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| CLASSIC PHOTOS: BALTIMORE STREETCAR MUSEUM (1637317) | |||
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CLASSIC PHOTOS: BALTIMORE STREETCAR MUSEUM |
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Posted by Jersey Mike on Mon Nov 18 13:30:44 2024 In 2003 when I first moved into Baltimore for a graduate degree, I was walking along the Route 1 "skew arch" bridge over the Jones Falls valley when I heard the unmistakable sound of steel wheels negotiating a tight curve. Upon investigation I discovered it was not a product of the Baltimore light rail, but from a streetcar museum just a few blocks from Penn Station. In early November, 2003 I biked down to get my first look at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum (BSM), which I would proceed to visit on and off to this very day. Although the photo set is fairly small, you can find it here ( mirror ).Over the long term, the BSM's limited stock of streetcars and track caused my interest to drop and I began to limit my visits to once per year. However over my first several trips it was fun to get to know "the BSM's cast of characters. First amoung these was #4533, a brightly painted car that was built in 1904 and then rebuilt twice before it finished service in 1963. It was equipped with air brakes in 1924, making it an easy car for the volunteer staff to operate, but single truck arrangement makes this car the king of wheel noise as it negotiates tight trackage.  Another common attraction in the early 2000's was car #1050, a hand braked car from 1898. This car was unfortunately involved in an accident with the back wall of the carbarn in the early 2010's that would also mark the end of superstar volunteer Dan Lawrence's time with the museum. Car #1050 remains out of service to this day awaiting repairs.   Peter Witt type streetcar #6119 was built by Brill in 1930 and would be the immediate predecessor of the ill fated PCC competitor "Brillliner". Although the carbody and passenger accommodation was all metal and more modern than the previous generation of clearstory cars, its propulsion system was entirely conventional.   At the time the BSM only had one PCC car, #7407, which was stuck way back in the barn where I couldn't get a photo, forcing me to settle for these PCC axles.  The BSM sits in the literal shade of the CSX Baltimore Belt line. The small hut in the background its the BSM's 600V DC rectifier.  As I said this was a pretty limited set of photos, but I would return over the years to see the other cars and to watch the museum's operating collection grow several times over. Today their main line is largely double tracked, the carbarn got an extra storage track and the terminal trackage was largely re-worked. It has also become the defacto Philly streetcar museum due to lack of any closer competitor with Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys storing some of their equipment on site. |
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