Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Roanoke survivor

The streetcar under the tarp at this link is the Roanoke Railway & Electric car owned by the Commonwealth Coach & Trolley Museum, which suffered a devastating fire about two months ago now. Initially there was some speculation about whether the car had been destroyed but written accounts stated that it had survived, and indeed here it is, wrapped in old billboard coverings and - according to the caption - awaiting transportation to a new site. The CC&TM website indicates that the organization is being merged into the Virginia Museum of Transportation across town, which is separately listed on the PNAERC list as it owns two mainline electric locomotives and a Washington DC streetcar, but for the moment CC&TM appears to be doing its own fundraising as a distinct entity. 

The streetcar is in rough shape, as it was acquired after service as a house that included removal of part or all of one entire side of the car, but it's the only Roanoke streetcar preserved in the state. Unfortunately the museum lost most of its restored buses in the fire; this photo, taken from the concrete pad that used to be the museum's storage garage, shows what's left of the museum.

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