HELENA — About a century ago, trolleys used to be a common sight in Helena and beyond. Today, historians believe that only two of the trolleys that used to travel the streets of the Queen City are still in existence. One is prominently displayed on the Walking Mall in Helena, the other is tucked away in a city warehouse.
(WATCH: Historic Helena trolley awaits restoration)
The 1909 Cincinnati Car Company electric trolley—known as trolley no. 3—has been sitting in the old Montana Department of Transportation truck shop building for the past 20 years. But before that, it ran along the streets of Helena until the late 1920s.
“The routes went all over the place,” Helena & Lewis and Clark County historic preservation officer Pam Attardo said. “They all started down at what the end of the walking mall is now.”
Trolleys took people through Helena and out to places as far as Fort Harrison and East Helena.
Conductors stood at one end of the trolley and drove until it reached the end of its route, then they moved their controllers to the other end and traveled back along the route.
“You can see there’s two spaces where his feet were, it’s worn out in the wood,” Attardo said of trolley no. 3.
Eventually, cars replaced trolleys, and trolley no. 3 ended up in Big Sandy.
“I’m thinking sometime during the depression it was used as housing,” Attardo said, noting it had been insulated.
Someone spotted the trolley, let historians in Helena know, and it was brought back to the capital city in about 2006.
After it arrived, volunteers got to work restoring it. Restoration efforts were led by George Hoff.
“He enjoyed woodworking, and he just channeled that into the trolley,” Attardo said.
A Capital High School class got involved in restoration work too. But, after Hoff’s death in 2009, restoration work slowed and then stopped.
Old, restored and recreated pieces of trolley no. 3 are spread throughout the warehouse.
“There are pieces all over the place, just waiting for the puzzle to be assembled,” Attardo said.
If you have any interest in putting the puzzle back together, reach out to the Helena-Lewis and Clark County Heritage Preservation Office.
The hope is that the trolley can be restored and displayed in the future.
