Historic Railway Restoration

Many thanks to Vince Mendenhall, co-owner of Historic Railway Restoration, for sending a full roster of their collection. I'm very appreciative of the chance to correct some errors and omissions I had; coming up with solid information on privately owned collections can be difficult, so this is a big help.

The short version is, the HRR roster has gone from four cars to six. One car formerly listed, Tacoma Birney 219, has been removed; it appears that was an erroneous listing. Another car that's been on the list for a while, Tacoma Birney 326, was formerly at the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society but is now owned by HRR, so its owner has been updated.

Then we get to the fun stuff: additions to the list! The first car at HRR that hadn't been on the list previously is Everett, WA Birney 5, a very early example of the type built in 1917 by American. Everett actually ended up with the very first Birney ever built (at least, according to the late Dr. Harold Cox, the authority on Birneys), a car built in late 1916, and car 5 was constructed just a year later. It ran in its home city for just six years, after which it was transferred to Tacoma. It's the only streetcar from Everett known to be preserved.

The second newly added HRR car is Tacoma "turtleback" 202, a double-truck city car built in 1912 by Cincinnati. I believe it's the car pictured in this article from about 15 years ago, suggesting it's not in great shape. It is significant, though; of four Tacoma streetcars on the PNAERC list, this is the only one that isn't a Birney. (That said, there's a mystery "turtleback" body stored at the Ballard Terminal Railroad in Seattle that I haven't been able to identify, so that could be a second Tacoma car of this type.)

It should also be mentioned that HRR has been involved with a couple of cosmetic restoration projects involving Washington state electric cars. Bellingham Birney 360, formerly listed (erroneously) as having been restored for the Helen Loggie Museum, was actually restored cosmetically by HRR for the City of Bellingham and is now in storage there awaiting completion of a display building. Tacoma Birney 324 is the car actually restored for the Helen Loggie Museum by HRR (post-restoration photo above courtesy Vince Mendenhall), and it has been moved to Bellingham for storage while "The Loggie" constructs a display pavilion.

Bellingham Birney Moves

Many thanks to Olin Anderson, who has passed along updated information on Puget Sound Traction Light & Power 360, one of two surviving Bellingham (Washington) Birneys dating to 1917. This particular car was in an Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant in Seattle until 2017, and was then acquired by Historic Railway Restoration. Olin reports that the car has been cosmetically restored by HRR and moved back home to the Helen Loggie Museum of Art in Bellingham, which is located in the oldest extant brick building in Washington state. The car isn't on public display yet; apparently it's stored in a warehouse near the museum until a shelter can be constructed to display it. The photo above dates to 2020, at which point the car was stored at the Port of Bellingham, but Olin says it has since been repainted in PSTL&P green and has been placed on a homebuilt truck. Its status on the PNAERC list has been appropriately updated, including adding "The Loggie" to the list of electric car owners.

EDIT: See this post for corrected info on car 360 (which actually went to the City of Bellingham) and car 324 (which went to "The Loggie").