06/28/2026
Hospital Trolley
Did you know...
Over a century ago, two uniformed men stood beside a unique white trolley for a photograph.
The vehicle was a converted trolley, designed to bring injured soldiers from Boston's seaports to hospitals on the Boston Elevated Railroad during World War I. The prototype, Trolley 1657, had a red cross painted on the side.
"The trolleys were never used because regular motorized ambulances were more convenient," the Boston City Archives wrote in a description posted alongside the picture. "Among other things, motorized ambulances could drive straight onto the docks and up to the hospital ships."