Classic rail trolleys returning to service
State and federal agencies helped the city restore three of four streetcars damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008
GALVESTON — The clanging sounds of classic rail trolleys will return starting Oct. 1, more than 13 years after the service was knocked offline by Hurricane Ike.
The city announced Thursday that three of four trolleys have been “beautifully restored” and have completed the testing needed for state and federal certification.
“We’ve been looking forward to the return of the beloved trolleys since they were damaged in Hurricane Ike and are thrilled the public will soon be able to ride them once again,” Mayor Craig Brown said in a written statement. “There is no better way to see the historic architecture of downtown Galveston and visit the restaurants and shops than by streetcar.”
City leaders credited the Texas Department of Transportation and U.S. Transportation Department for their help in the longterm restoration effort.
Three trolleys will run a route that extends from downtown to the Seawall along 25th Street. The trolleys, typically $1 per person to ride, will be free the first weekend. They will run every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The city will celebrate the opening of the Galveston Rail Trolley with a public event at 9 a.m. Friday on Postoffice Street between 22nd and 23rd streets.
“Galveston is one of a handful of U.S. cities to have a vintage trolley system,” Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau chief tourism officer Michael Woody said in a statement, adding that the bureau and Park Board are committed to supporting “this important piece of our history.”
Officials advise pedestrians and motorists to stay alert for the 5-ton trolleys, which cannot easily stop.
Galveston, once dubbed the “Wall Street of the Southwest,” got the first streetcars in Texas in 1866 — they were pulled by mules, according to “Street Railroads, Evolution of the Street Car in Galveston from 1866,” by Susan Wiley Hardwick.
The city progressed to electric trolleys in 1891, but then Galveston was leveled by the 1900 hurricane, which left more than 6,000 dead. The trolley was discontinued in 1938, then rebuilt in 1988 and extended over the next 17 years, according to the book.
The trolley car system has been out of commission since Ike swept through the island in 2008. The storm severely damaged the trolley cars and 6.8 miles of track that stretch from downtown Galveston east to the University of Texas Medical Branch campus and south to the Galveston Island Pleasure Pier on Seawall Boulevard
The Galveston City Council in 2015 selected Iowa-based Gomaco Corp. to restore three of four damaged trolley cars. The trolleys were shipped to Iowa and restored over several years.
Gomaco’s contract with the city totaled just over $3 million, the Chronicle reported in January 2019. The restoration was being funded by $1.9 million from the Convention & Visitors Bureau, as well as $1.6 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds from Hurricane Ike recovery. The fourth car could be restored in the future.
The rail trolleys were purchased brand new in 1988, said city spokeswoman Marissa Barnett. While they were more mechanical then, the operating system now is mostly electronic. Drivers have been hired and gone through extensive training.
Barnett said the rail trolleys will operate on a loop from downtown to the Strand for now, but not on the section that goes east from downtown to UTMB. The lines on that extension are usable but officials want to gauge demand for the service, which tends to be used by tourists and other visitors.
The cost of operating the trolley service is $650,000 a year, some of which will be covered by fares.
The island has been operating rubber-wheel trolley buses along the classic trolley route — and beyond — since spring 2017. The city will continue to operate the trolley buses on routes that complement the rail service, Barnett said.
“All of these things help make Galveston more walkable and easier to get around without relying on everyone getting in their vehicles,” she said.
For more information, go to galvestontrolley.com online.