New York State Railways 1213

In 1914, Cleveland, OH Transit Commissioner Peter Witt designed a streetcar for passengers to enter at the front door and exit at a center door, paying when they passed the conductor who sat just ahead of the center door, saving time at stops. This design became known as a “Peter Witt” car. Cleveland Railway ordered 130 of these cars from G.C. Kuhlman Car Co. and 75 from Cincinnati Car Co. Before all the Cincinnati Car Co. streetcars were delivered, Cleveland Railway decided the design was less than satisfactory and took delivery of only 25 cars from Cincinnati. So, Cincinnati Car sold the remaining 50 “Peter Witt” cars, including No. 1213, to New York State Railways Rochester Division in 1916. These cars were among the first to use innovative construction techniques to allow lighter weight metal components. New York State Railways owned four interurban railroads as well as several local streetcar operations in the state. The company had acquired the Rochester system in 1909. New York State Railways was itself owned by the New York Central Railroad. New York State Railways later converted No. 1213 to one-man operation by installing a turnstile by the front door and covering one of the center doors. In 1927, New York State Railways began operating in a new subway tunnel which the city of Rochester constructed in the former canal bed of the Erie Canal. Trolleys, including No. 1213, operating in this subway earned the nickname “Submarines.” In 1938, Rochester Transit Corporation took over operation of the streetcar and bus system in Rochester. Streetcar operation ended in 1941 except for a line in the subway which continued until 1956. After most streetcar service ended in Rochester in 1941, former Rochester Police Chief Henry Copenhagen moved the body of No. 1213 to his country home in Webster, NY. where he used it as a cottage. It sat directly on the ground and had a steel subfloor. Henry Copenhagen’s nephew, Alan Copenhagen, donated No. 1213 to Seashore in 1985. No. 1213 was one of the first vehicles that Seashore acquired from secondary uses rather than directly from a transit company. Seashore took a new approach to restoration of this car. The museum built a completely new frame and floor and then joined this to the rest of the body. This approach was necessary because the design did not allow piecemeal component replacement. No. 1213 was later joined by two other Rochester trolleys at Seashore: New York State Railways No. 394 and Rochester & Sodus Bay No. 113. Seashore also owns two other cars similar to No. 1213. These are Cleveland Railways Nos. 1227 and 2365 which were also designed by Peter Witt but which have a design where passengers both enter and leave by the center door.