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Your streetcar ride begins at the Linden
Hills station, which is very close to the pavillion
on Lake Harriet. This Station is a reconstruction
of the original, built for $300 in 1900, which served
the residents of the Linden Hills neighborhood. For
a time, there was a second station just to the north
that was used for big post-concert crowds. |
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After buying tokens in the station,
passengers board the streetcar on the platform through
the front door. |
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Another view just after the last passenger
stepped aboard. The car is ready for departure. |
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After the last passenger boards, the
conductor rings the bell three times and the streetcar
backs across W. 42nd St. toward the carbarn, which
is nestled under a bridge a few hundred yards to the
south. The Twin City Lines was primarily double tracked
- the site of the second track is very evident in
this photo. |
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After reaching the carbarn at the south
end of the line, the car accelerates north towards
Lake Calhoun. That's Lake Harriet in the background. |
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New in 2000 is freshly-restored PCC
("President's Conference Committee") number 322. When
delivered between 1946 and 1949, these 140 streamlined
steel streetcars were the most modern kind of streetcar
to run in the Twin Cities.
Photo by John DeWitt |
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Between the station and the pedestrian
underpass, a section of the double track has been
restored as a passing track. The pedestrian underpass
is the approximate site of the second station. |
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Most of the Twin City Lines trackage
ran down city streets. But, the section between the
lakes was private right-of-way and is heavily wooded.
Streetcars ran as fast as 60 m.p.h. through the Glen. |
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This stone arch bridge, nearly as old
as the right-of-way, carries William Berry Parkway
over the track. |
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After leaving the woods, the line passes
by the Park Board's archery range. At this point the
track is a little west of the original right-of-way.
Lakewood Cemetery expanded to the west across the
original right-of-way after the streetcar line was
abandoned in 1954. |
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Along the southeast shore of Lake Calhoun
the track follows the edge of Lakewood Cemetery. The
road in the foreground encircles the lake, part of
the "Grand Round" of parkways that encircle Minneapolis. |
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The tracks end about two hundred yards
short of W. 36th St. Originally, a bridge carried
the line over 36th. It followed the hill on the east
side of Lake Calhoun to W. 31st St., then traveled
on city streets to downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. |
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The Twin City Lines relied on loop
tracks and wyes and did not generally build double-ended
streetcars. Because there are no turning facilities
on our line, the car makes the return trip in reverse. |
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Back at the station, passengers get
off by the rear exit and another group boards by the
front for their ride back in time. |
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Photo of PCC 322 trolley crossing the
road.
Photo courtesy Bruce
Adelsman. |
