Connecticut Trolley Museum

The Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, Connecticut, is a treasure of New England electric railway history, operating vintage streetcars and interurban cars over a 1.5-mile section of the historic Hartford, Springfield and Eastern interurban railway corridor through the Connecticut River Valley. Founded in 1940 by New England street railway enthusiasts committed to preserving the region’s rapidly disappearing electric transit heritage, the museum today houses over 50 historic vehicles, including some of the finest surviving examples of Connecticut and New England electric railway equipment. The collection spans the full arc of electric railway development from the earliest single-truck open-bench cars of the 1890s through 1940s streamlined lightweight cars, with particularly strong representation of equipment from the Connecticut Company, the Hartford Street Railway, and the Shore Line Electric Railway. Visitors can ride restored open and closed vintage streetcars on continuous service throughout operating days, exploring the museum’s car barns and outdoor displays between rides. Special events include the beloved Fantasyland of Lights holiday illumination that transforms the museum grounds each December into an extraordinary drive-through and walk-through light display, drawing tens of thousands of visitors. Steam excursion trains in cooperation with regional steam railroad preservation organizations are offered on special event weekends.