Here’s a photo from my collection, taken in 1952 by Roy W. Bruce
Chester Avenue and E 36th Street, Cleveland, Ohio.
The caption on the back of the photo reads:
“Northern Ohio Traction and Light Co ex 1500 Series car used as restaurant”.
Another shot showing slightly more context, but of worse quality
Some recent additions to my collection. These photos were taken in 1965. There used to be quite a few trolley conversions in the mid atlantic (and elsewhere), but they just didn’t hold up as well as factory built diners. By the time they came into service as diners, most had served a full lifetime of service on the roads, so the condition was obviously not as good as a factory built diner. It took work, money and some jerry-rigging to change them over from transportation to food service. But they could be picked up and converted on the cheap, so they were a good way to get into the business. It seems most owners traded up to a proper factory built diner, or to a on-site construction once they had earned enough money to do so, so the trolleys didn’t survive very well.
Maryland
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia
I got some photos today from my dad, who went down on a food and photo safari this morning. All photos are copyright Michael G. Stewart.
Golden Bull – Liquor
Ohio Restaurant
This building will become a trolley station for the new line.
My dad
Uneeda Biscuit
S and S shoe repairing
Hen Lung Laundry
I visited the Crossroads Dinor back in March of 2007. The Dinor (a regional spelling of diner) was originally a trolley, built in 1913, decommissioned some time later, and hauled to this site and converted in 1929. Outside, many of its distinctive trolley features still remain, like the curved front and rear and the bumpers. Inside, the trolley section is not used much anymore, the main focus of the restaurant is the spacious, yet homey dining room attached on the back. And its no wonder. Though the trolley is very interesting architecturally, with its curved ceiling, woodwork, and green windows, it’s really very small, especially since they have bumped the kitchen out into it, making an already narrow structure even more narrow.
The diner is located at 101 W Plum St, Edinboro, PA, on the corner of Rt. 6 and Erie.
Diner Hunter 