History
Rochester Subway Car 60 is part of a fleet built by the Cincinnati Car Co. for New York State Railways in 1916. The unique design was an early attempt by car builders to create a lightweight car that would cost less to operate and offer faster service. The cars were first assigned to the Utica Railways division until that system shut down in 1936. The cars were transferred to the Rochester Railways division in 1937 to upgrade the Subway fleet. The Subway became the responsibility of Rochester Transit Corp. in 1938, operating the line on a contract basis with the city of Rochester. The last streetcar line in Rochester was converted to bus operation in 1941, leaving the Subway as the sole trolley operation in the city. When passenger service on the Subway ended on June 30, 1956, the entire fleet was scrapped, except for Car 60, which was donated to the Rochester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. After being loaned out to the Rail City Museum and the New York State Museum, the historic trolley car was retuned to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in 1998, where it awaits its triumphant return to the rails.
- Built 1916, Cincinnati Car Co.
- Served Utica Railways until 1933
- Transferred to Rochester Subway in 1938
- Served Rochester until 1956
- Car 60 is the only example spared from the entire Rochester Subway fleet
- Car 60 is loaned to Rail City Museum in 1956
- Transferred to New York State Museum in 1970s, stored outdoors under a shed
- Returned to R&GV in 1998
Project History
Rochester Subway Car 60 was donated to our museum by Rochester Transit Corp. in 1956. Since we lacked a permanent museum of our own at the time, Car 60 was loaned to the Rail City Museum. When they closed in 1974, Car 60 was transferred to the New York State Museum for possible inclusion in a new exhibit that was never constructed. Car 60 spent more than 20 years stored outdoors under a shed until it was returned to our museum in 1998.
Car 60 was one of the first projects placed inside our new Restoration Building in 1998. Immediately it was decided that repairs to the metal body needed to be made before any additional restoration could take place. The car was completely stripped and disassembled. Funds were secured to replace the roof panels.
Progress ground to a halt in 2000 when most of the original volunteers working on the project passed away. With the museum moving on to more pressing and immediate projects, Car 60 was set aside. With new museum management in place, the preservation of Car 60 has become a priority. In May 2016, new letterboards were formed and installed by GJV Enterprises, the first new work accomplished on this car in many years. Help us keep the momentum going!
Project Goals
Rochester Subway Car 60 will be 100 years old in 2016. Our museum would like to make significant progress towards replacing the roof panels at that time. Completion of the roof will allow us to move on to the next steps, which is repairing and replacing the exterior wall panels and windows.
We have many of the volunteers, tools, skills, and experience needed to see this restoration project through to its successful conclusion. But we can’t do it alone. We need the help of professional sheet metal workers, woodworkers and carpenters, painters, electricians, historians, writers, artists, photographers… Anyone with an interest in preserving history! While the task may look overwhelming, there are many components that can be refurbished individually to help the process along. Each bit brings us closer to our goal of saving this significant piece of Rochester’s history.