DOWNTOWN WILDWOOD – Taylor Henry, president of the Wildwood Historical Society, says that boardwalk tram car No. 8 will be the most important object the society has ever preserved, a restored 1960s transporter that could be the crown jewel of its museum on Pacific Avenue dedicated to preserving city history.
But there’s a long and expensive road ahead.
Henry learned that the old car, built during the first major overhaul of the boardwalk’s tram fleet, would have been destroyed if the Historical Society had not stepped in to save it. She pictures it as a photo op inside the museum and a way to remember a classic tram design, even as the current fleet is electrified and “Ford-ized” with custom Maverick pickup trucks.
But first, there’s the issue of transport. The tram’s engine car is currently stored at a facility on Hunt’s Pier, which Henry called “the barn,” and getting it across town won’t be easy or cheap.
Then the engine car will have to be carefully restored to its original condition, “because it’s really rusty,” she said. It’s also very red, thanks to Coca-Cola decals plastered all over it as part of a branding deal between the Wildwood Special Improvement District – the group in charge of operating the tram cars – and the famous pop peddlers.
“We don’t want to display it like that,” Rob Ascough, the Historical Society’s treasurer, said in a phone call. “We want it to look like what people imagine when they think of the tram car in their minds.”
ABS Sign Co., a local sign shop and fabrication studio known for restoring Wildwood icons, is handling the restoration.
But the real kicker is that the car cannot fit inside the museum as it currently stands. Ascough told the Herald, “We don’t have a large enough door to accommodate a tram car, and we don’t want to display it outside where it’s exposed to the elements. To get the tram car inside the building, we are going to have to make a large opening, like a garage or warehouse door.”
Henry said that it may be possible to disassemble the car and reassemble it once it’s inside the building. But she is not sure yet if that’s feasible, or if anyone local has the expertise to pull it off.
Ascough said that the project is in the early stages and came together very quickly. Henry said she is doing everything in her power to move the project forward as fast as possible.
The Historical Society, Henry said, is excited to take on the project but needs public support. Every purchase made on the society’s website helps fund the effort. Direct donations are also helpful, she said.
She said that when she learned from Patrick Rosenello, president of the Special Improvement District, that a tram car was available for donation, she scrambled to get a plan together.
“Rob and I asked our board what they thought about this,” Henry said. “We thought they would be hesitant because it’s such a huge project, but everybody on the board agreed: We need to save this car no matter what.”
“Because we don’t want it to slip into history,” Ascough said.
Contact the author, Collin Hall, at 609-886-8600, ext. 156, or by email at chall@cmcherald.com.
