A house had been built around a trolley car, obtained in the 1930s, soon after the Trenton trolley line stopped running, to make a house
Over the years, additions were made to the home, creating rooms off the trolley to expand the living space. Eventually, the trolley car was surrounded by a traditional house, located in a traditional neighborhood
see https://www.hopewellvalleyhistory.org/uploads/1/2/5/5/125504560/trenton_288_presentation_-_jr_may_-_final.pdfh for the full series of photos
It had been manufactured in Philadelphia by the J.G. Brill Trolley Company in 1914, and made its way to New Jersey, where it was part of the once-extensive trolley system operated by the Trenton & Mercer County Traction Company
The plot of land that held the home had been purchased for a dollar by John Guthrie, a local typesetter, in the early 1900s. After his brother William traveled around the United States and came home broke, Guthrie and two of his siblings pooled their funds to purchase an old trolley to house him so he could get back on his feet.
William expanded #288 into a proper house with the trolley at its heart, and it was eventually passed on to his nephew, John Breece, the elder Guthrie’s grandson, in 1952. He inherited the house and at that time it had an outhouse and a pump in the kitchen.
Liberty Historic Railway, an organization that supports transportation preservation projects, bought the trolley and is funding most of its restoration relying on donations and grant money to fund the rest of the restoration, which will cost nearly $1 million.
Contractors will restore the trolley at its new Farmingdale location by repairing weather damage and alterations from when it was inside the house, Strohmeyer said.
“What was amazing was just how remarkably intact it was, and because it was inside a house, structurally what’s left was actually very solid,” he said.
Contractors will restore the trolley at its new Farmingdale location by repairing weather damage and alterations from when it was inside the house, Strohmeyer said.
“What was amazing was just how remarkably intact it was, and because it was inside a house, structurally what’s left was actually very solid,” he said.
the shades have never been removed
the non-profit Liberty Historic Railway and the Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Maine, are working together to raise funds for the first part of the restoration process. The non-profit and museum have launched a GoFundMe campaign to offset the cost of re-creating blueprints and restoring the trolley car, which is currently in Southampton.
The museum has commissioned a new set of construction drawings for the trolley. Funds raised through the campaign will go toward offsetting the cost of producing the documents and materials needed to restore the missing ends of the car.
“It’s one of a kind and its the only surviving trolley car from the state capital,” said William McKelvey, director of Liberty Historic Railway Inc. “So we felt it was imperative to save it for future generations.”
as rare as it is to discover a street car, trolley, or caboose used as a home that is no longer recognizeable, it does happen near the big cities that had extensive street car / trolley lines
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