A heritage railway or heritage railroad is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period in the history of rail transport.
The Willamette Shore Trolley is a heritage railroad or heritage streetcar that operates along the west bank of the Willamette River between Portland and Lake Oswego in the U.S. state of Oregon. The right-of-way is owned by a group of local-area governments who purchased it in 1988 in order to preserve it for potential future rail transit. Streetcar excursion service began operating on a trial basis in 1987, lasting about three months, and regular operation on a long-term basis began in 1990. The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society has been the line's operator since 1995.
Confluence Park is an urban park encompassing the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River in Denver's Lower Downtown (LoDo), a bustling district of 19th-century brick warehouses and storefronts that has been redeveloped since the late 1980s.
The TECO Line Streetcar System is a heritage streetcar transit line in Tampa, Florida, run by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority (HART), owned by the city of Tampa, and managed by Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc. It connects Downtown and Channelside to the historic Ybor City district. There is also an "In-Town" trolley-replica bus system that connects Downtown, Channelside, and Harbour Island.
The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment from San Francisco's retired fleet and from cities around the world. While the F line is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), its operation is supported by Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts which raises funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.
Old Pueblo Trolley is a non-profit, educational corporation based in Tucson, in the U.S. state of Arizona, that is dedicated to the preservation of Arizona's mass transit history. The name also commonly refers to the heritage streetcar line which OPT began operating in 1993, on which service is currently indefinitely suspended. OPT consists of three divisions that each fill a specific role in preserving the state's mass transit history. The divisions are the Street Railway Division, Motor Bus Division and the Museum Division.
The Metro Streetcar, formerly known as the River Rail Streetcar, is a two line heritage streetcar system operating in Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas. It has operated since November 1, 2004. Most recently expanded in 2007, the streetcar now operates over 3.4 miles (5.5 km) of track in a figure-eight loop pattern. The Metro Streetcar is operated by Rock Region Metro. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 22,600.
The Portland Vintage Trolley was a heritage streetcar service in Portland, Oregon, United States, that operated from 1991 to 2014. It operated on a portion of the MAX light rail system, and for a brief time also operated on the Portland Streetcar system, in downtown and nearby areas. Service was provided with replicas of a type of Brill streetcar, nicknamed the "Council Crest" cars, which last served Portland in 1950. The service was managed by Vintage Trolley Inc., a non-profit corporation, and the cars were owned and operated by TriMet, Portland's transit agency. For 18 of its 23 years, the service followed a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) section of what is now the MAX Blue Line, between Lloyd Center and the west end of downtown. In September 2009, the route was changed to a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) section of the MAX system, along the transit mall in downtown Portland, from Union Station to Portland State University (PSU).
The Denver Tramway, operating in Denver, Colorado, was a streetcar system incorporated in 1886. The tramway was unusual for a number of reasons: the term "tramway" is generally not used in the United States, and it is not known why the company was named as such. The track was 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge, an unusual gauge in the United States, but in general use by railways in Japan, southern Africa, New Zealand, and Queensland, Australia.
Lakewood Gulch drains a section of Lakewood and west Denver, Colorado into the South Platte River. It is the historic location of the old Interurban Shortline Railway and, in 2008, is a greenbelt that includes Rude Park, Sanchez Park and Lakewood Gulch Park. The gulch passes through Lakewood from west to east before entering the Denver neighborhoods of Sun Valley and Villa Park. It contains a part of the route of the (current) heritage streetcar Platte Valley Trolley and the Denver sections of the creek have an adjacent bike path. According to the Jefferson County Colorado Place Names Directory, "Lakewood Gulch originates on the north east foot of Green Mountain in Lakewood, flows east through Sixth Avenue West Park and Red Rocks Community College and continues east through Lakewood into Denver, where it joins the South Platte River southwest of the intersection of I-25 and Colfax Avenue."
The Fort Smith Trolley Museum is a streetcar and railroad museum in Fort Smith, in the U.S. state of Arkansas, which includes an operating heritage streetcar line. The museum opened in 1985, and operation of its streetcar line began in 1991. Four vehicles in its collection, a streetcar and three steam locomotives, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The now approximately three-quarters-mile-long (1.2 km) streetcar line also passes four NRHP-listed sites, including the Fort Smith National Historic Site, the Fort Smith National Cemetery, the West Garrison Avenue Historic District and the 1907 Atkinson-Williams Warehouse Building, which now houses the Fort Smith Museum of History.
The Issaquah Valley Trolley (IVT) was a heritage streetcar line in Issaquah, Washington, United States. It was a project of the Issaquah History Museums. The IVT operated from the Issaquah Depot Museum building located at 78 First Ave, NE. The service operated on a trial basis in 2001–02 and then on a regular basis, seasonally, from 2012 to 2020.
Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.
Streetcars in St. Louis, Missouri, operated as part of the transportation network of St. Louis from the middle of the 19th century through the early 1960s.
The W Line, also called the West Rail Line, is a light rail line in Denver, Lakewood, and Golden, Colorado, United States. The W Line was the first part of FasTracks to break ground, on May 16, 2007. The line, the only line to traverse the West Corridor, opened for service on Friday, April 26, 2013.
The Astoria Riverfront Trolley is a 3-mile (4.8 km) heritage streetcar line that operates in Astoria, Oregon, United States, using former freight railroad tracks along or near the south bank of the Columbia River, with no overhead line. The service began operating in 1999, using a 1913-built streetcar from San Antonio, Texas. As of 2012, the service was reported as carrying 35,000 to 40,000 passengers per year and has been called a "symbol" and "icon" of Astoria. The line's operation is seasonal, normally during spring break and from May through September.
Prior to 1959, Montreal, Quebec, Canada had an extensive streetcar system. The streetcar network had its beginnings with the horsecar era of the Montreal City Passenger Railway in 1861. The initial line was along Rue Notre Dame from Rue du Havre to Rue McGill.
Decatur–Federal is an at-grade light rail station on the W Line of the RTD Rail system. It is located alongside the banks of the Lakewood Gulch between its intersections with Decatur Street and Federal Boulevard, after which the station is named, in Denver, Colorado. The station is located in the Sun Valley neighborhood, near the point where Lakewood Gulch meets the South Platte River. It is one of two light rail stops that serve Empower Field at Mile High, the home stadium of the Denver Broncos. The stop is adjacent to Rude Park.
The Denver and Intermountain Railroad was an interurban railway that operated 18 miles (29 km) between Denver and Golden, Colorado. Originating as a steam railroad, the Denver, Lakewood and Golden, the line was opened in 1891 and had built an electrified spur leading into downtown by 1893. The company went into receivership and was acquired by the Denver & Inter-Mountain Railway in 1904, changing to simply the Intermountain in 1907 before finally settling on Denver & Intermountain Railroad (D&IM) in 1910. The line was fully electrified at 11,000 volts alternating current in 1909, allowing direct trains to run on city streets to downtown Denver's Interurban Loop. The company was acquired by Denver Tramway the following year, becoming Route 84 in the system. Service ended in 1950 – electrical infrastructure was maintained until 1953 and ownership of the line passed to Associated Railroads, maintained the line for freight as far as Denver Federal Center. The right of way was acquired by Regional Transportation District in the 1990s and rehabilitated to form part of the W Line light rail.
