Loop Trolley

Not to be confused with the Loop Service in Portland, Oregon.
Loop Trolley
Loop Trolley near Limit Avenue
Overview
StatusOperational (Seasonal)
OwnerLoop Trolley Transportation Development District
LocaleSt. Louis and University City, Missouri
Termini
  • Missouri History Museum
  • University City Library
Connecting linesLight rail interchange Red
at Delmar Loop
Light rail interchange Red Blue
at Forest Park–DeBaliviere
Stations10
Service
TypeHeritage streetcar
Operator(s)Metro Transit (2022–present)
Loop Trolley Company (2018–2021)
Ridership12,350 (2024)[1][2]
History
OpenedNovember 16, 2018 (2018-11-16)
SuspendedDecember 29, 2019
ReopenedAugust 4, 2022[3]
Technical
Line length2.2 mi (3.5 km)
CharacterAt-grade street running
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 600 V DC[4][5]
Route diagram

Legend
Missouri History Museum/
Forest Park
 Forest Park–DeBaliviere Red Blue
Crossroads School
Delmar & DeBaliviere
Hamilton Avenue
Operations & maintenance facility
 Delmar Loop Red
The Pageant
City Limit
Leland Avenue
University City Library
Handicapped/disabled access all stops are accessible
This diagram:

The Loop Trolley is a 2.2-mile (3.5 km), 10-station heritage streetcar line in and near the Delmar Loop area of greater St. Louis, Missouri. It opened for service in 2018, then shut down in 2019 after revenue fell far short of projections. Service resumed in 2022[3] under the Metro Transit division of the Bi-State Development Agency.[6]

The tracks start in St. Louis proper at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. They run north on DeBaliviere Avenue, with stops at MetroLink's Forest Park–DeBaliviere station and in the neighborhoods of DeBaliviere Place, Skinker/DeBaliviere, and the West End.[7] They turn west on Delmar Boulevard to MetroLink's Delmar Loop station and cross the border of St. Louis County into University City, where they enter the Delmar Loop district and terminate at the University City Library just west of Kingsland Avenue.[7]

The line was built at a cost of $51 million (about $65.6 million in 2023[8]), more than half of which came from federal funds, by the Loop Trolley Transportation Development District, which owns the line and the three replica-historic streetcars. Originally, the service was operated by a separate non-profit entity called the Loop Trolley Company.[9][10]

Its annual operating expenses of $1.3 million were to be covered mostly by a one-cent sales tax collected by businesses along and near the line but also by fares and advertising.[9][4] But ridership fell far short of expectations, in part because the delayed arrival of its third streetcar limited operations to four days a week.[11]

The trolley ceased operation on December 29, 2019.[12][13] Federal officials subsequently said local governments would have to return millions of dollars of grant money if operation were not restarted.[14]

In February 2022, the Bi-State Development Board voted to take over the Loop Trolley, restart operation, and run it through June 2025.[15][16] Service resumed on August 4, 2022,[3] for a four-day-a-week, fare-free "pilot program" that ran through October 30,[17] when the line shut down for the winter.

The line operated similarly in 2023 and 2024: no-fare service Thursdays through Saturdays between April and October.[18][19]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Loop Trolley ends season operating within budget and with 44 percent increase in ridership". November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Schlinkmann, Mark (August 4, 2022). "Loop Trolley starts anew in St. Louis; even its riders disagree on its worth". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Leahy, Joseph (March 21, 2017). "Upcoming street tests first of many for Loop Trolley's public debut". St. Louis Public Radio. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference taut-2017apr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Schlinkmann, Mark (September 2022). "Loop Trolley to get $1.26 million after regional board approves federal grant". STLtoday.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Route Map". Loop Trolley TDD. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  8. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Thorsen, Leah (September 23, 2016). "Loop Trolley hours of operation set, but fares still unknown". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  10. ^ Rizvic, Veneta (November 15, 2018). "Loop Trolley delayed; officials host dedication ceremony". St. Louis Business Journal. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Schlinkmann, Mark (April 23, 2018). "When Loop Trolley finally opens, it will be on reduced-hours basis at first". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  12. ^ Schlinkmann, Mark (December 5, 2019). "Loop Trolley to shut down Dec. 29 as Bi-State weighs reviving it". stltoday.com (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference last day KSDK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference not revive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Producer, Dan Greenwald, Digital Content (February 18, 2022). "Bi-State Development Board votes to revive Loop Trolley". KMOV. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Producer, Dan Greenwald, Digital Content. "Letter from Jones says plans call for Loop Trolley to restart by June". KMOV. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Home". Loop Trolley. November 10, 2022. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Schlinkmann, Mark (March 24, 2023). "The return of St. Louis' Loop Trolley is set for April 27". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).