A valuable piece of Pittsburgh history and a callback to days past was brought back to life.
The Terrible Trolley -- once the idea of a young girl who made a request to the city's mayor -- was revealed Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington County. It was originally introduced in 1980 as a rallying point for Pittsburgh Steelers fans before Super Bowl XIV. The Steelers went on to beat the Los Angeles Rams, becoming the first team in NFL history to win four Super Bowls.
The idea for the trolley was originally suggested by Kim Sever, who was 9 years old when she wrote a letter to then-Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Caliguiri. It was inspired by the "Terrible Towel," which was created by longtime Steelers' radio announcer Myron Cope in 1975.
"Mr. City Promoter, my name is Kim Sever," the letter reads. "I'm 9 years old, and I had this idea that maybe the city could have a trolley painted black and gold that says 'The Terrible Trolley.'
"If the city doesn't have the money for a new trolley, you could just paint one of the old trolleys black and gold, okay?"
Caliguiri honored Sever's request by relaying it to the Port Authority in January 1980, and the newly repainted trolley car debuted in time for the big game.
The trolley's restoration was thanks to the efforts of KDKA-TV's "Fan N'ation," which reached out to the museum about the Terrible Trolley in 2022. Former executive director Scott Becker eventually tracked down the trolley, which was owned by a private collector.
"He said, 'It's funny you called,'" said Becker, recalling the conversation. "'I just sold the land and the building it's in, and I need to find it a new home.'"
The trolley was brought to the museum, and a team of volunteers got to work to restore it.
"We really wanted to make this as accurate of a restoration as possible," said Michael Buchta, the trolley restoration's project manager. "But obviously with the steel repairs and body work, make it as thoroughly well done as we could."
And that hard work was celebrated in the presence of the museum crew, former transit employees and former Steelers defensive lineman John Banaszak, a member of the 1979-80 championship team.