TROLLEY

 The Trolley Story

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"Trolley No 22"

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Local historian, Millie Landis-Coyle, wrote a series of trolley articles that were printed in the local papers in 1995.  They have been re-produced below.

THE TROLLEY CAR – DERRY TOWNSHIP USA

With affluence comes change, but not always to our advantage.  When the American Dream -A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage- became a reality for many Americans, it literally changed the face of America

Most profoundly affected by the ownership of “a family car” was one of the most outstanding features of American travel – the trolley car. For those of us who remember the trolley rides, the history of the long gone trolley car evokes pleasant memories of a less harried era of travel

No longer can we just drop a nickel in the hands of a conductor and sit down and relax - - no traffic jams, no worry about a parking place, no gas tanks to fill. Sometimes we could finish that last bit of homework, meet friends, and girls could flirt with the “home boys.”  What a great way to start out the day.

Trolley historians tell us that the trolley car was the most used form of travel for almost three decades, from the early 1890s to the late 1920s.  In 1923, fourteen billion Americans traveled by “electric traction” as it was known in the industry. Today, there are only nine cities in the United States where trolleys are still a means of transportation.

Two of the major economic drawbacks of the trolley system was the need to purchase and maintain a large number of cars to accommodate commuters during the morning and evening rush hour when traffic was at its peak.  On weekends many cars stood idle in car barns that were needed to protect them from the weather and vandalism

Occasionally, outside entrepreneurs “rented” the trolleys on weekends for special events.

In his book Chocolate Town Trolleys, Richard J. Steinmetz, Sr. describes the Hershey “basket” cars and trolley picnics,  “A special car was assigned the task of hauling the family meals in carefully tagged baskets, or boxes, in order that the passenger cars could perform their tasks more efficiently.  Frequently a freight or express car was designated to pick up the load of homemade goodies at a central point.

Trolley historian John D. Demmy in his book Trolleys of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, takes us back to the “horse car” era which was in operation in Harrisburg as far back as 1865.  These cars were generally pulled by one horse, with a second horse on stand-by to assist cars up steep hills.  An original horse car is still preserved as part of collection owned by the Historical Society of Berks County.

In 1888, the last of the horse cars that was operating between Harrisburg and Steelton was converted to electric.  Gradually, several transit companies in the Harrisburg area merged to form what came to be known as the Harrisburg Railway.

The Harrisburg Railway then formed a connection with the Hershey Transit Company in Hummelstown.  This was especially significant as it opened up a direct line of travel to and from the city of Harrisburg for Hershey, Palmyra , Annville and Lebanon .

This service continued until the early 1930s.  After fifty years of trolley service, the company changed to busses.  The last trolley car left Market Square in Harrisburg on July 16, 1939 .

Hershey’s well maintained transit system continued to operate until after World War II, surviving almost a decade longer than the transit systems in the surrounding areas.  This was, in part, due to the chocolate factory’s dependence on the trolley system for its supply of milk and for transporting the many employees from surrounding towns.

Hershey’s milk cars, as they were called, were a familiar sight as they traveled through the rich dairy farming area as far reaching as Ephrata.  “Milk Depots” as they came to be known were established for dairy farmers to deliver the milk to be transported to the chocolate factory. 

Trolley historian, Benson W. Rohrbeck writes about the “milk hauling business” in his book, Hershey Transit.  “The milk hauling business grew so much that additional cars were ordered and one of the single truck cars was rebuilt into a 3,000 gallon insulated tank car.  The tank car operated on the Hershey-Lebanon-Lincoln run, picking up a partial load at Lincoln , then topping off at Lebanon before returning to the chocolate factory in Hershey.

The tank car operated six days a week.  The late teens and early twenties were the heyday for milk trolleys, which frequently provide more revenue than the passenger runs.

In addition to the daily tank car run, the express-milk cars operated twice daily to Elizabethtown with a daily run to Mt. Joy and Lebanon .  The total gallon age delivered by trolleys peaked at about 50,000 gallons daily.

TROLLEYS ARE RECYCLED

If one were to list the many attributes of philanthropist-founder Milton S. Hershey, certainly we would find “master of recycling” close to the top of the list.

In last week’s column, we read about the “milk hauling” trolley cars which kept the chocolate factory supplied with milk via the trolley system.  This week we learn that trolleys which once hauled milk and the aban don ed sight-seeing cars were converted into freight cars for hauling heavy equipment and building materials to building sites in the area.

Prior to World War I, a “loop” trolley track was built around the water supply reservoir located on what was then known as “Pat’s Hill”.  This picturesque summit, which is now the location of the Hotel Hershey, overlooked the growing town of Hershey .  The track was connected to the park and the town by a steep grade.  On a warm summer evening, townspeople and visitors could take a relaxing trolley ride on one of the two small open cars, enjoy a walk around the reservoir, and take in the panoramic view of their town before returning home.

By the beginning of World War I, the “sightseeing” trolley to Pat’s Hill had gone out of business and the trolley tracks and the electric wires had simply been aban don ed.

With the building of Hotel Hershey during the 1930s depression years, not only were the existing tracks put back into operation, but the sightseeing cars, as well.  The open air trolleys that were once used to carry sightseers had been converted into freight cars to carry the heavy, railroad transported materials to the building site of the hotel.

In addition, milk-hauling cars which were no longer used for that purpose were converted into freight cars.

Transfer tracks were built bordering those of the Reading Railroad Company, and the heavy freight shipped to Hershey by rail was reloaded onto the renovated trolley cars for transporting to the building site via the refurbished trolley cars.

With the tracks back in operation, passenger cars were put into use to carry workmen to and from their jobs at the top of the hill.  Once the huge building project was completed the trolley transportation was kept in operation to carry visitors and townspeople to this site once again.

The tracks were also needed for transporting the Hershey Industrial School boys to their school, which was built on that same hill.  This trolley line continued to operate until the trolley system closed down in 1946. 

THE END OF THE TROLLEY ERA

It was shortly before midnight on Saturday, December 21, 1946 .  A crowd of people, among them several state policemen, gathered at the square in Hershey to board one of three trolleys.  For most of the crowd, it didn’t matter which trolley they were going on.  They were there to help celebrate a historical event in Derry Township – the last trolley trip.

One of the cars was headed for Palmyra , one for Hummelstown, and the third for Campbelltown.  As the crowd filled the trolleys to capacity, the conductors and motormen took their stations with heavy hearts.  It was to be their last trip and none were quite sure what the future would hold for them.

The conductor for the Hummelstown run was David Sattazahn; the motorman was  Dwight Waybright.  Policemen William C. Long and Owen J. Gibble were on board to guard against souvenir hunters.

Eight of the forty-four passengers were factory workers returning to Swatara Station, and the rest were “round trippers” making history.  Amos Lehman of Hershey, one of the passengers, had the distinction of being on board for the first trolley 44 years earlier.

Harvey McCorkle was the conductor for the Palmyra run, with Daniel Geib as motorman.  State policemen, Richard McGowan and William Moyer were on board. McCorkle remarked that many riders were regular passengers who were there to wish him luck.  As part of trolley history McCorkle will always be remembered for his friendliness and his ability as a conductor.

The Campbelltown trolley was run by John N. Cassel where he served as both conductor and motorman.  Regrettably, no policemen were on this trip.  Among the 27 passengers were a number of “teen age boys” who “pulled down blinds on the car and stripped placards from the trolley.”

On the return trip “they blew the trolley whistle so much the air pressure dropped and the brakes automatically went, halting the run for about 10 minutes.”

Martin Brandt of Campbelltown was on board for the last ride because as a boy, he “cut school” so he could be on the first trolley ride to Campbelltown.  Passengers Harry Horst and Harvey Linaweaver of Campbelltown had also been on the first trolley ride.

The trolley returned to the Hershey square and headed for the last round trip to the Hershey Hotel at which time state policeman Francis X. Christine and Gerald Machmer came on board.

With the end of the trolley car era some motormen and conductors assumed positions with the buses that replace the trolley.  Others were given jobs elsewhere in Hershey.  But, in their hearts, they knew that nothing could every replace the thrill of being in control of that electric wonder known as the “trolley car.”

Recognizing the importance of preserving the trolleys and the way of travel they offered, many historical societies and independent group have become dedicated to the preservation of the trolley car and its importance in the history of transportation in our country.  One such group, The Friends of the Hershey Trolley, has begun holding meeting to investigate the possibility of acquiring and restoring a Hershey trolley.

CAR BARNS REVISITED

By Millie Landis-Coyle for The Derry Township Historical Society

Once again Hershey residents gathered in the Chocolatetown Square on Wednesday evening July 23 to witness phase two of the Bowser Construction Company’s plan for the future of downtown Hershey.  There had to be some wide smiles and a few memories jostled when they heard Dave Bowser say “he would like the old trolley barn rebuilt and the trolley brought back.”  No doubt there were those among the audience who may have never heard about “trolley barns” or as they were also known “car barns.”

It seems that when Hershey natives begin reminiscing among themselves, memories of riding the trolley will inevitably emerge.  But very few of us bring up the topic of the car barns as they just weren’t as exciting.  Perhaps, that was because we never realized the part that car barns played in the history of the Hershey Transit Company.   

The first car barn of the Hershey Transit Company was built close to the entrance of the Hershey Chocolate Factory where the windowless office now stands. In early pictures of downtown Hershey, the huge car barn appears to be a part of the factory building.  The first car barn was eventually replaced with a beautiful Café which most certainly created a more improved downtown look.

The success of the transit system created a need for more trolleys than could be accommodated in that first structure, and work was begun on a second car barn in Hershey.  The Hershey Press dated December 16, 1915 , announced the plans for building a new car barn that will be located on the north side of Chocolate Avenue, west of the Hershey Lumber Company.

The Press stated  “The new barn will be one of the largest and handsomest buildings in Hershey.  It will have a length of 270 feet and it will be 95 feet wide with ample room for the storage of 40 cars.  The material will be concrete and the building will be one of the most substantial character.”

Car barns, it seems, served many purposes other than storing the trolley cars when not in use. On March 28, 1918 , the Hershey Press announced that a new freight and express car was recently completed at the Hershey Transit Company’s new car bar and placed in commission immediately. The car, designated Car #25, was designed by James K. Putt and constructed under his personal supervision.  The car was forty feet in length and one of the strongest cars on the Hershey Transit Company’s lines.  It could hold 10 tons with ease.

New features were added that included an “outside ladder to facilitate getting to the roof, automatic doors, and a roof construction that was ideal from a car construction point of view.”

Trolley superintendents from the area were invited to Hershey to look over the car, and all announced it was a splendid car.  One of the men wanted to place an order to have one built for his lines, which of course, had to be turned down.