The Hershey Transit Company

Trolleys in downtown Hershey circa 1935
(click for hi-res)

On October 15, 1904 the first trolley car departed Hummelstown eastbound toward Campbelltown rolling across the gentle landscape of what would grow to become Hershey, Pennsylvania. Initially, trolleys were used to transport milk from local dairy farms to the Chocolate Factory to make milk chocolate. The trolleys later expanded to include passenger cars, transporting workers to the factory, students of the Hershey Industrial School (now the Milton Hershey School) to their classes, and families to Hershey Park. In 1913, the name was changed to the Hershey Transit Company.

In its heyday, the Hershey Transit Company would connect several other small train lines stretching from Harrisburg in the West, to Lebanon in the East, to Lancaster in the South. For over forty years, trolleys ran throughout Central Pennsylvania. The coming of World War II and the rationing of gasoline and oil prolonged the closing of the trolley area, but it would not last. By the time the troops returned home, Americans had shifted from railway to highway travel, and the trolleys had past their prime. The final trolleys ran on the evening of December 21, 1946.

 

Hershey Trolley Works

Trolleys in downtown Hershey 2006
(click for hi-res)

Forty-two years later, in 1988, the Hershey Trolley Works was founded as a means of exposing interested guests to the fascinating history behind Milton S. Hershey and the town he built. The Hershey Trolley Works had recreated the feel of a turn-of-the-century trolley ride to take guests through the town of Hershey. In recent years, the fleet of trolleys has expanded with more vehicles on the way. Our box office is located inside the newly remodeled Hershey®'s Chocolate World, and a new trolley depot was built outside in 2004.

During the Christmas season of 2005, the Hershey Trolley Works was proud to introduce Trolley #7 to our fleet.