All aboard! Rick Wheeler has been wearing his conductor’s hat on the
Old Pueblo Trolley for six years. Like everyone involved with Old
Pueblo Trolley, he is a volunteer. The organization began in 1983 to
preserve the history of railcars and demonstrate their usefulness. Now,
the organization is part of the city’s plans. Wheeler can be found
riding the rails every Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. The trolley runs Friday
from 6 to 10 p.m.; Saturday from noon to midnight; and Sunday from noon
to 6 p.m. The price: $1 for adults each way; 50 cents for children; and
everybody rides for 25 cents each way on Sunday.
What kind of work do you do?
Basically, my job is to collect the money and maybe entertain the
passengers and in certain areas help the motor person check out the
equipment. (And to) make sure cars aren’t about to hit us in certain
places.
How do you entertain the passengers?
I just tell stories—stories about the trolley themselves; one
came from Japan, and one came from Belgium. I tell stories about the
university or Tucson or anything that comes to mind that might get a
laugh.
What’s your favorite story to tell?
I suppose my favorite story is about the people of Tucson, when
Arizona was still a territory. They sent a delegation of people to
Prescott to talk to the territorial Legislature about which plums the
state was going to hand out to the various cities. The plum at that
time was the insane asylum. Everybody wanted the insane asylum. Our
delegation went by train. This was about 1883-1884. There was a washout
on the line between Phoenix and Prescott. They had to take a train all
the way to Los Angeles and then come back down to Prescott. Being
several days late for the meeting, the delegation only got what was
left—which was the University of Arizona.
That isn’t too bad.
Well, it isn’t now, but when the delegation got back to Tucson, they
were pelted with tomatoes. Who would ever want a university?
Explain your interest in trolley cars.
I’ve been into model trains most my life, and I actually worked for
a company that repaired train cars for three years. So I have a
mechanical, historic interest in just about anything that goes on a
track. … I was the head of the Arizona division of the National Model
Railroad Association. It’s a national organization.
How many volunteers does the Old Pueblo Trolley have?
Probably about 50 or 60. We’re always looking for volunteers to do
all types of things—to be conductors, motor persons, and when the
trolley is running, we have to have a dispatcher, so it takes three
people. There are all the people who do the mechanical, painting,
woodwork—whatever is required by the various trolleys to keep
them running or to restore them. We are restoring another one, and we
have several that we hope to restore.
What makes these cars unique?
One trolley came from Japan that was built in 1953. Then we have the
Belgium car that was built in 1902. Those are the two that we use the
most. Then we have one that … it was a long story. It was built in
Pennsylvania, went to Portugal and then came back to the country. A
town in Colorado was going to put it into service and never got around
to it, and it just deteriorated to a terrible state. Then we got it.
We’ve got the underbody of it all ready to go. The motor on it is
ready, and we’re just doing the interior and the passenger portion of
the cars.
How long before it’s on the road?
I used to say “next year,” but I’ve been saying “next year” for six
years.
How’s it been driving the Fourth Avenue underpass?
… They have a lot of engineering to do (before the trolley’s full
route is open). This isn’t us; this is the city and the Regional
Transportation Authority. They are doing a lot of the engineering work
and checking underneath the street so they can start expanding it. It
will reach to the west side of the University Medical Center and
continue on through downtown to the Convention Center.
How far do you go right now?
We go to the entrance of the university on University Boulevard, and
on the other side, we go to Fifth Avenue and Congress Street. That was
the area that was just finished.
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2009.