Louie Mariano

With the summer season in full swing at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, the work on PAT 1713 has been no exception. Many of the youth volunteers have been working countless hours a week to bring the car closer to completion. Much of this work could not be done without the guidance of experienced volunteers passing on their knowledge to the next generation.

It quickly became evident that the scope of work on the car was not what was originally expected. After inspecting the condition of the car we realized the underbody needed more work than anticipated. Due to the car’s many years of service in the harsh winter climates of Pittsburgh and the usage of salt on the city streets, much of the steel was heavily corroded. Our team quickly got to work stripping the car of its interior fixtures and floor to facilitate the underbody repairs. 

After recognizing the expanded workload, the project welcomed several more experienced metal workers to the team to efficiently and effectively repair the underside of the car. Once the car was necessarily stripped down, we got to work removing heavily corroded pieces and treating the salvageable components. Volunteers spent many hours on the underside of the car cleaning the metal of large chunks of rust and dirt. The current plans call for replacing all the compromised steel and salvaging what we can.

While we do have much of the needed material in stock, some of it will be custom ordered. CAD drawings have been produced for some of the more complex pieces and those will be fabricated for us. Additional parts are being sourced from the museum’s supply. We made a return trip to the barn and home of the private collector, who provided us with the car, to pick up additional items to assist with the project.

Our team has begun the process of welding in some of the new cross members and supports. We are moving ahead preparing new parts to be welded in by our experienced welders when the time comes. With the county fair right around the corner, we anticipate additional progress on the car. We are shifting our main focus to the replacement of the center stepwell and the repairs to the ventilation system. Check this page soon for more regular updates as the project progresses!