John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust Awards $5,000 Grant for Car 315

The Rockhill Trolley Museum is excited to announce that we have been awarded a $5,000 grant from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust to help defray the cost of the seat upholstery for car 315. There were 32 organizations that submitted applications, and we are very pleased to have been one of the 20 awarded funding. We’re extremely thankful for this award as the total cost of the seat upholstery is anticipated to be $15,000.

The John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust has supported car 315 in the past with two other grants totaling $15,000. A huge thank you to them for this award and for their continued support of our car 315 restoration.

Half of the seats have been upholstered and delivered, and the other half have been sent to the contractor for completion, which we anticipate around the end of May. At that time, the entire bill will come due. We’ve also recently spent over $700 on new brass screws to install the interior. Donations are appreciated to help cover these expenses.

The next (and hopefully last) big expense is the exterior numbers, lettering, and striping in gold leaf. With the price of gold fluctuating, we do not have an estimate for this project yet. We are hoping to have this done in June.

Quite a lot has been accomplished recently on the interior. Volunteers installed most of the restored window shades, the polished baggage racks, and the light globes in the coach section. The painted copper trim that covers the joint near the upper clerestory windows has also been installed. This involved fitting each piece individually and installing 800 very small screws to attach it to the ceiling, so it took several days.

Want to see the progress? Below are some recent photos:

Want to support the efforts of our volunteers or become one of them? Check out the links below on how you can make a contribution or become a member and volunteer.