TRANSPORTATION
~ TWIN CITY LINES ~
As I left the post office today, I saw an old 1962 vintage Twin City Lines
bus tooling around the neighborhood in west Bloomington. I wanted to take
a photo, but unfortunately did not have a camera along. So...I went to lunch, which was my plan, then went home and returned to the area with camera in tow. I didn't see the bus anywhere, but I happened upon a bus company nearby. As luck would have it, I saw the very same bus parked
among several old relics. The bus to which
I refer, was the 5105 tri-colored cream, blue, and red bus. It was called the 5105 model because "the 51 represents 1951 and the 05 stands for Series 5".
Well, wouldn't you know, there was an old green shorter version parked
nearby. Yes, you remember the style; it was the one that ran down 38th
Street, the #23 line. I remember riding
it to church when the fare for a child was
10 cents.
My mom, sister, and I would take the 38th Street bus, get transfers, then ride to Bryant Avenue South
to catch the #4 Bryant-Johnson line. The latest I recall riding the green bus was 1958 because I was confirmed that year. This bus is the LD3G model, but I don't know what that signifies and neither did the men who showed me the buses. Small things entertain me, but I still recall the sound of the tokens or change sorting within the token box: ca-ching - ca-chung,
ca-ching - ca-chung!
A young man named Chris approached me and asked if I wanted him to pull the 1962 vintage bus from its parking spot so
I could capture a better photo of it. How nice was that?! I took some photos, and then Philip, the older gentleman, approached and said he used to drive and do maintenance for Twin City Lines. He drove both these types of buses. He recalled that the green one also went down 28th Avenue South, by Roosevelt. As a sidelight, he mentioned that the street car tracks along 28th Avenue were taken up in 1951 (I thought it was later than that, because I was older than six, and I lived nearby.) and that the last street cars ran until 1954.
As I was about to leave, I thanked both these men for taking the time to show me the buses. Philip then asked if
I wanted to take photos of the interior of both buses. Next he suggested I sit in the driver's seat of the green model so he could take my photo! Well, had I known that, I would have dolled up a little!
At any rate, I wanted to share this with you. By the way, the company rents the buses for various events and also the #1300 Como-Harriet street car.
~ September 8, 2008 ~
~ TWIN CITY RAPID TRANSIT ~
Como-Harriet Line at Lake Calhoun Stop
Car 1300
Video
Clips
Speakers on! Wait until "Runaround Sue" stops
playing!
Source: Minnesota Streetcar Museum
The last day of regularly
scheduled streetcar service in the Twin Cities was on June 18, 1954. A
special streetcar parade delivered the press and dignitaries to Snelling Shops, where a streetcar was ceremonially burned. They returned to Minneapolis by
bus.
The Twin City Rapid Transit's main Snelling Shops where it built
streetcars in about 1911, was located in the Midway district in St. Paul, near
the Montgomery Ward store.
This is also the location where streetcars were burned and extinguished with an
extensive water hose system. The last Minneapolis streetcar was burned on June 19, 1954.
Historical Streetcar Photos
Source: Minnesota Streetcar Museum
Streetcars and Trolleys
Trains and Buses
Twin City Rapid Transit Company
Source: Minnesota Historical Society
Burning the last streetcar in Minneapolis
Streetcar History
TCRT Photos
View 1 View 2
Cars 1198 & 1773 collided near 53rd & 42nd Avenue South, 8/20/51
~ And More Links ~Here's a great link! Minneapolis & St. Paul Streetcars
Pictures of TCRT 1300
