Murdoch17 Posted April 23 Posted April 23 This streetcar (alongside several others) was built in 1914 by the St. Louis Car Company for use by the Saint Louis Waterworks Division to transport employees and pull freight cars of equipment from the Baden Waterworks to the Chain Of Rocks Water water filtration plant near St. Louis, Missouri on it's own private railway line. These interurban streetcars were also used later by fun seekers going to the then-new Chain of Rocks Amusement park, which was near the plant. Over time, the cars got so full of park-goers, they doubled the ticket prices (to a whopping ten cents!) to deter the public... which did nothing to stop the torrent of people riding the cars! In 1936, the streetcars were replaced with buses, until in 1944 when World War II rationing of gasoline and tires forced the Waterworks Division to un-retire the trolleys until they were finally made permanently redundant on April 30th, 1955 - 70 years ago this month. Cars 10, 11, and 17 were then donated to the Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri. Only cars 10 and 17 survive to this day, as 11 was in very poor shape and was scrapped shortly after donation, with a few parts saved, while 17 is in long term storage out of public view. Car 10, however, was totally restored from 1997 to 2001 and has been run at the Museum by trolley volunteers since then on the demonstration line. Sadly, in January 2025, vandals broke into the museum and damaged / graffitied this car plus a nearby PCC streetcar that also runs at the museum. These two will have to be repaired before they can run again and who knows how long that will take to complete. As such, I don't have my typical picture of the real world vehicle next to the LEGO model... but I do have an old book about the Waterworks Railway featuring the car on the cover, so I used that instead. This LEGO MOC of the 111 year-old Waterworks Car No. 10 has been made in tribute to the blood, sweat, and tears of the Trolley Volunteers who restore, maintain, and run this car and several others at the Museum. I must admit I was inspired by the cable car in set 10308 in several places while designing this MOC. Several differences from the real-world streetcar exist on this model because of issues stemming from this decision. Side view of the streetcar. I used eight XS wheels from Big Ben Bricks for this MOC, as using regular official LEGO wheels would have made it much too tall. The car with one of it's trolley poles raised, ready to depart on it's next journey. Thoughts on this MOC are greatly appreciated! Quote
Darkkostas25 Posted April 23 Posted April 23 Nice streetcar (streetcars and trams take a big part in my heart) Lovely model! Nice colour scheme ! And quite a sad story. I will never understand vandals :( Quote
garmsey Posted April 23 Posted April 23 (edited) My son loves to ride the "Trolleys" at the museum and we were disappointed to hear that they were vandalized. We can not wait for them to get back to running again. Great job on making the Lego model. Edited April 23 by garmsey Quote
Murdoch17 Posted April 23 Author Posted April 23 1 hour ago, Darkkostas25 said: Nice streetcar (streetcars and trams take a big part in my heart) Lovely model! Nice colour scheme ! And quite a sad story. I will never understand vandals :( Thank you! There is probably a special spot in Hell for graffiti artists and vandals, likely right next door to counterfeiters and train robbers. 2 minutes ago, garmsey said: My son loves to ride the "Trolleys" at the museum and we were disappointed to hear that they were vandalized. We can not wait for them to get back to running again. Great job on making the Lego model. Thanks for the compliment! This is actually the second time it's happened in 15 years... if I remember correctly, the first time was in 2011. Also, are you local to St. Louis? If so, you should check out Gateway LUG! Quote
Murdoch17 Posted April 24 Author Posted April 24 1 hour ago, Shiva said: Good work + sad to hear about the vandals. Thanks @Shiva for the kind comment! Quote
The Big MC Posted April 24 Posted April 24 Nice work on the model. It's sad what has happened to the museum. Idiots who don't know or care how much work has gone into something. Museums are often a source of inspiration for me with my trains. I'm lucky to live relatively close to the National Railway Museum (UK) and a smaller one called Barrow Hill Roundhouse. Things like this make you appreciate them more. Hope they get back up and running soon so we can get more comparison shots. Quote
Murdoch17 Posted April 24 Author Posted April 24 1 hour ago, The Big MC said: Nice work on the model. It's sad what has happened to the museum. Idiots who don't know or care how much work has gone into something. Museums are often a source of inspiration for me with my trains. I'm lucky to live relatively close to the National Railway Museum (UK) and a smaller one called Barrow Hill Roundhouse. Things like this make you appreciate them more. Hope they get back up and running soon so we can get more comparison shots. Thanks, and I'll try to get a comparison shot ASAP! Quote
Feuer Zug Posted April 24 Posted April 24 Good work on the streetcar. It has the right lines and level of detail. It would be perfect in a post-Great War city scene. Quote
Murdoch17 Posted April 24 Author Posted April 24 1 hour ago, Feuer Zug said: Good work on the streetcar. It has the right lines and level of detail. It would be perfect in a post-Great War city scene. Thanks @Feuer Zug, and I agree! Quote
Murdoch17 Posted April 25 Author Posted April 25 50 minutes ago, zephyr1934 said: Nice build! Thank you @zephyr1934! Quote
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