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Saturday 11am - 5pm Sunday 11am - 5pm

National Capital Trolley Museum

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United States
Colesville, MD
National Capital Trolley Museum

Preserving and interpreting the history of electric street and interurban railways of the national capital region since 1959. Join us on a journey back in time!

The National Capital Trolley Museum, in cooperation with Montgomery County Parks, brings the sights and sounds of the trolley era to visitors of all ages. Experience early 20th century transit as you travel two miles aboard a Washington street car, an American trolley, or a European Tram. Tour Street Car Hall with a docent. See "Street Cars Go to the Movies" and the Rock Creek Railway model in Mai

n Hall. Enjoy interactive exhibits, movie programs, and the Museum Shop. Purchase event and admission tickets by visiting our website, www.dctrolley.org.

04/02/2026

Just about 24 hours ago we bid a fond farewell to DC Streetcar, and the closure of the second chapter of street cars in our Nation's Capital. Car 201 arrived at the Benning Rd & Oklahoma Ave, NE stop at approximately 10:40 pm, officially marking the end of service. NCTM volunteers Anthony and Andrew Vo, Peter Scott and Jacob Galzer were on hand to document the occasion, and were among the last to ride. We want to thank the team at DC Streetcar for their tireless dedication to the service and participation at museum events over the years.

Additional photographs in this post are from an August 2017 NCTM tour of the DC Streetcar maintenance facility.

03/29/2026

Spring has sprung at the Trolley Museum; and this year, we have some new neighbors in Northwest Branch Park! Just in time for the 250th Anniversary of the United States, a pair of bald eagles have taken up residence in a cell tower (disguised as a tree) next to our property! This image was taken in January, however we have confirmed the pair is still in the area and are regularly spotted in the cell tower and elsewhere on museum grounds. We need your help naming this new couple! Drop your suggestions in the comments.

The museum is open on Fridays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Saturdays from Noon to 5:00 pm. Come out and join us for a ride on a historic trolley! And if you see the eagles... be sure to let us know.

Photograph by Clark Day.

03/27/2026

and happy 50th Anniversary to the DC Metrorail system and our friends at Metro Forward!

03/22/2026

Spring has sprung! This is one of the best times of the year for rides on our vintage trolley cars through Northwest Branch Park! Plus, next weekend (March 28-29,) families are invited to join us for SpringFest! Enjoy photo ops and trolley rides with the Easter Bunny, an interactive kid-friendly scavenger hunt throughout the museum and arts and crafts. We're also excited to team up with the Washington Virginia Maryland Garden Railway Society for model train displays and remote control vehicle demonstrations from the Mid Atlantic RC Truckers . Get your tickets now at dctrolley.org.

03/21/2026

We want to extend a big thank you to our friends and colleagues at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum for hosting a fantastic WinterFest! Several members of our operations and leadership teams represented NCTM at this year's annual gathering of trolley museums and participated in tours, operation sessions, meetings and networking. We're always looking for volunteers! Sign up now at dctrolley.org/volunteer
Photo credits to NCTM Trustee Bill Monaghan and Operations and Restoration Volunteer Andrew Vo.

03/01/2026

Museum collaboration in action! NCTM Executive Director Eric Madison recently participated in Museum Advocacy Day, hosted by the American Alliance of Museums, on Capitol Hill. Eric was joined by Matt Nawn, Executive Director at The Baltimore Streetcar Museum, Inc., and met with Members of Congress and their staff highlighting the role museums like ours play in preserving our past, as well as the educational, economic and cultural contributions brought to our local communities. These conversations reinforced how critical it is to advocate for policies and funding that sustain and strengthen museums of all sizes.

02/28/2026

We heard yesterday was National Retro Day! to 1987; shortly after DC Transit 1540 arrived at the museum, it served as the setting for a creative group photo by Washington Post photographer Neal Slavin. The Post published Slavin's photo in the November 1, 1987 edition of The Washington Post Magazine. The photo includes former members Jeanne Lantz and Bob Flack (seated center door), and Betty and Dave Gaul (seated and standing front door). John Novack (center of three looking out the forward passenger windows), is standing on the ground through the missing floor in the car.

02/04/2026

76 years ago today was the last full day of passenger rail service on the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad- an electric interurban railroad that traced it's history back to 1840 and once ran between Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis. As was the story of many passenger railroads in the mid 1950s, the B&A suffered from the rise of the automobile, financial struggles and aging infrastructure that ultimately lead to the conversion to passenger bus service instead of trains. The last passenger train departed Baltimore at 1:00 am on February 5th, 1950, ending 110 years of passenger rail service to Annapolis, Maryland.

The B&A, as well as their predecessor, the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad (WB&A,) played an important role in the development of the Washington, DC region- you can learn more about these railroads in our Visitor's Center.

Items in this post are from the collection of museum volunteer Thomas Petersen. Descriptions available by clicking on each photo.

01/24/2026

Further updates to our DC Transit Day event

While the museum remains open and ready to welcome visitors on Saturday, January 24, we have made the difficult decision to close on Sunday, January 25, in line with the State of Emergency declared in Maryland

01/23/2026

An update on our DC Transit Day event taking place this weekend

As of now, we do not anticipate any impacts to Saturday's event, and will make a decision on Sunday no later than the afternoon of January 24. Any further updates will be shared to our website, social media, and email list. An updated schedule of events for Saturday can be found on the second slide

01/19/2026

On this MLK Day, we pause to reflect on the legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The photo above depicts Dr. King in front of a Montgomery City Lines bus, which he helped lead a year-long boycott against following the arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955

The boycott and ensuing legal action resulted in the Supreme Court outlawing segregation on public transit, demonstrating the necessary lifeline public transit afforded to millions of Americans, regardless of race, class, or ethnic background

While Washington's public transit was never segregated, the streetcars and buses in the city served as a promised means of mobility for many African-Americans in the region, providing connections to job opportunities and resources that would be otherwise difficult to reach

The National Capital Trolley Museum salutes the work of Dr. King in helping to desegregate public transportation, among the many other accomplishments he achieved across his illustrious lifetime

Address

1313 Bonifant Road
Colesville, MD
20905

Opening Hours

Saturday	11am - 5pm
Sunday	11am - 5pm

Telephone

+13013846088

Website

http://www.dctrolley.org/, https://www.dctrolley.org/donate

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