Winter Ready

Twin City Rapid Transit Co.1267 (Minneapolis and St. Paul ) at Seashore Trolley Museum

Twin City Rapid Transit Co. 1907-1953 - Accessioned 1953 - Though sponsored by Minnesotans Tom Bergen, Pat Butler and Ben Minnich, this car was sought per curatorial considerations, and was the first to come under the National Collection concept. After early cars from several builders were found unsatisfactory in Minnesota's hard winters, the company undertook its own car building program that totaled 1234 cars between 1898 and 1917, with 1140 for company use, the rest delivered to others, notably Duluth and Anoka. This was far the largest fleet of home built cars ever. The massive underframes were built by American Bridge Co., with the wooden superstructure custom designed with an open rear platform protected by wire gates. No. 1267, typical of the genre, represents a long standing excellence of design and construction by one of the best operations of the industry. bm&mvp