National Streetcar Museum

Streetcar museum in Massachusetts

Lowell Trolley

One of the park trolleys outside the Boott Cotton Mill

Overview
Locale| Lowell, Massachusetts
Stations| 3 [1]
Service
Type| Light rail
Services| 1
Operator(s)| National Park Service
History
Opened| 1984 [2]
Technical
Track length| 1.2 miles
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification| 600 V DC overhead catenary

Route map

Legend

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|  | Boott Mills

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Suffolk Mill |  |

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|  | Visitor Center
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The National Streetcar Museum is a streetcar museum and heritage railway located in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is owned by the New England Electric Railway Historical Society, which also operates the Seashore Trolley Museum,[1] and is operated as part of the National Park Service's Lowell National Historical Park.

## History

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Lowell, like many other cities in the country, formerly possessed an expansive network of trolleys, which served as the primary method of transit throughout the city. Trolley service in Lowell ended in 1935,[3] and the last of the trolley trackage was removed during World War II.[3]

In 1978, Lowell National Historical Park was established in order to preserve the image of the Industrial Revolution in Lowell. In 1984, the Park acquired one closed and two open trolleys,[2] the former of which seats 48 passengers and the latter two of which seat up to 90 passengers.[3] Because the original trolley trackage was removed, the trolleys run along the former Boston and Maine Railroad tracks.[3]

## Route

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Map of the entire Park, with the trolley route visible in the center of the map.

The trolleys run daily from March to November, connecting the park to the downtown area of the city. Three regular stops are made, as well as several irregular stops upon passenger request.

## References

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1. ^ a b "U.S. Streetcar Systems- Massachusetts". Railwaypreservation.com. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
2. ^ a b "Lowell National Historic Park". Seashore Trolley Museum. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
3. ^ a b c d "The Trolleys". National Park Service. Retrieved May 24, 2021.

## External links

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* Official website
* National Streetcar Museum on Facebook

42°38′42.5″N 71°18′46.2″W﻿ / ﻿42.645139°N 71.312833°W﻿ / 42.645139; -71.312833

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