Conestoga Traction 236
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Built in:1926 by J.G. Brill Company (ord#22478)
Out-of-service/Retired:1947
Type of car:streetcar (Birney safety car)
Current Owner:Manheim Historical Society(Manheim, Pennsylvania)
Car History by Frank Hicks
Conestoga Traction 236
The only survivor from the vast Conestoga Traction system of central Pennsylvania is this Birney streetcar. A typical stock Birney built in 1926, car 236 ran on streetcar lines in Lancaster until September 20, 1947. After retirement it was acquired by the Lancaster Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, which placed it in the Landis Brothers Farm Museum in Landis Valley. In 1953 the car was donated to the state of Pennsylvania, and title to the car has not changed hands since. In 1958 car 236, by this time badly deteriorated, was loaned to the Metropolitan Philadelphia Railway Association and moved to Red Arrow's Llanerch Carbarn; two years later it was moved to the Trolley Valhalla site in Tansboro, New Jersey. MPRA partially disassembled the car before it was reclaimed by the state in 1965 after it was learned the car was no longer in Pennsylvania. It was then stored in a warehouse in Allentown before returning to the Landis Valley museum in 1967, where it was stored in a shed. Finally, in 1990, it was loaned to the Manheim Historical Society, where it was restored to operation. It is still operated on a regular basis on a short stretch of electrified track in Manheim.
Ownership History:Conestoga Traction #236 1926-1931 / Conestoga Transportation #236 1931-1947 / 1st preserved by Lancaster Chapter, National Railway Historical Society 1947-1953 / later preserved by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission 1953-1990 / Manheim Historical Society(Manheim, Pennsylvania) 1990-present
Facts and Figures
| Status:operated occasionally | Gauge:5'2.5" |
| Construction:steel | Roof type:AR | Ended:DE |
| Length:30'1" | Width:8'0" | Weight:17210# |
| #Seats:30 | #Wheels/Conf.:4 (B) | Total HP: |
| Trucks:Brill 79E1 | Brakes:SME | Compressor: |
| Motors:GE 264A (2) | Voltage (if not 600DC): |
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