A Trolley Returns to Glen Echo

Electric trolleys were introduced to the United States in 1888 in Richmond, Virginia, quickly became the predominant mode of public transportation through the first third of the 20th century, ran more efficiently than horse and cable cars, changed perceptions of speed and distance, and helped spur suburban communities like Glen Echo. By World War I, trolley transport was the fifth largest industry in the country, and many companies built amusement parks at the ends of their lines to increase off-hour ridership. Glen Echo Park was one such trolley park: opened as an amusement park in 1898, it was purchased by The Washington Railway and Electric Company in 1903, and its number 20 line stopped at Glen Echo after running from Union Station in Washington D.C. through Georgetown and along a private right-of-way parallel to the Potomac River before ending in Cabin John, Maryland, at the one lane bridge. In the late 1920's, the Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee developed the first entirely modern standardized trolley car, and the resulting PCC Trolley, created in 1936, offered a smoother ride, faster acceleration, and more comfortable seats than earlier trolleys. Trolley car 2732, a PCC car built in 1947 by the St. Louis Car Company, ran for the Philadelphia Transportation Company on Route 23 from South Philadelphia through Center City and North Philadelphia to Chestnut Hill; although slightly longer, it is otherwise nearly identical to the cars that ran on the number 20 line to Glen Echo Park. Trolleys brought large numbers of people to Glen Echo Amusement Park for 64 years, making it a major attraction until January 3, 1960, and trolley car 2732 returned to Glen Echo as a reminder of that past and of the nationwide trolley park phenomenon.

Glen Echo, Maryland · United States