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Talking About the Trolley Museum

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October 25, 2020 | By Barrie Baker

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
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Hello, I am Barrie Baker, a long-time resident of Chartiers Township in Washington County. I have been associated with the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum since 2008 and have volunteered in the Trolley Restoration Shop, Trolley Operations, Education, and Visitor Services. I really enjoy my work there, especially interacting with the Museum’s visitors, volunteers, and staff.

I find work at the Museum to be very rewarding. I feel I have touched lives by answering visitor questions and showing visitors how times have changed. I get to interact with people from all over the country and the world. I remember one family in particular from Brazil that just loved to hear how we had restored our Brazilian open car; it even flies the Brazilian flag! I also enjoy working with school groups and teaching them through living history. Sarah Lerch and Mike Ziviello in the Education Department have been very helpful in teaching me the finer points of the historical importance of the Trolley Era. I am very involved in the Museum’s special events and assist in decorating and in the setting up and taking down of decorations for many of the events. I am often the greeter as groups arrive during special events where I welcome them and go over key points so they can maximize their experience while at the Museum. They really seem to like that and it gets everyone started on the right foot. Over the course of an event this can be 1,000s of people that I get to interact with.

I also enjoy working in the trolley restoration shop where I have learned a lot of new skills, particularly wood working. I really have learned a lot from other volunteers and staff members who like to share their knowledge and skills. In 2015-16, I worked closely with volunteer Jim Herron to clean, repair, and varnish two 1900 vintage waiting room benches that are now featured in our Wexford Station exhibit. This project was particularly satisfying since the benches were in very rough shape when they were donated to us, and now their mahogany wood really shines! We literally had to reconstruct the wood feet with wood chips and carefully apply seven coats of varnish, while sanding between each coat. I also have done woodwork on West Penn Railways streetcar #832. This 1929 vintage trolley car came to the Museum in the early 1950s and now looks like it is brand new. It is very rewarding to bring these cars to their former beauty. I have also worked on the Museum’s Play Trolley which is enjoyed by hundreds of young visitors ages two to five. They really enjoy pretending they are running a trolley down the tracks.

It was an honor to have been recognized by the Museum for receiving the Executive Director’s Award in 2015 and the Special Events Award in 2018. I look forward to helping at the Museum for years to come!