The End of Trolley Service

All good things come to an end.  For local trolleys, the people of Hagerstown and Frederick at the time were glad to see the trolleys go, but today many wish the trolleys remained.

An exhibit near the end of the tour features a door and window removed during the restoration of H&F #150, today known as “The Myersville Trolley.”  This trolley was purchased second hand in 1923 to primarily serve Boonsboro to Hagerstown service.  It also is related to the famous New Orleans trolleys still in service, as well as Thomas Built school buses.

Trolley 150 itself, and its former private owner Donald Easterday of Myersville, can be credited  in part for the continued interest of trolleys in our area.

The exhibit here explores that trolley’s history and that of its three identical sister cars, from their construction to their retirement.  Below the window, an additional panel tells of the car’s survival, restoration by Mr. Easterday, and life as a festival centerpiece for two decades before being placed on public exhibit inside of the Myersville Community Library.

Trolley service ended in parts, but for Washington County it ended on August 4th 1947.  Frederick service ended on February 20, 1954.  This panel gives an overview of those last trips.  Accompanying the photographs is a QR Code offering visitors the opportunity to listen to a WJEJ Radio broadcast recorded on board the last Frederick trolley by Carroll James.  Mr. James would go on to collect and preserve several items in our collection.  Artifacts mounted to the wall here were discovered during a 2021 survey of the Fishing Creek Bridge site in Lewistown, relics left behind from the removal of the railway tracks and bridges there  in 1958.

The final exhibit in the museum explores the post-retirement uses of trolleys.  Because most of our area trolleys were primarily wood, it was cheaper for the railway to offer them for sale than to destroy them for scrap metal.  Wheels were kept, and the rest sold to become sheds, homes, offices, and even churches!

Today only four trolleys still exist.  #150 is discussed in its own display, but other survivors #5, #168 and #171 are presented at the bottom of this display.

Accompanying the exhibit is a door from #172, the “Last Trolley” on most routes.  A step stool may also be from the same trolley car.  Though it is not proven to be related, it is offered as an example of similar steps which may have been needed at certain points along the line.

Younger guests may be assisted in GENTLY using the handle and rope to demonstrate the latching mechanism on the trolley door.