Detroit History for sale

[TrainWatcher]

http://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/det ... y_3876.htm

A Former Detroit Street Railway Trolley. Looks to be in bad shape, but didn't think any were still around. I thought wrong.

[hoborich]

I remember those. The motorman would get off, and take a long steel stick to throw the switches. The newer PCC cars went to Mexico City.

[Dan Cluley]

Actually there's another of the "Peter Witt" cars at the Illinois Railway Museum too. It's the one that used to be at the Henry Ford Museum.

I believe the Michigan Transit Museum in Mt Clemens got one of the PCC cars back from Mexico?

[GP30M4216]

What's that you say? Do any of the old DSR streetcars still survive? Why YES!

Peter Witt #3876, painted in the later attractive Maroon and Creme DSR scheme. It is at the Ohio Railway Museum, Worthington OH.


Peter Witt #3865, painted in the earlier DSR creme and green colors. It went to the Henry Ford Museum after retirement and underwent a partial renovation before being stored out of sight. The exterior restoration was completed when it was sold to the Illinois Rail Museum in Union, IL in 1998, where it is on display.


PCC #268, painted in the attractive PCC version of the Maroon and creme. This is the only surviving PCC from the Detroit fleet, which once numbered 189 President's Conference Committee cars. It went with the rest of the Detroit PCC fleet into service in Mexico City, and was returned to Michigan in the 1990s. It is at the Michigan Transit Museum at Selfridge ANG base in Mt. Clemens.
http://lyttonspccs.homestead.com/263.html

I didn't realize until just recently that this car was in such bad shape, although I think it is totally restorable, if put into the right hands. It would be a treat to have this brought back to Michigan, or else purchased by another group that hopes to fix it up. Detroit used to have hundreds of streetcars roaming the streets, now there are only three left.

[hoborich]

Actually there's another of the "Peter Witt" cars at the Illinois Railway Museum too. It's the one that used to be at the Henry Ford Museum.

They got rid of it, to make room for the Rosa Parks Bus!

[intocable83]

Although pretty deteriorated, it looks in decent shape for how old it is. If only I had money to spend.

[RRTTF]

A number of former DSR PCC cars are still alive and running today in Mexico City.... leastwise they were 2 years ago when I visited there, and I have no information to suggest that situation has changed in the intervening 2 years.

[TrainWatcher]

I like them, thanks for that info Nate. Like I said I came across it, and thought it was cool that one was still around. I really don't know a lot about the DSR. I know it ran along Woodward, and there is still some trackage, but most of it is gone now. I think they still operate a small section don't they.

[hoborich]

They used to run from the foot of Woodard, out to the state Fair Grounds at Eight Mile. There might be some old rail showing through the pavement, out at the Eight Mile turnaround.
I used to ride those steetcars from end to end, just for the fun of it. They ran pretty often, too. If you missed one, you could see the next one coming down the street. There were always a couple in front of Hudsons, downtown.
I think Woodward was the last line left. But they also ran on Gratiot, Grand River, Clairmont, Linwood, Jefferson, and some other streets in earlier days.

[GTW6401]

A lot of the current bus routes follow the exact routes the street cars took.