St. Louis Trolley Revival in Full Swing

Trolleys will soon get back on track in St. Louis' Delmar Loop, decades after they were taken out of service.

1 minute read

March 19, 2017, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Historic Transit

A PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) trolley car, pictured in St. Louis in 1963. | Marty Bernard / Flickr

The city of St. Louis will soon see the return of trolleys to the Delmar Loop.

Sarah Fenske reports that city officials earlier this month celebrated the beginning of testing on the line, which will be moving through several iterations over the coming months. "Before the general public can get on the cars, each trolley car should have 300 miles of test runs completed — and since the existing line is just 2.2 miles, that's a whole lot of practice trips," writes Fenske. "The goal is for passengers to begin taking their first rides by the summer."

Importantly, the testing phase will also provide a test for local drivers—the Loop trolley will be mixing with traffic and will always have the right of way. Drivers should also expect a crackdown on double parking and other parking misbehavior that interrupts the Trolley's right of way. The article includes a series of photos of the new streetcars—which are actually refurbished streetcars from Portland. 

Thursday, March 2, 2017 in St. Louis Riverfront Times

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