Rockhill Trolley Museum hosts Johnstown Car Weekend

ROCKHILL FURNANCE -- Street rail car enthusiasts, especially those from Johnstown, are in for a treat this weekend.

The Rockhill Trolley Museum in Huntingdon County will hold Johnstown Car Weekend Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. featuring Johnstown Traction Co. cars 311 and 355.

"We didn't worry too much about transportation from cars because street cars were the way of life in Johnstown in that time period, said Bud Blair, a Johnstown native and Penelec retiree.

He has been volunteering at the museum for 18 years and can fondly recall the days of his youth, growing up in the 8th Ward of Johnstown in the 1940s and 50s.

"The primary mode of transportation in Johnstown was your streetcars. They ran all the way from Southmont, Moxham, Ferndale, down to Morrellville, Coopersdale, and even before the 1936 flood, they even had a line that went into Windber,” said Blair.

Street rail fans will have the opportunity to turn back time to ride two of those Johnstown trolleys from Johnstown’s rich history in the street rail business that began here in the late 1800s, under the leadership of Tom Johnson and his cousin A.J. Moxham.

"They headquartered their operations in the Moxham neighborhood of Johnstown, started rolling street rails and all of the sudden from the 1890s on, street rail was revolutionized with the introduction of the electric motor, and a lot of these early systems came out of Johnstown from the Johnson company,” said Richard Burkert, with the Johnstown Area Heritage Association.

From its beginning, the trolley system served Johnstown well for more than six decades.

As more people bought cars, the trolley system eventually was phased out as public transportation transitioned to buses. But for many, there is still a soft spot for the old-time trolley.

"Actually the last day in 1960, street rail enthusiasts from all over the country flocked to Johnstown to ride the trolley before it suspended operations,” said Burkert.

Fast forward 58 years and you can still catch a ride on a Johnstown trolley, but you'll have to visit the Rockhill Trolley Museum where Blair will be more than happy to offer you a taste of nostalgia.

"It makes my day to come down here and be involved with these cars to show other people what they meant to us as people growing up in the street car era,” said Blair.

Viewers can read more about the event by clicking here.

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