Consensus so far is that it's a Trenton car
Wow. Heck of a thing. Now if only there was a copy of Superman #1 or Captain Marvel stashed away in there.
Quite a find considering it's 2018.
Amazing, but I don't think this is the first time this has happened.
Quite a few streetcars were re-purposed into chicken coops, workshops, sheds, and some into home additions.
Incredible find, even though it's in horrible shape.
Hamilton NJ is right next door to Trenton so I tried a little research and came up with this...
http://nj1015.com/historic-johnson-trolley-line-photos/
https://walkableprinceton.com/2015/05/05/the-old-princeton-trolley/
This could be one important relic! I hope the demolition crew goes slow on this one!
I'm curious about why someone would build a streetcar body into a house (or build a house around a sreetcar body). Avid streetcar fan? Sentimental transit official or employee?
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Quite possibly because it's cheaper, especially for a so-callled starter house.
Many lines offered bodies for sale, though it was sometimes prohibited by city ordinance. Trucks and motors hardly ever included.
Seashore Trolley Museum got its start in 1939 when the founders bought a car from the nearby Biddeford and Saco with the proviso that it couldn't remain on the property. One of the founders knew a farmer on the Kennebunkport/Arundel line and the rest is history. The museum has several cars in varying condition (including running) that spent part of their post-service lives as parts of buildings.
Here's the story from todays nj.com.
https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2018/10/if_walls_could_talk_this_home_has_an_antique_train.html
Be tolerant of the writer's terminology, it's a cinch she's not a railfan, just be grateful the story got some coverage, it'll increase the chances for preservation.
Denver has had at least two such similar instances, including two in one house (well documented in the history of Denver's original pre-1954 transit system.)
Here is another example:
Shore-Line Trolley, Branford, has two Public Service of NJ cars, a motor and a trailer. I doubt that they (we) would be interested.
Another example of a car built into a structure was the Baptist Chapel Car Evangel. This rolling church on wheels was built to go town to town and start churches as well as minister to the railroad workers. It was incorporated into the stucture of the First Baptist Church in Rawlings Wyoming.
Jim
This isn't an update, it's more of a "Guess what?"
There's been another trolley car body found in a house! This one's in the Wilkes-Barre PA area.
Built in 1924 by the J.G. Brill Company, it was originally built for East Penn Railways of Pottsville, later went into the fleet of Wilkes-Barre Transit.
In 1951 a couple named the Krakowski's bought the trolley body and mounted it on a concrete foundation as a country place. Two wings and an enclosure plus a 12 window sunroom were added, but the trolley's ends did poke out of the house.
The motors, wheels and electrical equipment is long gone, but the walls, roof, windows and other structural elements are pretty much intact along with brass window posts complete with buzzer buttons. Also intact are the cloth destination signs at both ends of the car.
Since most of the car was under a roof it's supposed to be in very good condition.
Heirs of the Krakowski's said the group working to save the car, an organization called Anthacite Trolley Inc. can have the car as long as they complete the house demolition and have it off the property by the end of 2019. Anthracite Trolley is in the process of fundraising. The ultimate goal is to return it to operation and donate it to the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton.
I got this from the November issue of "Railpace" magazine.
Isn't that something?
Make you wonder what else is out there, doesn't it?
Here's the story from the local paper...
https://www.timesleader.com/news/719208/group-aims-to-rescue-restore-wilkes-barres-last-trolley
Well worth the read.
Here's an update on that New Jersey trolley from today's nj.com.
Moving right along...
https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2018/11/last_trenton_trolley_car_is_salvaged_for_restorati.html
Check the reader comments, one of them's priceless!
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