Terrible Trolley celebrating Steelers dynasty back home in Pa. after spending 25 years in Ohio

Aug 08, 2023

The Terrible Trolley, shown here on a Pittsburgh street in the early 1980s, has been acquired by the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington County, which plans on restoring it to its former black and gold paint scheme.

The Terrible Trolley, a salute to the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty, is back home in western Pennsylvania after spending 25 years with a collector in Ohio.

Last week, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington County said it had acquired the former Port Authority of Allegheny County trolley car that once traversed streets painted in black and gold and championing the Steelers’ four Super Bowl victories capping the 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979 seasons.

Since then, the Steelers have won two more Super Bowls.

Built in 1949 by the St. Louis Car Co., the trolley car was put into service that same year on a line running from downtown Pittsburgh to Washington, Pa., about a 28-mile trip, and Charleroi a few miles farther, Scott Becker, CEO and executive director of the museum, told PennLive.

Those lines were abandoned in 1953, but the car still serviced Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The trolley car was retired in 1988 by the Port Authority, now known as Pittsburgh Regional Transit, but returned to service a year later before being retired for good in 1998, said Becker.

How the Terrible Trolley found its way home started with museum volunteers researching photos for a story proposed by a local TV station. Someone mentioned that the Terrible Trolley was in Ohio so Becker called the owner and learned that he had recently sold the property and building that housed the car, which Becker said is in "fairly decent shape."

A deal was quickly struck and the trolley car arrived at the museum on May 31. Becker said the Steelers have been "very supportive" by giving permission to use their logo, which will once again adorn the Terrible Trolley when its repainted as it looked in the 1980s.

After an evaluation process is completed and the Terrible Trolley is operational, it will run on the museum's 4-mile roundtrip track, which includes sections of the original line it would have run on in the 1950s, Becker said.

"It's definitely a priority project for us," he said.

Becker told KDKA-TV that the trolley car would be accurately repainted thanks to the help of several entities.

"We got permission from the Steelers, the Eamon Foundation, which owns the rights to the Terrible Towel since this is called the Terrible Trolley, and also the NFL," he said.

The Terrible Trolley as it looks now after being acquired by the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Photo courtesy of Scott Becker, Pa. Trolley Museum.

Becker also said the history of the Terrible Trolley began with a 9-year-old girl named Kim Sever who came up with the idea and wrote to then-Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Caliguiri in January 1980, telling him the city should paint a "terrible trolley" to recognize the Steelers’ accomplishments.

A week later, the Port Authority had approved the plan.

KDKA interviewed Sever, now a New Jersey resident, who said she's pleased with her role in Pittsburgh history.

"I love the idea that I’m provable, verified responsible for the existence of the Terrible Trolley," she said. "It makes me happy."

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