Welcome to the ECTMA Site!
The Electric City Trolley Museum Association is a volunteer non-profit group that supports the activities of the Electric City Trolley Museum in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA, at the Steamtown National Historic Site. The association is an outgrowth of predecessor preservation groups including Buckingham Valley Trolley Association and East Penn Valley Traction, which conveyed to the museum most of the trolleys and artifacts in its historic collection. Association members support the Electric City Trolley Museum with their time, talent, trolley expertise and contributions. The Electric City Trolley Museum Association is IRS recognized as a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. We welcome anyone sharing our interest in electric railways of eastern Pennsylvania to find out more about the Electric City Trolley Museum Association through this web site, and to consider joining or supporting our activities by becoming a member.
Project 505
Project 505 is a project being promoted by the Electric City Trolley Museum Association and several Greater Scranton Civic leaders to bring back a part of Scranton’s transit history by restoring to service a classic 1929 Electromobile streetcar.
Click Here for information about Car #505 and how to donate to Project 505
Scranton – The Electric City
On November 29, 1886, Charles J. Van Depoele was at the controller of Car #4 and made the first “test run” of the new electric streetcar. He only operated the car to Spruce and Adams Avenue and returned to Franklin Avenue at Lackawanna Avenue. When he was operating the second test run, there was a short circuit problem in the motor and that was the end of operation that day. The next day, November 30, 1886 was the day the first electric streetcar operated from the corner of Lackawanna Avenue on Franklin Avenue to the Green Ridge section of Scranton. The year, 2011 marked the 125th year since that “first run”. To commemorate that historic event, the City of Scranton along with the Electric City Trolley Museum Association co-operated with several events in 2011.
Please check the City of Scranton web site for more information.