WHAT GLEN ECHO'S STREETCAR COULD HAVE BEEN

ARDENT SUITORS EMERGING FOR PARK'S

NOW-IN-SCRAPYARD TROLLEY SUGGEST

NPS DID NOT REACH OUT TO LOCAL,

NATIONAL RESTORATION GROUPS

Another Robert Dyer @Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Behold what could have been.  Isn't it a beauty?  The streetcar pictured is the exact same model as the Glen Echo trolley was, but after a complete refurbishment funded by Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys.

Photo courtesy Harry Donahue/FPT

SEPTA #2168 is pictured here at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum - head on over and pay it a visit sometime!

This, too, served the Philadelphia area for decades as a member of the SEPTA fleet.  Just like our Glen Echo streetcar, which was hauled away without public notice Tuesday.  A day that will live in infamy.

Had Glen Echo Park and the National Park Service simply reached out to FPT - and remember, FPT even contacted Glen Echo and NPS three years ago, in hopes of sparing the Glen Echo car the scrapyard storage fate it met this week - our PCC could be in this same, assembly-line new condition today.  Or actually operating on the streets of San Diego.  Instead it is now imprisoned at a scrapyard.  It's outrageous.

Families arriving at Saturday's "Family Day" at Glen Echo Park will truly be in for a shock.  "Mommy, Daddy, the streetcar is gone!"  Maybe they'll tell kids Santa Claus doesn't exist, too, while they're at it!  These are sad times at underutilized Glen Echo Park.  But good times for the spoilsports who want to ensure that average people from Maryland, Virginia and DC can't take a streetcar out for a day of Old-Fashioned fun at Glen Echo amusement park.  Oh, no, we couldn't have that!  The horror!  

Those types, who work with politicians behind closed doors, are the same ones who got the Georgetown Branch railroad torn up real fast - at huge expense (and keep in mind, the Chessie System had just upgraded the tracks a few years earlier after inheriting them from the B&O).

They're glad the streetcar is gone.  Maybe it will mean less kids will get curious about the history of the park.  Less crazy ideas about supporting a restoration of the streetcar line and park.  Here, kid, forget about fun and the All-American amusement park summer experiences your grandparents and great-grandparents had - start working on these arts and crafts!

Unfortunately, they're outnumbered by the rest of us.  And from the feedback I've gotten on my coverage of this, people are plenty upset about losing our streetcar.

NPS acknowledges that suitors for the streetcar are asking them to help them contact the scrapyard CEO.  They want the trolley.  It proves that NPS did not do any real advertising or outreach.  If they had, these same people would have responded with funding or adoption plans.  Restoration experts are apalled and dismayed at not only the neglect of the car over the last several years, but that such a valuable piece of history could end up in a scrapyard when it is wanted - for use - by so many.

We're going to learn more each day about how this all came about, and I'm definitely going to keep all of you posted here as I receive new information. And as we do what we can to:

1. Have the streetcar returned to Glen Echo or to another home where it will be appreciated and enjoyed by many.

2.  Get a replacement PCC for Glen Echo Park.

3.  Advocate for restoration of streetcar service between DC and Glen Echo Park on the original, existing right-of-way.

4.  Advocate for a full restoration of Glen Echo Park and historic replicas of its legendary rides and attractions, and as a revenue generator for Montgomery County.

So we're thinking positive, not negative here, right?

And consider this:  more people in the DC area are aware of Washington's and Glen Echo's streetcar history than they were 72 hours ago.  And more people are finding out about the amazing groups of volunteers like FPT, and hopefully they'll consider supporting their efforts.  That's something good that's come out of this.  And just getting people thinking that Glen Echo Park could be so much more than it is today - that's a step forward.

In closing, here are a couple of links passed on to me by streetcar advocates you might want to check out:

San Diego Vintage Trolley - this is the line that wanted the Glen Echo PCC.

Chicago Streetcar Renaissance - working to return streetcars to the Windy City.

Have a great weekend, and check out the other blog entries, and follow me on Twitter at @BethesdaRow to find out what's going on in Bethesda tonight - including an actual movie star at Bethesda Row Cinema this evening!