After 108 years, a forgotten New Jersey trolley is finally being restored after it's found rotting away
Published on Nov 06, 2025 at 11:17 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Nov 06, 2025 at 12:19 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
A century-old trolley in New Jersey is finally getting a second chance after being hidden for decades.
Built in 1914, it once carried commuters through Trenton and across Mercer County, before disappearing from the streets altogether.
Traded for buses and left behind when the trolley system shut down.
Now, after 100 years, it’s getting a second life.
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The New Jersey trolley that time forgot
The trolley could haul around 50 passengers at full tilt, acting as the daily ride to work for hundreds of locals.
But when the system ended, the car needed to find a new purpose.
Luckily, It was sold rather than scrapped, and historians believe it may have been used as a small house for a time.
Decades later in 2018 it turned up inside a foreclosed house in Hamilton Township, where the new owner found it tucked away.
Dusty and weathered, but in remarkable condition all things considered.
“The amazing thing was just how intact it was,” said Eric Strohmeyer, a volunteer with Liberty Historic Railway.
“Because it was inside a house, structurally what’s left was actually very solid.”
Every inch tells a story of how it dodged the scrap heap and waited for someone patient enough to care.
The plan to bring it back to life
Liberty Historic Railway took charge of the trolley’s restoration back in 2022 – 108 years after it was first built.
Volunteers are stripping it down, cataloguing every bolt and beam before the rebuild begins.
They’re calling it one of the most exciting preservation projects around – a rare chance to keep a century of local craftsmanship alive.
When it’s done, the car won’t just sit in storage either.
It’ll roll again, ready to show how people once travelled before freeways and SUVs.
From commuter car to makeshift house to forgotten shell, this New Jersey trolley has seen it all.
And more than a century later, it’s finally moving again.
Just not the way it used to.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
