Riding a bit of Fort Collins History
This past weekend was fathers day, and it has become a bit of a tradition in our family to go on a family walk on fathers day. A few years back we had the great idea of heading up to city park to ride the historic trolley, and I was instantly hooked on the experience. So this past weekend, we packed the kids up in the blistering heat with the goal of riding the trolley downtown to get some ice cream at Walrus ice cream.
For history buffs, the Fort Collins trolley has been around for quite some time, but not without its ups and downs throughout the years. I’m not going to butcher the entire provenance of the Fort Collins trolley system and years in which the trolley ran up and down Mountain Ave and other streets across Old Town, but if you have the itch to read the full history, you can check it out on the official site here: https://www.fortcollinstrolley.org/history. While there it is hard to find the definitive information online these days, the trolley at one point was potentially at risk of going away (I believe it was sometime in the 80’s) as it was considered a nuisance to those living on Mountain ave. Now days, it seems heretical to think that this emblem of Old Town Fort Collins could have ceased to exist a few decades ago.
The experience of riding the trolley is truly like a step back in time. The 2 trolleys that are currently in service have both been expertly restored by volunteers of the Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society (FCMRS). I’ve had the opportunity to ride both the green Birney car 21 as well as the more recently restored Birney car 25. A step aboard either car transports you to another era. The warmth of the highly shellacked wood adorned with brass hardware envelopes you upon entry.
The padded leather style seats of the newer restored car 25 give way to a wicker style back on the car 21. Either way, the seats are comfortable for the short 10 minute ride from City Park down to the end of the line just before Howes st. As you putter along, the trolley makes short stops along the way making sure that crossing bicyclists, walkers, and cars alike are away of its presence. Up until a few years ago, the trolley had to contest with left turning vehicles at the corner of Mountain Ave and Shields St, but now has its own dedicated trolley light which stops traffic in all directions. As the trolley moves along, a volunteer group of a conductor and driver pass along historical information about the trolley, including the locations that the trolley has served, and bit of history of the line. While you could tune in to the stories (if that is your thing) you can just as easily let yourself be transported to early century Fort Collins as you gaze out the windows passing historic architecture.
Once at the final destination of Howes and Mountain, the conductor is happy to provide an old school style punched transfer ticket which allows you to ride the trolley back up at a later time that day after exploring downtown. The transfer ticket also provides you a buy one get one free ice cream at Kilwins, which is a nice touch. The final stop is also just a short distance from the Avery house (http://poudrelandmarks.org/avery-house), another historical landmark in Fort Collins, or the more modern version of the trolley, the MAX line which will run you all the way to the South side of town if you so desire. On our occasion, we decided a quick trip to Walrus Ice Cream (Well worth a visit and another Fort Collins institution!) was a good bet as we could grab a cone and utilize our transfer right away to get us 3/4 of the way home. We had a great time riding the trolley and I would highly recommend it as an inexpensive weekend experience in Old Town Fort Collins!
