Old Pueblo Trolley Inc

A few years ago, my wife got us involved in a retiree group through Pima County Parks Department where we would periodically tour local places of interest. In October, 2017, we went to Old Pueblo Trolley Museum loocated at the corner of 36th St. and South 4th in South Tucson. As a Tucson native and lover of museums, I was surprised because I had never heard of this place.
The large metal building is just full of old buses and, surprisingly, a rather large collection of trolleys that operated on Tucson's railed streets in the past. Although there are some badly in need of reclamation, there are some gems. Right inside the entrance is a 1936 Yellow Coach that was formerly part of the Warren Bisbee Line. They have an extensive series of photos tracing the discovery of the wrecked bus abandoned in a feild outside of St. David and the subsequent restoration process to now running condition. Both indside and out, this bus, in gold and white paint, has been meticulously restored. Sitting in one of the many origianal seats, with accurate reproductions of World War II period advertising in the frames meant for such things, will take you back to when the sound of B-17 and B-24 bombers filled the skies overhead.
Of the collection, OPT also has the only running Twin Coach bus in the world, This vehicle was designed, as the name implies, with two gasoline engines to provide the extra power needed when the bus was full and in hilly or mountianous terrain. Other times, it could operate on just one engine.
One of my favorite trolleys is the 1952 "Rice Vinegar Special". This purple beast was imported to Tucson in the mid-Fifties from Osaka Japan. When it got here, it was covered in advertising for rice vinegar, the copy being all in Kenji characters. Its hard to visualize this large and gaudy trolley rolling through downtown to the sound of a new Elvis Presley tune.
I was so impressed with the talent and dedication the volunteer staff had, that I immediately became one too. I must point out the no one in OPT is paid, even the CEO is a volunteer. That's true altruism!
As I have been a machinist and industrial technician for decades, I gravitated to the sparce and non-functioning machine shop that was more or less placed along a distant back wall. None of the machines were running and all needed lots of work plus electrical power hook-ups. One lathe, an ancient green monstrosity, was in pieces on the floor and did not have a motor.
That was over a year ago.
Since then, I rebuilt the one good 14" lathe completely. Through generousity of a volunteer, we recieved a Bridgeport mill. It needed much work too, such as rescraping the bed ways, fixing the lube system and fully reconditioning the head. But in the end, I had virtually a new machine. Another member gave a set of digital positioning scales for the mill. I contacted the company who sells those scales and they donated the electronic decoding/display box. Since then, we have been given a Moore jig bore machine, (a very precise milling, boring and drilling machine) and a whole host of tooling and smalll machine shop equipment. Even my own kids, now adults, have donated materials and fluorescent light fixtures, not because I asked them to but because they see the value and dedication inherent in OPT.
Its truly rare to find an organization that lives to the meaning of non-profit. I have donated my own money to support machine shop operations in the form of metal, tools and supplies.
In summation, Old Pueblo Trolley is an unknown Tucson gem, inadvertently hiding out in the confines of South Tucson and off the beaten path just kitty-corner to the old Greyhound racetrack. The tours are free (donations are accepted and welcomed) and are open 7 days a week. If you come on a Monday, Friday or Saturday, you will probably get to see and meet some of our volunteer staff hard at work. But stop anyway, because we are a friendly bunch and rarely miss a chance to show off whatever we are working on or, to just answer a question, Come back to the machine shop too. Its safe and I can show you around or let you see what I've got on the bench. Everyday is different and I get to work on some pretty interesting things.
Also stop in and say Hi to Mark. He builds the scale model rail and bus models in his "factory". These models are exact replicas of the planned refurbishment of each bus and trolley so you can get an idea of what its going to look like at soem future date. They are located in cases along one wall and throughout the museum near the bus or trolley they depict. I hope that I'm there for that.