy-fy” as a railfanner or more of a transit explorer?

[@ClassyWhale]

Kinda both! Model railroader and aviation junkie too

[@LifeOnCoach]

✌🏾

[@chuckschafer942]

PLENTY TO DO WITH HANDS LOAD CHANGER ISSUE AND COLLECT TRANSFERS

[@erikziak1249]

0:28 Such aggressive brakes. Is there an all-electric PCC? I find them more fun to drive. Although I have driven only unofficially, without passengers (ČKD Tatra T3).

[@blue9multimediagroup]

The blue & orange one with the blue seats (2168) is all electric.

[@DateTwoRelate]

The American Association of Certain-to-Be-Forever Single Men?

[@chuckschafer942]

CONTROLLER

[@teddawg327]

My brother drive the Septa 23 car

[@dalemettee1147]

Miles, ask the guys if they would like to operate the PCC in reverse using the controls in the rear of the car? Really scary using these controls. Tis could reach ~ 40 MPH! Can you imagine how hard it is to stop it at that speed? I've actually seen the magnetic plates used to stop this car!

[@robertcartwright4374]

The steering's easy on those, eh?

[@luislaplume8261]

It is called aa motorman not a driver.

[@chuckschafer942]

BROKEN ROPE

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

You don't drive a streetcar, you "operate" it.

[@wavesnbikes]

So this track's basically a juiced up Ma & Pa?

[@albertcarello619]

With pants graphs you don't have the dewireing like you can with trolley poles.

[@af8312]

The irony of 6:15. A communist politician would be more likely to preserve a streetcar as a public service.

[@keithlantz6821]

Why does it look like a third-world country around there?

[@ClassyWhale]

It's an industrial area that isn't well-maintained. The museum hopes to purchase the one building near the tracks to store some of its collection. Check out their web site to see how you can help make it happen!