'Tis the Season...

...for trolley parades! In early June, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum ran their "Anything on Wheels" event which included some 16 operating cars from their collection split into three different parades (photo gallery here, no log-in required). And this didn't even include Pittsburgh air-electric PCC car 1138, which ran for the first time in 26 years this past weekend. Not counting the Mattapan fleet, 1138 is now one of only eight air-electric PCC cars in operation. That number includes two cars each from Washington DC and Los Angeles, and one each from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Toronto, and Brooklyn.

Over in Connecticut this past weekend, as shown above, it was Branford's turn. For their "Museum in Motion" event, they had 20 cars in operation including a selection of streetcars, interurbans, and work equipment. Newly operational C&LE car 116 was highlighted, of course, as was ConnCo open car 1425, which is undergoing restoration work after a long period of time out of service on static display. I believe Branford actually has more like 30 pieces of equipment that are operational, but they're limited by constraints including available volunteers in how many cars they can run at one time.

When it comes to "more is more," though, it's tough to beat IRM. This coming Saturday, IRM will hold its "70 for 70 Trolley Pageant" to commemorate the museum's 70th anniversary. It's been nearly a decade since the last time the museum held a true trolley parade - in recent years, IRM has tended toward a UK-style "gala" model for its annual Trolley Weekend. This year's parade is planned to include no fewer than 70 pieces of electric equipment in operation, which is more than any other museum beside Seashore and Branford even owns. And you can watch it all on IRM's high-def webcams at noon (or so) Central time. I recommend the Spaulding Tower webcam, though the Car Line Junction and Diesel Shop West webcams will also be good bets. Enjoy!