Harrisburg Railways Co. 811

Harrisburg Railways operated streetcar service in Harrisburg, Pa and in suburbs east of the city. Harrisburg’s first electric trolley operation, which was constructed by Frank Sprague, opened in 1888, only a few months after Sprague’s pioneer electric operation in Richmond, VA. The increase in industrial activity as a result of World War I caused Harrisburg Railways to improve its fleet. Between 1916 and 1919, Harrisburg Railways ordered a series of 17 semi-convertible arch roof streetcars (Nos. 800 – 816) from J.G. Brill. These were Harrisburg’s first and only all-steel cars. The 800s operated mainly on suburban routes to Middletown, Hummelstown and Steeleton. These cars had an unusual semi-convertible window sash design where the upper and lower window sections are hinged together and slide up under the arch roof. (Philadelphia Rapid Transit No. 6618, also at Seashore, has a similar window design.) No. 811 is one of five cars delivered by Brill in 1918. The final 800 series cars came in 1920 and were Harrisburg’s last new trolleys. Harrisburg converted the 800 series cars to one-man operation in the early 1930s. The company began conversion to buses in 1933. The last streetcar line, running between Harrisburg and Middletown, PA, closed in 1939. After streetcar service ended in 1939, No. 811 became a catering shed for a picnic area. Seashore member Bill Dox found No. 811 in a farm field at Swatara, PA, near Harrisburg. In 1991, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Park Hoffman, donated No. 811 to Seashore. Seashore had the correct trucks to place under the car. No. 811 is one of only two preserved Harrisburg streetcars. The other, No. 710, is at the Rockhill Trolley Museum at Rockhill Furnace, PA.