Trolley Car 143

This trolley car was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1922 and served in Fresno, California, for all of its useful life. It is called a "Birney car" after one of its designers, Charles O. Birney, who worked for Stone & Webster at the time. In addition to the St. Louis Car Company, manufacturers of Birney cars included the J. G. Brill Company, American Car Company and others. The design was intended to reduce the costs of trolley operation, lower prices, and stem the flow of riders from trolleys to private autos. To this end, several safety systems were added to allow the car to be licensed for use with a single operator. The somewhat increased capital costs from added systems were offset by a significant decrease in labor costs. Car 143 is currently housed at the Trolley Barn in History Park.