Museum Hours & Directions
The trolley museum building is open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM during the late spring, summer and fall months May through December except Christmas, New Years and Thanksgiving Day. During the winter months, January through April, the trolley museum building is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The entrance is at 300 Cliff Street, Scranton, PA 18503 on the grounds of the Steamtown National Historic Site adjacent to downtown. (Exit 185 off Interstate 81). Follow the signs to Steamtown and you can’t miss us! Phone: (570) 963-6590.
Trolley Excursion
Follow the path of the famed Laurel Line electric interurban railroad.
Regular Trolley operation for the 2011 season ended on October 30, 2011.
The 2012 Trolley Excursion season will start April 28, 2012 and run through October 28, 2012.
Also, February 18th, 19th & 20th, 2012, Presidents Day Weekend the Pennsylvania Garden Railroad Society will have displays and live steam
model trains at the Museum. Weather permitting there will be trolley excursion operation.
Please call the museum at (570) 963-6590 in advance for the holiday and winter schedule hours or to inquire about chartering the
trolley for a special excursion trip.
Please click here for a map of the route. Please click here for fare and rate information.
On operating days (Thursday through Sunday) trips are scheduled at 10:30 AM, 12:00 Noon, 1:30 PM and 3:00 PM.
During the operating season, the trolley excursion will depart from the main passenger platform of the Steamtown National Historic Site. Trips are scheduled at 10:30 AM, 12:00 Noon, 1:30 PM and 3:00 PM Thursday through Sunday. Please note that tickets for the trolley excursion are sold at the Trolley Museum building and are not available on the car. The trolley excursion boarding area is between the Trolley Museum building and the main Steamtown facilities. The scenic route follows a portion of the former Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley (Laurel Line) Railroad right-of-way as it parallels Roaring Brook proceeds past the Historic Iron Furnaces and continues through the Crown Avenue Tunnel – at 4747 feet long, one of the longest interurban tunnels ever built. An additional extension to the Lackawanna County Stadium at Montage was completed July 14, 2006.
Please call the Museum at (570) 963-6590 during regular business hours and speak to one of the staff personnel for the latest information or to make reservations for groups.
- Car No. 76, built by J.G. Brill in 1926 for the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Co., later Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co., on the initial test run of the excursion line, November 21st, 2000 at the Historic Iron Furnace station in downtown Scranton.
- Car No. 76, at the loading platform at the Steamtown National Historic Site in downtown Scranton, PA. ECTMA Member's Day, June 16, 2001.
- A late 19th century mill building has been resplendently restored
as the museum's interpretive center.
- Trolleys Exposed, an intriguing under-the-skin view of a restored
trolley.
- Interactive displays, where visitors will actually generate
electricity and learn how this energy form is harnessed to serve
transportation needs.
- A 50-seat theatre and other fascinating displays present the
history of the extensive trolley and interurban network that, at one time,
allowed residents of Northeast Pennsylvania the opportunity to travel up to 75
miles on electric trolleys.
- The Electric City, a hands-on interactive kids exhibit, that puts
children in the operator’s (driver's) seat of a recreated open-style trolley
car as they view a model trolley in operation on a suspended track. Young
visitors and their parents will also have the opportunity to build their own
anthracite region communities on a 24 foot-long platform that represents the
Lackawanna Valley and beyond - complete with historic trolley lines.
- Trolley Model Display, a showcase of trolley models in various scales.
Featured is a 1/2 scale model of the Museum's PRT #2282 crafted by James H. Richards. Various additional models
donated by James Wert, John Nevin III and others are also displayed.
- Trolley Company Stock Certificates, a display of stock certificates and documents from various trolley
companies and suppliers to the traction industry from the collection of David Biles, ECTMA curator.
- The Story of the Third Rail, a comprehensive display of everything pertaining to the third rail system of
traction current distribution has been created by Warren Speegle from his personal collection of artifacts.
The highlight of the display is a section of 3rd rail and original insulator from the Laurel Line.
In addition to items from the Laurel Line; the Wilkes-Barre and Hazelton, Philadelphia and Western, New York Central Railroad, New York City, Philadelphia and Boston Rapid Transit Lines are also represented.
Also included are mine railway equipment items.
As well as signals and signal equipment and relays.
Rounding out the display are three vintage street lights, originally arc lights, converted to incandescent bulbs by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and used to light the yards surrounding tne carbarns.
- Car No. 76, at the substation manufactured by Kinetics Industries, Inc. This 500 Kilowatt rectifier unit converts high potential three phase alternating current supplied from Pennsylvania Power & Light (PP&L) to nominal 600 Volts direct current to power the trolley cars.
- Bridge over Roaring Brook, Edward W. Torpey photo.
- North Tunnel Portal, taken from car No. 76, Edward W. Torpey photo.
- View inside the Crown Avenue tunnel, Edward W. Torpey photo.
The Electric City Trolley Museum
The Electric City Trolley Museum is a collaborative effort involving many partners. Together they have created a premier electric railway museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1887, Scranton was Pennsylvania’s first city with a successful pioneer trolley line and became known as “The Electric City.” The museum collection provides a highly representative picture of the electric railway history of eastern Pennsylvania, from the Philadelphia region to Northeast Pennsylvania.
The museum was created by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. Lackawanna County manages the museum day-to-day. The facility itself, located on the Steamtown National Historic Site, is on long-term lease from the National Park Service. The trolleys operate over tracks owned by both Steamtown and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, including a portion of the historic Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley “Laurel Line” third-rail interurban right-of-way.
In addition to the vintage trolleys on display, the museum features the following:
Museum Second Anniversary
As part of the Museum's Second Aniversary Celebration in 2001, author Debra Brill, great-great-granddaughter of John George Brill signed copies of her recent book, "History of the J. G. Brill Company" published by the Indiana University Press at the Museum on Saturday, October 27th, 2001. In addition, there was a question and answer session with the author, a musical performance by the Friendly City Chrous and a birthday cake celebration for the Museum. Saturday, October 27th 2001 was also the formal dedication and opening of the Charles J. Van Depoele Library and Archives at the Museum.
Electric City's "TROLLEY THROUGH TIME"
"Electric City's TROLLEY THROUGH TIME," is a living history production by Keith Williams that dramatizes the intriguing events surrounding the birth of electric traction in November of 1886. The production company uses song, the Trolley Museum's many displays and an actual trolley excursion ride, to draw the attendees into the story with actors portraying inventor Charles Van Depoele and prominent and ordinary citizens of Scranton. The production opened Saturday, June 23rd, 2001 and continued every Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM through Sunday, August 26th, 2001.
Click on a link below to connect with associated sites for more visitor information:
Lackawanna County
City of Scranton
Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority
Northeast Pennsylvania Convention & Visitors Bureau
Steamtown National Historic Site
