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Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Inc.
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About Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Inc.
Riding the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum’s historic cars along a 5′ 2½″ gauge track, the journey traces a half‑mile of the former Pittsburgh‑Washington interurban, winding past the museum’s 28,000‑sq‑ft display building and the newly opened Welcome & Education Center. Restored streetcars from Pennsylvania, Toledo, New Orleans and Brazil glide past the County Fairground and Arden Mines loop, offering the authentic sounds, bell ring and gentle shake of early electric transit.
📍 WASHINGTON, PA 15301
History
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1953, when the newly formed Pittsburgh Electric Railway Club purchased 2,000 feet of the abandoned Pittsburgh‑Washington interurban line in Chartiers Township. After acquiring three historic trolleys in 1949, the club ran those cars under their own power to the museum site on February 7 1954, marking the first trolley‑museum operation in Pennsylvania. The museum opened to the public in June 1963 following restoration work and the construction of a power station and carbarn. Volunteers extended the line by one mile between 1979 and 1995, added a second loop in 2004, and rebuilt damaged facilities after the September 2004 Hurricane Ivan flood. The 28,000‑square‑foot Trolley Display Building opened in May 2005, with connecting track installed in 2008, and the new Welcome & Education Center began serving visitors in November 2023. The museum also hosted the Association of Railway Museums conference in October 2007.
The Trains
The museum’s fleet includes Pittsburgh Railways Company M‑1, Pittsburgh Railways 3756, West Penn Railways 832, New Orleans streetcar #832 (built by Perley Thomas in 1923), Pittsburgh Railways #4393, PCC #1713 (the “Terrible Trolley” painted in Steelers colors), a J.G. Brill “Brilliner,” several locomotives and an early horse‑car, all stored on a 5 ft 2½ in gauge line. The operating track began as a half‑mile segment of the former Pittsburgh‑Washington interurban, was extended north along the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad branch to the Arden Mines adding one mile, and later reached a loop near North Main Street and Country Club Road, giving a total running length of roughly 1½ miles. Trains run between the historic County Home trolley stop in Washington and the Arden Mines (with intermediate stops at the County Fairground and the McClane School Loop).
Nearby
From Washington, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Inc. sits about 20 mi from both the Duquesne Incline and the Monongahela Incline.
Where to Stay
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Rent a Car
Most heritage railroads sit well off the interstate. Picking up a rental at the nearest airport is usually the easiest way in.
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Book tours & activities near WASHINGTON
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More in Pennsylvania
All train rides in Pennsylvania →Train Types in Pennsylvania
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