Founded in 1940, the Connecticut Trolley Museum is the oldest incorporated museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 dedicated to electric railroading in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The museum is located in East Windsor

East Windsor, Connecticut

East Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 11,162 at the 2010 census.The town has five villages: Broad Brook, Melrose, Scantic, Warehouse Point and Windsorville.-Area:...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, and is open to the public most of the year, featuring static displays and self-guided tours of the state's trolley history.

Heritage railroad

The museum operates a 1.5 mile heritage railroad

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

 over the original right-of-way of the Hartford and Springfield Street Railway Company. Unlimited rides on cars are included in the admission for the day. A minimum of two different cars are run each day. Many times up to eight cars will be rotated through during the day giving an opportunity to experience many different types of street cars and interurbans.

Collection

The museum has a diverse collection of equipment from the trolley era to help tell the story of the trolley era and its impact on society. Most of the equipment is stored in one of 4 car barns, the Visitor Center, or the car shop.

The Connecticut Trolley Museum has one or more of the following cars operating for the public when the museum is open:

• Rio de Janeiro Tramways car 1850
• Montreal Tramways cars 4 and 2600
• Connecticut Company
  Connecticut Company
  The Connecticut Company was the primary electric street railway company in the U.S. state of Connecticut, operating both city and rural trolleys and freight service. It was controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , which also controlled most steam railroads in the state...
  
   car 1326
• Springfield Terminal combine car 16
• Illinois Terminal Railroad
  Illinois Terminal Railroad
  The Illinois Terminal Railroad, known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1982...
  
   PCC car 451
• New Orleans Public Service
  New Orleans Public Service Incorporated
  New Orleans Public Service Incorporated is a former electric and natural gas utility and mass transit provider that was based in New Orleans, Louisiana....
  
   car 836
• Fair Haven and Westville Railroad car 355
• Boston Elevated Railway
  Boston Elevated Railway
  The Boston Elevated Railway was a precursor first to the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Massachusetts, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, operating rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It was formerly known as the West End Street Railway.The...
  
   Type 5 car 5645

In addition, the museum is currently working on the following cars in the restoration shop:

• Connecticut Company car 840

The Main Hall of the Visitor Center is set up with an exhibit detailing the progression of the era and its impact on society. The following cars are on display in the Visitor Center:

• Northern Ohio Traction and Light parlor car 1500
• Springfield Electric Railway combine car 10
• Five Mile Beach Electric Railway car 36
• Ponemah Mills Locomotive 1386
• Shaker Heights Rapid Transit car 1201

Special events

The museum is known for and set the standard for special events held throughout the year, including Winterfest which features "The Tunnel of Lights" (Thanksgiving through New Years), and "Rails to the Darkside" and "Pumpkin Patch" (October). Be sure to check out their website for calendar and details.

Connecticut Fire Museum

Located on the same property is the Connecticut Fire Museum which exhibits antique fire apparatus and motor coaches. A seasonal snack shop is housed in an old railroad passenger car is also located on the museum property.

External links

• Connecticut Trolley Museum
• Connecticut Fire Museum, with photographs of the collections