Old Streetcar Being Restored

Lewis & Clark County historic preservation commission at work on "Old #3".

Local historical groups and Capital High School are working to restore part of the area’s transportation history. In a couple of years, they hope to finish work on an old trolley car and they are looking for help in completing that job.

This story began in 1909 when a new vehicle was delivered to Helena, one that would ply the city’s streets for nearly two decades. It was the most modern of contraptions, built of wood and iron and steel and, mercy sakes, it was electrified. The vehicle was Helena Streetcar #3, with a cherry wood interior and rattan seats fancy enough to satisfy Helena’s most discriminating rider. Into it clambered commuters and school kids, businessmen and shoppers, workmen and people headed for an afternoon at the park. Part of a mass transportation system that spanned the distance between the State Nursery and the East Helena smelter, it operated from downtown into the suburbs of Lennox, Kenwood and the 6th Ward.

But even in 1909, riding through town in this new car was routine. Electric streetcars, or trolleys as they were also known, had been operating in Helena for nearly twenty years. They must have been taken for granted, these silent running people movers whose sunken tracks ribboned Main Street in pairs and stretched down avenues like Hollings, 8th and Idaho. It would have surprised area residents to learn that in less than another twenty years the streetcars would be no more; that nearly every local family would have a personal automobile and if they needed to use mass transportation they would be riding something called a bus.

In 1927 the Helena area system shut down. It was an era in which many other streetcar systems around the nation terminated service, outdone by the flexible, autonomous, gasoline engine. General Motors and other automobile interests helped remove streetcars nationwide. Trolley rails were ripped up and the trolleys were sold to lines still in operation, scrapped or hauled off to serve as sheds and chicken coops. Some, however, housed people.

Trolley #3, our trolley of 1909, was one of the survivors. Moved to a dairy west of Helena, it was parked near Tenmile Creek, boarded up and fitted with a stove and newspaper matte insulation. A new floor was laid down on the old trolley boards and doors with proper knobs and hinges were installed. In this converted state, Old #3 became host to a family of Italian immigrants who spent a chilly winter in its confines while working at the dairy. Then relegated to use as a storage shed, #3 idled away until 1950 when a collector bought it and it moved to Silver Star, Montana where it again sat for years until another owner moved it to Big Sandy with the intention of restoring it or using it for parts in a restoration.

By the turn of the 21st century, Old #3 was redundant even as a source for parts. With no prospects, it was offered to the City of Helena as an historic artifact and in 2006 the car returned to its 1909 destination. A restoration was to be funded by TIF monies but these were diverted. Thus began the fun.

Today Old Helena Trolley (or streetcar, if you like) #3 has been taken apart and is being put back together again by the Helena/Lewis and Clark County Historic Preservation Commission on behalf of the City. Capital High School and the Lewis and Clark County Historical Society are key partners in the effort. The project is nothing short of magical. With half the $50,000 raised for materials, these groups have created an interactive learning project where students contribute major aspects of the research and restoration of the trolley. Capital High woodworkers are repairing and recreating parts, history and media students are interviewing people who lived in and are working on the trolley, computer classes are recreating a 3-dimensional electronic image of the trolley and there will be more to come, according to Preservation Commission chair Ray Read. "Some day soon, the trolley will be on display with historic signs and exhibits and we want the students to be helping with that", says Read, "Even when completed, the trolley can serve as the backdrop of historical skits and productions. The possibilities for its use are limited only by the imagination."

Read credits Capital High School staff for making collaboration with the students possible. "We weren’t sure this was doable two years ago, but the teachers and administration had confidence in those young people," he recalls. "The shop teacher, Mr. Pierce, was especially, key." Read flashes a big grin and adds, "Now we are so proud of the work those kids are doing we could bust."

Volunteers also make the project happen. George Hoff leads a small crew in planning and conducting the restoration. "We are a step ahead of the money," he grins, "But the project is flowing pretty well." When the cash gets short, George contributes his own resources. "I’ll recover most of it," he says confidently. "The Commission has been successful in covering costs so far." With half the project to go, Hoff has plenty of work to look forward to. "Epoxy applications and sanding are our biggest task," he explains. "We don’t have students doing that and are asking people to come down and help." George also needs volunteers for painting and carpentry jobs."There’s enough to keep somebody busy," he grins, "and it’s a lot of fun."