Get Around Downtown On A Vintage Memphis Trolley
Get Around Downtown On A Vintage Memphis Trolley
As of today (April 30, 2018) the trolleys are back in downtown Memphis! Seeing is believing, folks, so I made sure to attend the dramatic ribbon cutting and white-knuckle excitement of the inaugural ride this morning. After several years of repairs and refurbishing, it's great to have the Main Street Line back on track.
You, too, can use these whistle-blowing, colorful vintage trolleys to get back and forth through the heart of downtown. They run up and down Main Street, from South Main up to A.W. Willis Ave past the Convention Center. See a full map here.
Here's what you need to know:
- Trolley rides are $1. Day pass details here.
- The Main Street Line runs from Butler Ave. to A.W. Willis.
- Trolleys run every 20-30 minutes and there are plenty of sheltered stops on Main.
As of now, there are three trolleys being used at any one time: a green one, a gold one, and a two-tone blue and white one. Their antique-looking interiors, wooden seats, and people waving as you slowly roll by make the trolleys fun. These babies aren't exactly made for speed, but they will get you from one end of downtown to the other in about a half hour or less.
At this morning's ribbon cutting, Mayor Strickland said the Main Street Line's return would come first, followed by The Riverfront Line and the Madison Avenue Line in the coming years.
For more information on the vintage trolleys or public transportation in Memphis, check out the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
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Tony
Awesome, looking forward to riding next time I'm in Memphis! Wished our city had trolleys, they tried to bring them back a few years ago, but could not get the financing. It's because the night club section (Flats) of the city went under. They should have kept trolley's running in a renovated historic part of the city. In Cleveland, Oh a part of Millionaires Row should have been preserved with trolleys running into the downtown Terminal Tower building. It would have been a great tourist attraction. I found this vintage song on soundcloud and thought I'd share it here. The song is called Trolley 1970, it sounds like the Newhart TV show theme mixed in with Mister Rogers. Way to go Memphis!
https://soundcloud.com/user-926453517/1970s-newhart
February 19, 2020 11:56pm
Holly Whitfield
I hope you can try out the trolley next time you come, too! Thanks for sharing Tony!
February 21, 2020 2:06pm
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