For the first time, Northern Ohio Railway Museum offers
trolley rides on a Cleveland streetcar over 100-years-old
Enjoy streetcar rides at the Northern Ohio Railway Museum. A regular feature at the Museum is guided walking tours. New this year on the tour is a visit inside a restored 1954 Cleveland Transit System Rapid Transit car. Admission to the museum is free but a fee is charged to ride the streetcar.
Now, the public may ride a streetcar on the museum’s demonstration track (weather and car availability permitting). Tickets may be purchased in the museum store and are good for all day riding. The rides will commence on the hour beginning at 11am, with the last ride of the day occurring at 3pm.
On the tour, visitors will see a diversified collection of streetcars, interurbans, and rapid transit equipment from the Northern Ohio region. The oldest trolley car in the collection dates back to 1895. It was purchased by an area trolley tycoon that later became a famous Cleveland mayor. Visitors get to see the equipment that built and maintained the streetcar system. Learn the story of how photographers and dancers permitted these utilitarian cars to serve their employer in ways their designers never imagined.
The story of trolley freight is told through rare artifacts. Discover how the interurban became the farmer’s friend and gave him easy access to larger cities for his products. See the last wooden interurban car to leave Cleveland in 1938. Learn how a sleepy streetcar line built to promote real estate, morphed into a pioneer rapid transit line that still operates today. Finally see a 1970 rapid car that served the first Airport Rapid Transit Line in the western hemisphere. Many other fascinating stories abound at the museum and can be found on the tour.
A unique feature of the tour is a visit to the restoration shop. See how these grand treasures of our past are painstakingly disassembled and restored to like-new condition by skilled craftsmen and women. At present several projects are underway in varying stages of completion. Conditions permitting, visitors will have the opportunity to see the restoration underway and have the work being done explained.
The Northern Ohio Railway Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, restore, display, and operate streetcars and other electric railway equipment for the education and enjoyment of the public. The museum owns forty-two acres of land in southern Medina County, including two miles of the former Cleveland and Southwestern interurban railroad. At this site the museum has built over a mile of track and three large buildings to house its collection of historic trolleys, interurbans, and rapid transit cars, most from the northern Ohio area. Five pieces of the collection have been restored and others are currently being restored.
In addition to the public tours, the museum has speakers available for civic and other community groups. The Museum’s state certified educator is also available to work with schools, youth, or civic groups on educational initiatives. Operation Lifesaver presentations are also offered by the Education Department. For further information on these public service programs, please contact the museum.
Phone 330-769-5501 or visit www.northernohiorailwaymuseum.org. The Museum is located at 5515 Buffham Road in Seville, Medina County, Ohio, near Chippewa Lake.
