Reasonably Honest Dave wants trolleys to stay in Seattle, not head for St. Louis

The streetcars that formerly ran along the tracks along
Seattle’s waterfront may be sold to St. Louis, but not if
Reasonable Honest Dave has anything to do with it.

Dave Arnold has owned Reasonably Honest Dave’s hardware
store on Capitol Hill since 1974. When he got wind that
the streetcars, that the City of Seattle had purchased
from Australia in 1982, would likely be sold to St. Louis
for $100,000, he wanted to join the campaign to save them.

“I would be willing to purchase the streetcars if there
was viability in keeping them here in town,” Arnold told
97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross
& Burbank Show.

The cars had been kept where the Olympic Sculpture Garden
is located. When that park opened, the five trolleys were
taken off the waterfront track and put in storage at a
King County Metro Transit facility.

While the cost is only a $100,000, Arnold estimates that
the cost of the track and car maintenance would add up, so
he’s hoping that he could give them back to Metro to run
on the track.

If they’re sold to St. Louis, “the game is over.”

As the waterfront looks towards a time when the viaduct
will no longer exist and a large portion of traffic would
move underground, Dave Ross said it would be an excellent
feature for the waterfront.

As for the trolley cars in St. Louis, there is probably a
“Meet Me In St. Louis” exhibit coming to town that they
need to furnish.