On the left, TCRT PCC 322. TCRT built most of its own streetcars in its own shops (31st Street in Minneapolis from 1898 through 1907 and Snelling in Saint Paul from 1907 through the late 1920s) throughout the company's history. But a number of faster streamlined vehicles were purchased in the late 1940s to better compete with the popularity of the automobile. TCRT No. 322 was a Presidents' Conference Committee, or PCC streetcar built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1946. It served in the Twin Cities until it was sold in 1953 to Public Service Coordinated Transit in New Jersey, one of thirty streetcars purchased for use in the Newark City Subway. It was later sold to the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit in Cleveland, Ohio in 1978 to replace two wreck-damaged cars. After the car was acquired by the Museum in 1990, it underwent ten years of restoration, entering service in 2000.
And in the middle, DSR 265, A streetcar once operated on the TCRT-operated Duluth streetcar system was put in service on CHSL after nine years of restoration work in 1982. It had originally been built in 1915 by TCRT as No. 1791, but was sold to Duluth the next year. It operated there until Duluth's streetcar system was abandoned in 1939.
The car was sold and converted into a summer cabin in Solon Springs, Wisconsin, a fate that was not unusual for old wooden streetcars that managed to escape being burned up as streetcar lines abandoned. The interior had been removed, so important pieces like the railroad trucks, the electric wiring, and other parts had to be scavenged from other old streetcars or rebuilt from scratch.
And the right side, The original streetcar station at Linden Hills was built one block north of the intersection of Queen Ave and 42nd Street in 1900. As time progressed TCRT desired to make Lake Harriet an entertainment destination in an effort to increase recreational ridership. At this time they built the original Lake Harriet Bandshell and began sponsoring concerts at the lake. Because of the larger crowds being drawn to the lake there was a need for a larger station and in 1914 a larger chalet-style structure replaced the original building, which was moved closer to the lake and used for other purposes. The chalet station existed until 1954 when streetcar operations ceased at which time it was torn down.
By the time the Minnesota Transportation Museum began construction of the heritage line all that remained was the concrete slab used as a platform for loading and unloading passengers. In 1990, the Museum built a recreation based on the smaller original Linden Hills Station. Today the station is used for purchasing tokens to ride the streetcars, souvenirs, and contains displays of Twin City Lines History.
