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A trolley involved with Greenfield’s Vintage Days festivities on Saturday sustained damage when it became stuck under the Arch Street bridge. -
A small section of the roof was ripped off and the trolley suffered some interior damage and broken glass windows as its driver tried to pass under the Arch Street bridge in Greenfield on Saturday.
GREENFIELD — The city was waiting to hear from its insurance provider on Monday after its trolley sustained damage two days earlier when it became stuck under the Arch Street bridge during the Vintage Days festivities.
A small section of the roof was ripped off and the trolley suffered some interior damage and broken glass windows as its driver tried to pass under the bridge to Wells Street at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, according to Marlo Warner II, director of the Greenfield Department of Public Works.
“We’re still conducting an internal investigation into how this happened,” he said Monday morning, adding that there was no damage to the roadway, the bridge or the railroad atop it. The trolley was being used to bring people to the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage on Mead Street and other Greenfield locations as a part of Vintage Days, an event the Greenfield Business Association holds to celebrate what new Director Hannah Rechtschaffen described as the city’s “vintage vibe.”
Robert Strahan, the city’s fire chief, said one person was transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries.
Warner said the 26-passenger trolley was built in 1987 and is the only one the city owns. He explained Koch’s Automotive was called to free the vehicle from under the bridge. It sustained no mechanical damage and was driven to the DPW’s garage on Wells Street to await a visit from an insurance adjuster. Warner said he believes the trolley’s insurance provider is the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association.
Rechtschaffen, who became the Greenfield Business Association’s director on May 1, said she never could have predicted she would deal with a stuck trolley in her first handful of months on the job. Nevertheless, she said, Vintage Days was a big success.
“It was such a good event and I think, besides some tearful children because they didn’t get to ride the trolley before it had to be shut down, the day went off really beautifully,” Rechtschaffen said.
She also applauded the quick responses of Greenfield’s Fire and Police departments.
“I felt so well-supported in a really unexpected situation,” she said.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.