ONLY ON ABC-7: Workers in Pennsylvania thrilled at opportunity to restore El Paso streetcars
Workers in the small town of Brookville, Pennsylvania are exited to be able to bring the old El Paso streetcars back to life.
“I think it’s really something, to take these (streetcars), as big as they are, and get them that far away,” Brookville Mayor Richard Beck said.
Brookville is a small town with a population of 4,000 people, but nestled in the town is the Brookville Equipment Corporation, where six El Paso Streetcars are undergoing restoration.
Representatives with the City of El Paso recently visited the town to get a first-hand look at the work to restore the streetcars.
“It makes the town look good. Nationwide, it’s starting to get spread out. This is getting buildup and how they’re building big diesel locomotives and streetcars and all this stuff,” Mayor Beck said.
Crews are stripping down the streetcar’s frames, repairing and replacing structural components and integrating modern technology like wifi.
“To me, it’s a privilege, we’re so far in Pennsylvania, just to get the chance to work on them, to me, I enjoy it. It’s kind of flattering that we’re the shop that does it,” Chad Callendar said.
Callendar is a crew member working on the final assembly of the streetcars. Callendar has been working on the streetcars, which were manufactured in 1937, for four months now.
“Seeing them when they come in, how rough they are, going through the teardown phase, rust and rot, cutting into a part, rebuilding it and just making it new again, giving them another breathe of life, bringing them back to life,” Callendar said.
The streetcars will return to service for the first time since 1974 and take El Pasoans through a 4.8 mile route.
“They get a sense of home. You look in the past, these things are built in the 40s and 50s and you think about that and it puts you in the mind-frame and think of who could’ve possibly ridden these over the years,” Callendar said.
The streetcars are expected to be in service in 2018.
