Our Collection

While it may seem daunting to view the more than 250 transit vehicles from all over the world in our collection, we've made it easy for you and have picked a sampling that best represents what we have preserved and have displayed them in our three carbarns. Think of our carbarns as an art gallery. The only difference is that you not only get to learn about our works of art, you also get the chance to climb aboard, touch, and admire the craftsmanship of tradesmen from years ago.

The National Collection of Streetcars captures a vehicle from almost every major U.S. city that had streetcar service. From the northern woods of Maine to the pristine coast of California, the city streets of Detroit to Dallas, the collection has a little of everything. Within the National Collection is the largest collection of vehicles from any one city - Boston. Supplementing the National Collection is our International Collection with streetcars from every corner of the globe.

From newest to oldest - a historic line-up of East Boston (Blue Line) subway trains

Around the Museum grounds, not just in the carbarns, are examples of mass transit both found on rails and on the roads. See trains that you'd find under the streets of New York City or over the streets of Boston on the long-gone elevated railway. Our growing collection of buses and trackless trolleys capture the progress of mass transit since the end of streetcar service in cities.

Browse the Vehicle Collection

Collection Highlights

Atlantic Shore Line Railway Locomotive #100

Follow the restoration process to completion of Seashore Trolley Museum's hometown piece, an electric locomotive from the railway that the Museum's demonstration railway is laid upon. Atlantic Shore Line Railway #100

U.S. Department of Transportation's State-of-the-Art Rapid Transit Cars

These futuristic looking subway cars were a test of new technology and designs to bring a renaissance to the transit systems of our country's biggest cities in the 1970s. Urban Rapid Rail Vehicle and Systems Program

Bus and Trackless Trolley Collection

Replacing electric streetcars in many cities were these rubber tired vehicles. In use in cities small and large, our collection represents the major types of buses, as well as manufacturers. Bus and Trackless Trolley Collection