The National Capital Trolley Museum in Montgomery County, Maryland, has acquired a rare PCC car from the Netherlands, allowing the museum to “extend the narrative” about these significant streetcars. 

Built in 1952 as part of a series of 22 cars, The Hague Tramway Company 1006 served in revenue service until 1981. From 1983 to 2008, it was on display at the factory where it was manufactured, before being modified for narrow-gauge operation and used sporadically on the Belgian Coast line until 2014.

In May 2022, HTM 1006 was transferred to the Netherlands Transport Museum in Hoofddorp. Unfortunately, with the closure of the NTM announced last year, the future of 1006 was uncertain. As two cars of this series (1022 and 1024) are already preserved in the Netherlands, there was limited local interest in saving 1006. Wanting to be able to tell the story of how the PCC streetcars — developed in the United States in the late 1930s — were used all over the world, the National Capital Trolley Museum stepped in to save it. The car was recently relocated to another museum in the Netherlands, where it is being converted back to standard gauge. It is expected to arrive in the United States in 2026.

—Railfan & Railroad Staff