The FCMRS is now planning a fund-raising campaign to purchase, return and restore this priceless part of our city’s past. The current owner, Charlotte Trolleys, Inc., restores vintage streetcars to operate in Charlotte, North Carolina. They recently decided not to invest in streetcars not originally used in that city. Looking for an operation that would complete the restoration and care of Car 25 in a professional manner, the FCMRS was its first choice. The purchase price is $199,000.

The Fort Collins Municipal Railway operated streetcars such as 21 and 25 (show at left on Howes Street at the old trolley barn in 1951) on a 6.2-mile system that connected downtown to the major residential areas southward to the old Fort Collins High School and west to City Park. Cars met at the intersection of Mountain and College (as shown above) every 20 minutes from 6 A.M. to midnight. The system finally folded in June 1951, the last regular streetcar operation in a small town in the U.S. and the last to operate the innovative, single-truck “Birney” cars in municipal service in North America.

Soon after operations ceased, the city tore up most of the track and sold all but one of its surviving streetcars. Car 21, the first car received in 1919, was displayed in Library Park. Most of the other cars ended up in museums. But Car 25’s adventure would continue.

First it sat on a ranch near Woodland Park, Colorado for a year before moving to nearby Victor, where it remained for almost half a century. Following its sale in the early 1990s, Car 25 found itself in Charleston, South Carolina representing that city’s former streetcar system. By 1999, it moved to its current location in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sometime next year, Car 25’s next trip will be back to the old Fort Collins trolley barn at Howes and Cherry streets to undergo a complete restoration.

The FCMRS is now developing detailed plans for returning Car 25, then restoring it and the line between the old barn and the current end-of-track at Mountain Ave. and Howes St. They’ll be seeking skills, materials and funding for the restorations that will take several years to complete. Joining the Society is one of the easiest ways to ensure that Car 25 will one day again join Car 21 (shown at left in City Park) wandering Fort Collins streets.

The FCMRS is the all-volunteer non-profit organization that restored Car 21 and most of the West Mountain Ave. line in the early 1980s. They operate Car 21 as a living museum and a heritage streetcar experience for the public between May and September. To learn more about the Fort Collins streetcars and current restoration plans watch this website or contact John Beckett, 1-970-482-0130.

Next, see Car 25 History.