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• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Birney Safety Streetcar No. 224, Fort Smith Trolley Museum, Fort Smith, Sebastian County, AR
• Creator(s): Historic American Engineering Record, creator
• Related Names:
     University of Arkansas , sponsor
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1968
• Medium: Measured Drawing(s): 5
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HAER AR-62
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Significance: Streetcar Number 224 was built by the Saint Louis Car Company in 1926. It was bought that same year by the Fort Smith Light and Traction Company and served the Fort Smith, Van Buren area with distinction until 1933 when the line was closed. The Birney Safety Car was designed and engineered by Charles O. Birney and Webster Engineering Company in 1916. The design of the Birney Car, a single truck trolley, answered a need for a lighter and more efficient trolley car, particularly in small towns and in areas of marginal profitability. The Birney Car weighed approximately 13,000 pounds, consumed about 40% less electricity than the standard trolleys of the day, and provided single operator capability to systems which normally used two motormen per car. The $6,000 price of a new Birney Car was also substantially less than the older heavier trolleys. All these advantages were important. Fort Smith Light and Traction Company owned 14 of these cars and No. 224 was included in the last order before the system was abandoned and replaced by a bus system. Upon abandonment of the system, Car No. 224 was purchased by a Mr. Johnson in Ashdown, Arkansas. He turned the car into a diner called the "Streetcar Cafe" and sold short order meals in the town of Ashdown. When no longer used as a diner the car was bought by Louis Hennick of Shreveport. Louis is a streetcar historian who wrote "Streetcars of New Orleans" and "Streetcars of Louisiana." He purchased the car with the intention to restore it, but restoration was never done. Louis advertised the car in an antique journal in 1979. As a result of the research done by Charles Winters for an article on the history of the Fort Smith Historical Society, the advertisement was seen and action was taken. A non-profit organization was formed, the Fort Smith Trolley Museum, and the Fort Smith Light and Traction Car No. 224 was returned to Fort Smith with the goal of restoring to operating condition.
  • Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N931
  • Survey number: HAER AR-62
• Subjects:
  • streetcars
• Place:
  • Arkansas -- Sebastian County -- Fort Smith
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ar0134/

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• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HAER AR-62
• Medium: Measured Drawing(s): 5

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• Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
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• P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
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• Call Number: HAER AR-62
• Medium: Measured Drawing(s): 5

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

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   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

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