Rick Reifenstein of Evans City stands beside the scaled-down trolley car replica he plans to repair. It's believed the car was made for Zelienople's Sesquicentennial Parade in 1990.

EVANS CITY — A scaled-down version of a trolley car on the old Harmony Line was saved from certain destruction by a woodworker and historical society member.

Rick Reifenstein learned that the trolley car, which is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high, had been stored in the chapel at the Evans City Cemetery for several years. Those involved in the chapel’s renovation in 2013 wanted it to be moved, and took it to Harmony because the lettering on the side spelled that borough’s name.

Reifenstein retrieved the trolley with the intention of restoring it with new fiberglass sides and displaying it somewhere in Evans City, where the Harmony Line trolley service was headquartered. The trolleys ran from 1908 to 1931, ferrying passengers and freight all over Western Pennsylvania.

The main depot is now an insurance business at the intersection of South Washington and Jefferson streets, according to the Evans City Historical Society’s website.

Reifenstein said that according to Butler Eagle story clippings, the replica trolley was built by Roy Johnson and Lou Drescher for the Zelienople Sesquicentennial Parade in 1990. The trolley was placed on a trailer and pulled down Zelienople’s Main Street by a tractor.

Reifenstein said the trolley’s cardboard skin has aged poorly, and someone stepped on it at some time thinking it would hold the weight. That damage will be repaired and the more durable fiberglass applied by Reifenstein.

The trolley now is at the former Evans City borough building on Wahl Avenue, but must be removed because that building is about to be renovated.

Reifenstein said he will bring the trolley to his home in Evans City and work on it. Until then, the trolley will be stored at the Mars Historical and Landmark Society building.

Reifenstein said he took on the project because if he hadn’t, the unique object would have been discarded.

“I get involved in a lot of projects around the borough,” Reifenstein said. “Being on the board of the historical society, I was really interested in it.”

Reifenstein plans to add lights to the trolley, and would like to someday add wheels and a remote control system so it could be remotely driven in parades.

“I’m going to do everything possible to make it look as authentic as possible,” Reifenstein said.