Westmoreland Historical Society offers trip through time to explore local trolley legacy

West Penn Railways Co. was a major provider of public transit over trolley lines in Westmoreland County and surrounding areas, from 1917 until the company’s demise in 1952.

Fans of local history and past transportation modes can take a figurative trip back through time on those now-gone lines by attending a weekend program, “Remember When — Trollies Rolled Through Westmoreland County.”

Scheduled for noon to 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Greensburg Country Club, it’s the latest in a series of annual “Remember When” history presentations offered by the Westmoreland Historical Society.

Dennis Cramer of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum will provide an overview of trolley systems. Local historian Glenn Smeltzer will focus on the trolley lines and stops in Westmoreland County.

Lisa Hays, executive director of the historical society, expects the program will provide “a trip down memory lane for some and provide a revelation of an early mass transportation option for others. We thought this would be a great way to revisit something that used to be very important to life in Westmoreland but isn’t any more.”

Smeltzer, a retired Hempfield Area High School physics teacher, grew up in Greensburg’s Fifth Ward, walking to most local destinations as a kid instead of paying to ride the trolley.

His interest in local trolley history was piqued about a decade ago when Linda Soles, a fellow member of the Hempfield-based Baltzer Meyer Historical Society, showed him photos her father, a former West Penn trolley motorman, had taken of final passenger runs in the early 1950s.

Those photos and others taken by his father, LeRoy, who worked as an industrial photographer, are among images Smeltzer will feature in his PowerPoint presentation during the Remember When program.

The presentation retraces many of the trolley routes that once were part of the West Penn system, said Smeltzer, who now resides in Youngwood.

“We start out in Greensburg and follow the path to Jeannette and Irwin,” he said, noting trolley lines “also went down through Youngwood, Mt. Pleasant, Connellsville and Uniontown, and a branch went over to Latrobe.”

Smeltzer’s program is informed by first-hand familiarity with area trolleys and their operations. He has ridden, and even got to pilot, a restored trolley at the trolley museum in Washington County.

He also toured former West Penn trolley facilities at Connellsville.

“That sparked my interest even more,” he said. “They built trolleys and serviced them there. There were 10 different buildings dedicated to the running of the trolley system.”

The $36 fee for the Remember When program includes the Greensburg Country Club’s brunch buffet. The menu features omelets, waffles, bacon, sausage, salads, soup, hot entrees, desserts and an ice cream sundae bar.

Reservations and advance payment to the Westmoreland Historical Society are required by April 1. Call 724-836-1800, ext. 210.

Visit westmorelandhistory.org for more information about the historical society.