place to stretch its wheels and the first trackage and 600 volt d.c. overhead line was rebuilt in 1984 and completed to its current length in 1986. The Fort Collins Municipal Railway name was also resurrected and a small carbarn was built on West Mountain Avenue adjacent to the municipal golf course. The other cars were scattered to the
four corners of the country in 1951, but one returned home a decade ago. Car 25 (a hand-me-down from Virginia Railway & Power in Richmond and actually the second car to carry that number) came back to Fort Collins in 2007. It’s currently undergoing restoration for a return to service. Amazingly, most of the former Fort Collins Birney cars survive today on display or in various states of restoration across the country, including Car 22 (as Colorado Springs No. 135) down the road at the Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway in Colorado Springs. The volunteers also roster two Fairmont speeders
to help with the
ongoing maintenance of the line. They are stored at the carbarn with Car 21.
Current Operations
On weekends in the summer, Birney car No. 21 rolls on 1.5 miles of original right-of-way along West Mountain Avenue, from City Park to a point near the central business district. The
OPPOSITE: Fort Collins Municipal Railway Bir- ney car No. 21 has a good-size crowd ready to board at City Park on May 28, 2016. The trip will cover 1.5 miles along West Mountain Ave- nue into the downtown business district.
TOP: With a right-of-way groomed much like the French Quarter in New Orleans, Fort Col- lins Municipal Railway 21 rolls past stately homes along West Mountain Avenue.
ABOVE: The original 1919 Fort Collins Munic- ipal Railway carbarn still stands at Cherry and North Howes, complete with its “The Ft. Collins Municipal Railway” embossed marker above four sets of green wooden doors.
LEFT: The classic face of Fort Collins Municipal Railway Birney Safety Car 21.
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