Preserved streetcars entertaining a new generation.
Connecticut Trolley Museum at Warehouse Point.An old New Orleans Perley A. Thomas car takes visitors for a spin.The 32 volt lamps are of another era.Cornstalks and a Montreal streetcar. Lumix LX7 photo.The old car hums as its DC motors gain speed. Lumix LX7 photo.A skilled hand at the throttle. Lumix LX7 photo.Do streetcars look better in black & white? I made this monochromatic view with my Lumix LX7.
Yet for me the most intriguing elements of the museum are the cars I once knew from the streets of Boston. These are tucked away toward the back of the collection.
There, awaiting for another day when they may run again, are old PCCs that once worked for Boston’s MBTA. They were among the first vehicles I ever put on film.
I remember when PCCs worked the Riverside Line. I made photos with my dad’s Leica at Newton Centre and Eliot. Lumix LX7 photo.
Hidden from public view are these old familiar picture window cars. Lumix LX7 photo.
These old PCCs are like some post apocalyptic vision of the future. Nature is cruel to paint and old metal. They remind me of rotting pumpkins.
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
