Historic Railway Restoration Inc

Services Overview

Equipment Evaluation

The first step taken in evaluating historic rail equipment is a preliminary visual inspection of the entire car body including the interior, the exterior and the trucks. Next a series of preliminary pictures are taken of the entire streetcar to document its current condition prior to restoration. After assessing the whole body, HRR inspects, with extensive detail, the specific components of the car body and truck. During the inspection of each component, additional photographs are taken to document the condition of each component evaluated. The following is a summarized list of the components that are evaluated on the streetcar:

Roof and Catwalk
Car body (Interior and Exterior)
Truck(s)
Motors
Electrical System
Air Systems

In addition to the physical evaluation of the streetcar equipment, historical research is performed to document original construction and details about the streetcar. Research information is collected from the owner of the car, local libraries, local historical societies, and any other entities that has pertinent information regarding the equipment.

Recommendations and Cost Analysis

Historic Railway Restoration includes a written report to offer recommendations and estimated costs on streetcar and rail equipment projects. All evaluations and recommendations are based on the client’s parameters of their individual projects or interests. Following are the four most common options provided to clients for their use in determining potential use of a streetcar and/or its equipment.

Valuation of Equipment
- The client’s existing equipment is evaluated for its current market value. The equipment could be used for trading to attain more valuable or useable pieces of equipment that relate to the project. In addition, the client’s equipment could be sold to gain capital funds for other projects.

Stabilizing and Preserving Equipment for Future Use
- Based on the condition of the equipment, which is determined during the preliminary evaluation, recommendations are provided on how to maintain the equipment’s current value and condition for use in future projects or potential sales. For example, instructions are given on how to dismantle equipment, proper storage techniques, and any regular maintenance necessary to retain the equipments present condition.

Restoring Streetcar and Equipment for Static Display
- A preliminary evaluation and cost analysis is performed to determine what parts, equipment manufacturing and labor are necessary to restore the streetcar for public or private exhibit in a non-operational static display. If requested by the client, transportation of the equipment to the final display site can be included in the cost analysis.

Full Streetcar Restoration to Operating Status
- Similar to the static display evaluation, a cost analysis is provided for restoring the streetcar and equipment to operational status. This analysis would include all parts, equipment manufacturing, and labor to complete the project. Three forms of full restoration are available to the client. The first option allows the streetcar to be restored exactly to manufacturer’s original specifications, when the car was originally built. Second, the streetcar can be restored to a standard shop maintenance status. This means that the car would have various modifications to the original manufacturer’s design, such as interior modifications to the wood and seats or to mechanical sections like the trucks. The third restoration option is to design the streetcar using the client’s specifications such as the color scheme for the exterior paint or a specially designed interior like different overhead lighting and a different style of seats. Modern regulatory requirements play a part in any operational restoration and are addressed on an individual project basis.

Price Quotes

Once a full evaluation of the streetcar body or equipment has been performed, HRR can provide the client with a variety of cost options for having a complete restoration performed or simply creating a static display of the streetcar. HRR can also inform the client of the costs involved in purchasing a fully operational streetcar or streetcar system. HRR feels that taking the opportunity to restore a historic streetcar to its original condition is much more cost effective and allows the client to customize certain areas of the streetcar if so desired.

Transportation

Transporting a streetcar requires detailed knowledge of streetcar bodies and considerable patience to ensure a successful transport. The partners in HRR have over sixteen years of transportation experience and have moved over two hundred pieces of rail equipment. These pieces include streetcars, interurban cars, railroad cars, several types and sizes of locomotives, and a variety of associated parts. The procedure for transporting a piece of rail equipment demands the knowledge of procuring permits, loading, disassembling and reassembling of equipment, and determining the proper method of transportation (i.e., truck or rail). The goal is to transport the client’s rail equipment safely and damage-free which is HRR specialty.

Full Car Restoration

Based on equipment evaluation, the extent of restoration required for the streetcar is determined. All equipment and parts are removed from the streetcar body and the body is taken to the frame stage. At this point, restoration is begun by rebuilding or re-manufacturing any parts that require replacement. Attempts to replace all parts on the car to original standards are made in order to retain the historical value of the car. For example, brass screws are used throughout the car and wood type is matched to original wood as closely as possible. Then re-installation of all parts removed from the car is performed. The remaining steps in restoring the streetcar involve the complete re-finishing of all interior and exterior wood, installation of the canvas roof, and a final paint is applied to match the original paint scheme.

Locating of Streetcars and Equipment

In addition to HRR international connections to streetcars and streetcar equipment, many contacts in the rail industry throughout the United States and Canada have been established. HRR has developed working relationships with a variety of private owners, museums, and companies to have the largest stock of streetcar and locomotive parts available to them at all times.

Manufacturing Streetcars and Equipment

HRR manufactures replica trolley cars and equipment upon the customer’s request. Manufacturing is based upon equipment specifications provided by the client and current government regulatory requirements. HRR can also engineer original car body structures to meet modern crash test standards, but still maintain the historical appearance and values of the original streetcars. Modern propulsion systems and air brake systems can be designed for replica streetcars based on the specific needs of the individual cars and the environment they are operated within.

A variety of parts and equipment can be manufactured for maintenance, repairs or replacement. Examples of manufactured parts include truck sets, headlights, pilots, vintage style seats and miscellaneous interior and exterior hardware. Additional information can be attained through HRR if requested.

Capabilities

Services Overview

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