MOOSIC, Pa. — A piece of Scranton history made its way back to Lackawanna County on Tuesday.
On the back of a tractor-trailer bed, the 505 Trolley was brought back into the Electric City Trolley Museum repair shop in Moosic.
This trolley car was originally built in 1929 and was in rough shape when it was discovered. A group in Lackawanna County formed a committee to raise the funds for the restoration.
"Realistically, we're in the final third, which is very exciting. We've been working on this for a number of years now, and COVID was tough on us, but we're back at it and really making a lot of progress," said Rocco Genovese, the capital funds manager for Project 505.
This trolley is one of only two Scranton trolleys known in existence. A committee was put together more than a decade ago, aiming to fully restore the 505 car.
Scranton is the home of electric transit, starting in the late 1800s, and it was important to have this piece of history brought back to life.
"These streetcars served until the end of our streetcar service. The anniversary is coming up soon on December 18, 1954," said Dominic Keating, a committee member.
"Many museums do not have the opportunity to have a car from where they actually operate, in the city they're operating in, and for us, it's very special," Genovese said.
Keating says seeing the trolley come back to life brings back so many memories.
"I rode this car and its sister cars on the Dunmore Suburban and Green Ridge Suburban lines as a young kid," Keating recalled.
It's taken nearly four years for the project to get this far because it required people with the expertise to do the work. Luckily, they didn't have to go too far for this portion of the restoration.
"All this work was done in Honesdale by a number of shops up that way. And we hope to continue that when we start the woodwork this spring," Genovese said.
The committee hopes to have the 505 Trolley fully restored by 2026.