Ever wondered what happened to all the trolleys
as American cities abandoned their trolley and rapid transit
networks? Some American trolleys were shipped to Europe (and
elsewhere in the world) after WWII as part of the Marshall plan.
Some of the
PCCs remained in the states and were sold to other North
American municipalities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and
San Francisco, who kept their subway-surface trolley routes and some
of their busier surface lines. Also, hundreds of cars were sold to
Toronto and Mexico City for their streetcar systems.
However, the older wooden trolleys often ended
up in the
‘burn
pit’ The trolley cars were doused with kerosene and set afire.
The metal left behind was then sold for its scrap value.
Here’s a picture.
Here is a link to
our history of the streetcar page
Trolley
Graveyards
