Winterfest 2026

Frank writes...

This past weekend was quite the change of pace. I was fortunate enough to attend Winterfest, the annual gathering of NEATO (the Northeastern Alliance of Trolley Organizations), at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

IRM isn't formally part of NEATO, but we were graciously extended an invitation, and no fewer than 14 of us made the trek out from Illinois. The volunteers and staff of PTM put on an absolutely amazing show, and I can't thank them enough for their hospitality and hard work. It was a wonderful event that allowed us to talk and network with working volunteers from museums across the northeast. I got to know a bunch of people I hadn't met before and chat with friends I hadn't seen in years. And, of course, we got to tour PTM, including their terrific new visitor center.

I carpooled with Richard, and when we arrived on Friday, PTM had just closed to the public (they're now open year-round) and Winterfest operations were beginning. The first car I hopped on was Cincinnati Street Railway 2227, shown here boarding behind the visitor center.

This is in the inside of the car looking toward the rear, with Alex Bruchac, an old Trolleyville volunteer now active at PTM, serving as conductor. This car was preserved at Trolleyville from 1964 until it came to PTM in 2009, so Alex knows it well.

This car was built by Cincinnati in 1919 and is single-ended, with a bench seat down the left side.

Here's Zach, the guest motorman for this trip on the 2227. PTM kept up an intensive operation, with four or more cars on the "main line" at any given time and another two cars on the loop at the visitor center.

One unexpected surprise was that SEPTA 606, a 1960 Budd-built "Almond Joy" car from the Market-Frankford Elevated in Philadelphia, was actually in operation. PTM volunteers had rigged up a trolley pole at one end of the car and it ran short trips through the barn, out into the yard, and back. To the right is a really nice feature PTM has recently added: a rapid transit-style platform, complete with wheelchair-accessible ramps, so that visitors can walk into car 606.

Up on the platform, you can also step into the museum's Brill "Bullet car" and a Red Arrow freight motor.

Here's Jersey Shore & Antes Fort 3, a 1906 Niles interurban car in unenviable condition. PTM has turned lemons into lemonade by displaying this car as a hunting cabin, which was what it served as after its interurban days were over.

Here's Greg and another view of JS&AF 3.

Returning to the boarding platform, we see Pittsburgh Railways 4145 approaching the platform with our own Jon F at the controls. This Jones high-floor car was built by Pressed Steel in 1911, restored by Ed Blossom around 1970 or so, and preserved at Trolleyville from 1973 until it came to PTM in 2010.

Here's a view inside car 4145. It's a single-ended car with rare K-43 control, which is actually a six-motor controller because these cars were intended to pull two-motor trailers.

Friday ended with a pizza dinner and more train operations; here we see Philadelphia double-end city car 5326, a 1923 Brill, boarding at the platform. This car is generally similar to our own car 3142 but has Maximum Traction trucks, a type not represented at all in IRM's collection.

Here's a quick video of "Almond Joy" car 606 in action.

Saturday there were more operations that were interrupted only briefly by rain (and even some hail) in the late afternoon. Here, dump motor M551 is pulling up in front of the visitor center outfitted with benches. It gave rides around the short loop line. This car was built by Differential in 1922 and has B-8 control, which is an unusual type that has dynamic braking capability.

There was even some operation of a two-car train of Red Arrow "St. Louies," cars 14 and 24, built by St. Louis in 1949. This is a good time to mention that the ambiance here, between the visitor center and the "Trolley Display Building" with the double-track, bi-directional streetcar tracks down Volunteer Boulevard, was amazing. It gives you an idea of what IRM's Main Street scene could look like someday.

Here's a video of the two-car train. At some point it got wyed.

On Saturday afternoon, I went over to the Reliance Building with PTM volunteer Artie Ellis, an expert machinist who is overseeing some remarkable work there. The Reliance Building is an enormous facility, some 60,000 square feet (that's about as much space as Barns 13 and 14 combined!).

Here, Jeff Hakner and Artie discuss the metalworking machines they have. You'll note the overhead jib cranes that help move things around. Also, for a sense of scale, you can see streetcars stored three wide behind Jeff and Artie - and we're just looking down the middle of the building's three bays.

Artie has been working on re-profiling flanges on a wheelset for Red Arrow 73, which is in the PTM shop. Unfortunately, I didn't make it down to the shop on this trip.

Here are some of those streetcars stored safely in the Reliance Building. On the left is 2723, a SEPTA PCC built in 1947, while on the right is 2282, a Philadelphia city car built by Brill in 1906 that was acquired in 2024 from the Electric City Trolley Museum.

Artie demonstrates a tool he built for precisely measuring various dimensions on a wheel flange.

After that, I joined Norm and Jon for a ride in Red Arrow 4, a double-truck McGuire-Cummings snow sweeper built in 1922. As you can tell, it was a pretty popular attraction.

The three big Pennsylvania trolley museums are represented by our PTM pilot, Mike from Electric City, and Joel from Rockhill.

Back at the visitor center for dinner, I had a chance to look at some of the educational displays. They're extremely well done, and these are just a couple of them.

In addition to the area with these displays, there's a large (and divisible) event space where we ate meals; a classroom space with a ton of interactive toys and activities, including even a couple of 3D printers; an expansive entryway and gift shop; bathrooms; and offices.

After dinner on Saturday there were (of course) more operations. The PTM volunteers really outdid themselves, operating something like two dozen cars over the two days of the event. Here, West Penn 832 is prepped to go out. This 1930 Cincinnati curve-sider was one of the museum's first three cars and was fully restored just a few years ago. It's really gorgeous.

Another of PTM's first three cars is low-floor car 3756, built in 1925 by Osgood-Bradley. This car is a pretty typical Pittsburgh low-floor car except that it had a left-hand door added for Neville Island service. It's rare because it has magnetic HL control, a Westinghouse-built variant that uses electromagnetic contactors (similar to GE Type M) instead of electropneumatic unit switches.

Here's the inside of car 3756.

And here it is at the platform. I went for a couple of rides on this car; it's really a beauty.

A few of us also went for a ride or two on Red Arrow 66, a 1926-vintage Brill-built center-door car from that line.

Here's a shot of car 66 at the platform. It was beautifully restored by the museum's volunteers many years ago.

And here's the gang from IRM: Brian, Steven, Richard, Zach, Norm, Jimmy, Steve, me, Will, Nick, Greg, Bill, Jon, and Jim (photo by Scott Becker, Jim Ward collection). Saturday night wrapped up Winterfest events at PTM; I can confidently say a fantastic time was had by all, and we're very grateful to our PTM and NEATO hosts for everything they did to make this such an enjoyable event for everyone who attended.