 The Glendale trolley is a seven-bench, open-style trolley that is battery-powered and self-propelled. It was named Car Number 1717, the numbers relating to the birthdays of the owner’s sons.
The second part of the contract included building a five-bench, non-powered trailing car to be towed by #1717. The trailing car was named GiGi, after a beloved grandmother, and was designed at a smaller scale for a child-friendly atmosphere.
-- Select Any Photo For A Close-Up --
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The #1717 trolley, is 33.5 feet long, and has seven bench seats that will hold a maximum of 42 people. The trailing car, GiGi, is 22 feet long, and has five bench seats that will hold a total of 30.
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Trolley car #1717 is powered by 30 lithium-phosphate maintenance-free batteries. The trolley is able to run nine hours on a single charge, which makes it an eco-friendly solution for efficiently transporting people around the trolley's 15.5 acre home in Glendale, California.
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The roof on trolley #1717 and GiGi is plywood construction with a fiberglass shell and a canvas cover.
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The beautiful and ornate cars reflect the style of the very first Gomaco trolleys made for Lowell, Massachusetts, in the early 1980s.
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The ceiling is made of tongue-and-groove cherry hardwood with solid cherry ornate trim. Interior lights are ceiling mounted with a brass fixture and decorative, frosted-glass globe. Stained clerestory glass panes were designed and built by James Thomas Stained Glass of Studio City, California.
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The bright, richly colored and ornate cars were conceptually drawn by George McGinnis, the last Imagineer hired by Walt Disney, himself. His ideas and technical drawings were shared with the technicians and master builders at Gomaco Trolley Company, and his drawings became reality.
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Trolley car #1717 is equipped with a hideaway wheelchair lift. The Ricon-brand cartridge lift stays under the vehicle, out of the way for general passenger boarding. When a wheelchair-bound person wishes to ride the trolley, the conductor activates the controls for the lift, which unfolds from underneath to allow the individual to board, and later exit, the trolley.
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The roll-over style bench seats alternate oak and cherry hardwood. Each wood element is built by hand, sanded, stained, and finished to a high, glossy shine, showcasing the beauty and grain of the premium lumber.
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| The trolley's operator station is where old-time craftsmanship and the latest technology merge to create a station for the operator that is easy and safe to operate. The station is designed for excellent visibility inside and out of the trolley. Emergency stop buttons are located at four different points, and there is a full, dead-man integration at four operator locations (including GiGi), so if the operator becomes incapacitated, the car automatically stops. |
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 Gomaco Trolley has its own in-house brass foundry to create any variety of authentic brass parts using a sand casting process. Custom-built brass pieces on the Glendale trolley include ornate hand grabs (seen to the left), seat rollover components, seat end fixtures, corner braces, conductor bell, vertical grab rails, and brass plates with the name and address of Gomaco Trolley Company.
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