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Fort Collins Municipal Railway History
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Streetcars operated in Fort Collins from 1907 through 1951, first by a division of the Denver and Interurban Railroad, then later by the City.
For full history: http://www.fortnet.org/trolley/history.php
About the Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society
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The Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society (FCMRS) works in partnership with the Fort Collins Museum to operate the Fort Collins Municipal Railway, presenting a living history of electric public transportation in Fort Collins. We preserve, display, operate, and interpret streetcar service, and collect artifacts and information of an educational nature and of significance to the City’s electric railway. We strive to:
Promote excellence in operating safely and in strict accordance with the Operating Agreement between the FCMRS and the City.
Adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws.
Maintain the equipment, power supply and track in safe, attractive and functioning condition and as close to the historically accurate, original condition as practical.
The FCMRS is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization consisting of:
Elected officers and board of directors
Conductors, motormen and depot agents
Equipment and right-of-way maintainers
Crew scheduler/dispatcher and charter coordinator
In addition to directors and staff positions, our volunteers perform regular line maintenance, maintain operating equipment, manage membership information and souvenirs, write and publish our Trolley Fare newsletter, manage public relations with the City and local news media, and maintain these Web pages. Directors and officers are elected for two-year terms at an annual meeting each January.
The FCMRS was formed in 1980 to complete the painstaking restoration of Car 21, restore the 1.5-mile line from City Park to Howes St., and work with the public and City. Work on car 21 took seven years, while line restoration took almost five years. Although the complete restoration has been apprased at over $2.5 million after its completion, it was accomplished at no cost to the City. All material for restoring track was donated by local railroads and businesses. In order to obtain enough light rail, we helped salvage rail from local railroads, including an abandoned mountain tourist line in the dead of winter.
The Society currently has an agreement with the City to operate Car 21 on scheduled weekends and to operate special excursions during off hours. We conduct regular written and on-line operator training and testing to ensure that we operate in a safe manner. Our operation is also governed by the Federal Railways Administration (FRA), who performs annual safety inspections on our car and right-of-way.
Promote excellence in operating safely and in strict accordance with the Operating Agreement between the FCMRS and the City.
Adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws.
Maintain the equipment, power supply and track in safe, attractive and functioning condition and as close to the historically accurate, original condition as practical.
The FCMRS is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization consisting of:
Elected officers and board of directors
Conductors, motormen and depot agents
Equipment and right-of-way maintainers
Crew scheduler/dispatcher and charter coordinator
In addition to directors and staff positions, our volunteers perform regular line maintenance, maintain operating equipment, manage membership information and souvenirs, write and publish our Trolley Fare newsletter, manage public relations with the City and local news media, and maintain these Web pages. Directors and officers are elected for two-year terms at an annual meeting each January.
The FCMRS was formed in 1980 to complete the painstaking restoration of Car 21, restore the 1.5-mile line from City Park to Howes St., and work with the public and City. Work on car 21 took seven years, while line restoration took almost five years. Although the complete restoration has been apprased at over $2.5 million after its completion, it was accomplished at no cost to the City. All material for restoring track was donated by local railroads and businesses. In order to obtain enough light rail, we helped salvage rail from local railroads, including an abandoned mountain tourist line in the dead of winter.
The Society currently has an agreement with the City to operate Car 21 on scheduled weekends and to operate special excursions during off hours. We conduct regular written and on-line operator training and testing to ensure that we operate in a safe manner. Our operation is also governed by the Federal Railways Administration (FRA), who performs annual safety inspections on our car and right-of-way.
http://www.fortnet.org/trolley/about.php
Images of the Fort Collins Municipal Railway
A Fort Collins Birney along a residential street. This street is not as wide as the typical streets in Riverside, Downtown and Springfield. Image by berangberang at http://www.flickr.com/photos/berangberang/2776325401/in/photostream/
Image by Benmesander at http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmesander/3580432058/
Inside at trolley. Image by benmesander at http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmesander/2586271334/in/set-72157605657557579/
A trolley stop in a park. Image by benmesander at http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmesander/2585446567/in/set-72157605657557579/
An example of single track running in the center of a two-way street. Image by Natiel3 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/10375624@N04/2493437620/
The trolley runs during the summer on the weekends. Image by Makeesha at http://www.flickr.com/photos/inhiscourts/249816107/
Tracks along the Mountain Avenue median. Image by snowride007 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowride007/2840172954/
A packed car near a church. Image by oinary at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oinary/3580738934/
Streetcar Facts:
- The line is operational from May through September from noon to 5:00pm on weekends and holidays.
- Fares are $1.00 for adults (age 13 and older), $0.75 for seniors age 60 and up, and $0.50 for children (12 and under).
- The 1.5 mile line includes four stops: City Park (next to the tennis courts), Shields St. & Mountain Ave., Loomis St. & Mountain Ave. and Howes St. & Mountain Ave. (downtown)
What to take from the Fort Collins experience
The Fort Collins Municipal Railway proves that where there is a will, there's a way. Although the system only operates on weekends as an educational and tourist attraction, it was implemented at no cost to city, state, or federal governments.
While a streetcar system in Jacksonville should be designed and operated to serve our needs, we should not overlook the possibility of exploring alternative funding solutions to initially get off the ground. Given that Jacksonville is a railroad hub, the possibility of volunteer efforts and material donations by local businesses should not be ignored.
Article by Ennis Davis
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Keith-N-Jax
June 18, 2009, 04:12:59 AMThat was a very good idea to use salavage light for tracks and some rail was donated also. A good way to get the project done and save money.
BridgeTroll
June 18, 2009, 09:05:52 AMI absolutely love the grass lined tracks. Every single street in Jacksonville with a center median strip is a candidate for this type of streetcar. Lets get started Ock! I'll bring my hammer...
Ron Mexico
June 18, 2009, 01:30:26 PMMan, if we could get that to just run from Riverside to perhaps downtown and the sports venues, that would be great.
brainstormer
June 18, 2009, 04:37:01 PMYes BridgeTroll, a great idea. With my hammer, we now have two. Can I get a third hammer up in here? Anyone?
samiam
June 18, 2009, 05:33:25 PMI have great set of tools, If this can become reality in Jacksonville you can count on my help 100%. Lets grab the bull by the horns and get this done.
samiam
June 18, 2009, 05:42:15 PMBTW I have at least 20 hammers anywhere from 13oz to 20lb
9a is my backyard
June 18, 2009, 06:55:11 PMI'm in. Lake and Ock, you're the leaders!
BridgeTroll
June 18, 2009, 07:10:40 PMWe will need some good old fashioned "Spike hammering songs"...
coredumped
June 18, 2009, 07:16:43 PMWow look at the picture of the interior:
That seams so weird!
brainstormer
June 18, 2009, 07:17:53 PMTake this hammer and carry it to the captain
Tell him I'm gone, tell him I'm gone, tell him I'm gone
Take this hammer and carry it to the captain
Tell him I'm gone, tell him I'm gone, tell him I'm gone
It's called the "Spike Driver Blues."
We've got four folks, 22 hammers and a song. Let's git ur dun!
BridgeTroll
June 18, 2009, 07:22:48 PMOcklawaha
June 19, 2009, 01:00:30 AMHere's your song. Leadbelly was right on target. I recall Linin' Track, another Ledbelly hit, being sung by the Gandy Dancers (track gang) at Yukon, when the Navy modernized it's route mostly intra-base, the old route came out the gate by Ortega Hills drive and ran alongside the ACL (Atlantic Coast Line) Mainline to the Yukon Depot, then went back onto the base where the current truck gate is at the end of the runway. Now to bring out the irony in what y'all are suggesting, from the Truck Gate across US-17 to the ACL mainline just North of the base was the railroad conneciton. This track was torn out with the Roosevelt widening project that forced most of the little railroad onto the base, and the new interchange was built off Ortega Hills Drive or the "Back Gate", with the ACL.
If we sing either of these two songs, keep in mind they were sung before right here in our city on that Navy Railroad. Oh but it doesn't end there, the Navy Mainline ran from the current Truck Gate straight east to the seawall and piers along the St. Johns River at Blacks Point, Blacks Point pre-dated Yukon and was the old State National Guard base, called Camp Johnston, then the newer "peacetime" base was Camp Foster, after the Army moved in and expanded the place. The buildings at Blacks Point were lifted and moved one by one from the little river front hamlet, to YUKON. When the Navy swapped Camp Foster for Camp Blanding it was a huge and historic venture. As we talk about rebuilding a streetcar line in private, keep in mind the leadbelly songs of the early 1900's were sung by the track workers building the connection from todays CSX through the truck gate, and right up to Blacks Point and it was originally a JACKSONVILLE TRACTION STREETCAR LINE!
Jacksonville's largest single employer US NAVY
Duval Traction Company built the trolley line to Blacks Point from the end of the Ortega Line at Ortega Village.
Same song/same artist in 2009 that they used in 1917-18.
I'm certainly in, we're already incorporated: Baltimore, Fort Smith, Tuscon, and Dallas McKinney Avenue line, are all volunteers. They have all included the streetcar as part of the regional transit system, and most are running 7 days a week. Wonder how well this would be recevied by the COJ and JTA?
OCKLAWAHA
Gen7
June 19, 2009, 04:08:32 PMAdd to that list the Brooklyn City Streetcar Company, a nonprofit organization. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Why do we wait for the government to do everything for us - and then complain that they're not doing it right? The JTA already has proposed routes - as seen on this site - so obviously they're not opposed to the idea. It comes down to the capital investment, and would public opinion support it? For a public investment, probably not because the Skyway is viewed as a failure. However, there have been discussions on this site of how the skyway and streetcars could be interconnected, maybe not the perfect plan, but taking an existing situation and working with it. Just like any other private enterprise, develop a business plan, locate the funding, present the plan to JTA and the COJ and start the process. According to this site, all good things will follow!