In 1977 the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District was formed to operate the South Shore Railroad, and federal funds enabled the purchase of 44 new cars. The federal grant required the district to donate the vintage cars to the National Park Service, which acquired 19 of them in 1984. After years of budget constraints, the decision was made to deaccession the cars to museums that had them on loan, and in 2010 the deaccession and transfer of ownership was completed. The East Troy Railroad Museum received eight of the vintage cars because it demonstrated the ability to inspect, preserve, maintain, and operate them consistent with National Park Service guidelines, and because it had a dedicated volunteer staff. The museum operates on eight miles of electric interurban rail line that has been in continuous operation for over 100 years, and since 1972 it has run the museum and tourist excursions as the only museum that operates the South Shore Cars on an electric interurban line.