Fort Collins' streetcar systems holds many noteworthy designations and records, including being the longest-lived Colorado state streetcar and the last all-Birney fleet operating in North America. However, like many cities, Fort Collins never forgot its street railway and made it one of the most popular and most nostalgic street railways in America. Hop aboard Birney No. 21 as we take a Trolley Tuesday trundle down Mountain Avenue aboard the NEW Fort Collins Municipal Railway!
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The Antoine Janis Cabin at the Fort Collins Pioneer Museum, 1941
(Fort Collins Images) |
Fort Collins' Birney No. 21 was originally preserved at the town's Pioneer Museum (today's Museum of Discovery) upon retirement in 1951 as a representative of the now-defunct street railway. Its siblings were either scrapped or delivered to parts unknown as display pieces, which left Fort Collins with only one streetcar. No. 21 was displayed outside and was forced to contend with the elements for over twenty years. No doubt, due to the car's light, thin metal body and cheap wood wicker seats, it was a derelict by 1977, when the local Junior Women's Club stepped in to help.
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| (APTA Streetcar & Heritage Trolley Site) |
The club originally had modest plans for the streetcar, much smaller than other cities (Tucson, Seattle) that were building or rebuilding entire streetcar lines for the American Bicentennial; they proposed to give No. 21 a cosmetic restoration. While talking with the car's owners at the Pioneer Museum and the City of Fort Collins, this plan evolved from a simple restoration into a larger, more ambitious goal: restoring No. 21 to operation on former Municipal Railway track and prior alignments. With this plan in mind, the Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society (FCMRS) nonprofit was organized on March 31, 1980.
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The original Fort Collins Municipal Streetcar carbarn
on Mountain Avenue.
(KUNC) |
After a period of fundraising, a new carbarn was erected at the Western end of Mountain Avenue by the start of 1983, and No. 21 moved in on August 21 that same year. From there, the Society began its restoration of the Birney in earnest while also starting the restoration of their new line. The route chosen ran along Mountain Avenue west from Howe St. to Roosevelt, where it turned left and followed South to its terminus at Fort Collins City Park. Still down Mountain would be the two-stall carbarn across from Frey Avenue, hidden amongst native pines and sodded with grass from the adjacent golf course.
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Anti-streetcar NIMBYs make themselves known, protesting
the addition of a streetcar line on their "Parkway", unaware
that it used to be a trolley line anyway.
(The Coloradoan) |
The Mountain Avenue alignment was chosen for several reasons, chief of which was being an original 1907 route when Colorado & Southern established the "Denver & Interurban" Fort Collins system. After the original tracks were removed, the alignment became a grassy center divider that helped give the historic city park neighborhood a pastoral flair, and it was this grassy divider that the Society used as their railbed (no ties and ballast here!). A 600V DC substation was purchased to supply power over the 1.5 mile system, with the wire supported on existing center street lamps.
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Ft. Collins No. 23 on Mountain Avenue, warning riders not to go skating today, 1940s.
(Ft. Collins Museum of Discovery) |
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Fort Collins No. 21 turns off Mountain Avenue into
its private right-of-way at its city park terminus.
(Heritage Trolley) |
Restoration of both track and trolley were finished by 1984 and cost the Society $2.5 million in funds and donations, while the city of Fort Collins (who were named the official owners of the system, with the Society maintaining it) spent nothing. After much promotion and fanfare, the new Fort Collins Municipal Streetcar made its first public run on December 29, 1984, 77 years to the first Denver & Interurban car running in Fort Collins. Like many areas with inclement winters, the service operated (and still operates) from May to September seasonally, with a half-hour interval between car rides.
Now remember last week when I said there were five Fort Collins cars that survive, yet four found preservation and three were actually scrapped? Well, that's because the new Fort Collins managed to get a replacement of one of their cars that also worked the original system. The original Fort Collins No. 25 was ex-Cheyenne Electric Railway No. 6, and was scrapped just prior to abandonment (its sister, Cheyenne Electric No. 7/Fort Collins No. 26, is today preserved at the Henry Ford in Dearborn, MI).
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Fort Collins No. 25, sporting its final paintscheme.
(Fort Collins Municipal Railway) |
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Ex-VEPC no. 1520, as SCPSCo No. 407,
on display in Charlotte in 2004.
(BERA)
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Virginia Electric Power Company No. 1520 was originally built by Brill in 1922, and served the Richmond area until 1946, when it was sold to the Fort Collins Municipal Railway as their second No. 25. Why the railway would gain two No. 25's is uncertain, probably due to the original being scrapped or out of service at the time. What is known is after the system closed, the new No. 25 was sold to a Mr. James Stitzel and was displayed in Victor, CO, next to the Midland Terminal depot.
The car was then sold in 1980 to a private party in South Carolina for cosmetic restoration, but was then purchased by the Charlotte Trolley Company in 1998 and painted as South Carolina Public Service Co. No. 407. After dithering about on that system, the car was again sold in 2008 back to the new Fort Collins Municipal Railway, where plans are underway to restore and debut the car later in 2020. This now makes two Birney cars returning to operation in their city.
So far, the Fort Collins Municipal Streetcar has carried over 200,000 people into the 21st century and continues to be a popular feature among the public. The only incident so far was No. 21 suffering a snapped axle in July 2010, which put service on hold for the rest of the operating season. The car returned to service on May 1, 2011, for that year's operating season, and has so far continued without fail. May the little Birneys continue to make Fort Collins proud, even as they bounce their way to their 100th birthdays.
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Fort Collins 25 (at left) and 21 (at right) snuggled in their carbarn.
(Fort Collins Municipal Railway) |
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If you would like to learn more about the Fort Collins Municipal Railway, or make a donation in this period of in-operation, please visit their website
here. You can also follow their
Facebook for more updates on this wonderful little system. As usual, you can follow
myself or
my editor on twitter if you wanna support us, maybe
buy a shirt as well! Until next week, ride safe!
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