Cleveland Ry. 2365

No. 2365 is one of 76 trailer cars built by G.C. Kuhlman and the Cleveland Railway shop 1917-18. These cars were designed by Cleveland Transit Commissioner, Peter Witt, and featured center doors. Passengers entered at the right center door and exited from the left center, paying when they passed the assistant conductor who sat between the two doors. Cleveland designed these cars to be hauled by a center entrance car in the 1100-1300 series, such as No. 1227 which is also at Seashore. The center-entrance cars operated on most of Cleveland’s trunk routes, often hauling trailer cars. Cleveland had the largest fleet of trailers on the North American continent. Trailer cars were an inexpensive way for streetcar operators to add capacity that would be used for only a few peak period hours each day. Cleveland’s trailers had continuous longitudinal seats for maximum standing room. These cars were crowded and uncomfortable. In 1942, the city of Cleveland bought the Cleveland Railway, forming the Cleveland Transit System. Cleveland scrapped most of its center-entrance cars in 1947-48, but, in 1947, the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit purchased three Cleveland trailer cars including No. 2365. The brothers, O.P. and M.J. Van Sweringen had developed the suburb of Shaker Heights, OH and built the Cleveland Interurban Railroad to provide trolley service between Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland and the suburb. In the 1920s, the Cleveland Interuban leased and later purchased 36 Cleveland center-entrance cars in the 1100-1300 series. In 1944, the city of Shaker Heights purchased the Cleveland Interurban, renaming it the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. After acquiring No. 2365 in 1947, Shaker Heights renumbered it to No. 58. No. 58 and the other two trailers ran for Shaker Heights only one year. An uphill run to Shaker Square was too much for their power cars. SHRT then used No. 58 as a crew locker room for the next 17 years. After being its use as a crew locker room, the Gerald E. Brookins Museum of Electric Railways (known as Trolleyville, USA) in Olmsted Township, OH acquired No. 2365. The Brookins Museum closed in 2005. Another group, the Lake Shore Electric Railway Museum, took over the Trolleyville collection and attempted to restart a museum. This museum plan failed. The Lake Shore Electric Ry. Museum auctioned off its collection in 2009 when Seashore acquired No. 2365. In 1987, Seashore had received, by donation, Cleveland center-entrance trailer No. 2318. This car was one of the other trailers also operated by Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. No. 2365 was in better condition than No. 2318. Not needing two trailer cars, Seashore donated No. 2318 to the Northern Ohio Railway Museum in Seville, OH in 2010. No. 2365 is believed to be one of only four trailers preserved at North American museums. No. 2365 is in fairly good condition and requires mostly cosmetic repairs. The car is on Brill 67F trucks which is the type used on Cleveland No. 1227 when it was originally built. Seashore has a set of trucks of the type used on Cleveland trailer cars, but these trailer trucks are relatively small and might be unsafe on the museum’s trackage. Seashore plans to operate No. 2365 with No. 1227 to demonstrate the operation of a motor-trailer train.