Christmas came early for members of the Chamber’s trolley committee Monday with the arrival of a new trolley.
The trolley was towed across country from Ashland, N.C., arriving in the parking lot of the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce mid-afternoon, attracting a small crowd of curious onlookers as it was detached from a tow truck.
Carol Sager, Chamber director, and Donna Houser, a trolley committee member, spoke about the newer vehicle — it’s a 2000 model — and its unique connection to Iola.
Eager to replace the aging Molly Trolley, Sager pored through online sales sites until she spotted the used trolley from Gray Line Tours, out of Ashland, N.C.
As fate would have it, the owner of Gray Line, Jonathan Helmkin, is a descendant of Iola’s own Frederick Funston and was in Iola when the Funston Home was moved to town and rededicated in the mid 1990s.
THE NEWER vehicle has several advantages over the old Molley Trolley, which is being put up for sale.
At about 100,000 miles, the newer vehicle still has plenty of life left in its diesel engine, Sager said. The trolley also is larger, fitting 31 passengers to the old one’s 20, with padded seats, a perfectly functioning heater and air conditioner.
The committee is eager to get the new vehicle tagged and ready for use. (It’s already insured.)
The dream, Houser said, is to have the new vehicle up and going in time for Farm-City Days.
