The trolley’s engine sputtered and stalled out several times last weekend during its first two days in use by the city, said Kyle Bennett, assistant director of tourism and visitor center operations.
Woodstock Downtown Development Authority approved a lease agreement last month with the county to lease the 25-passenger trolley for Fridays and Saturdays throughout the month of December.
“The county was able to fix the engine and the trolley is running fine,” Bennett said Thursday
afternoon.
Bennett said repairmen ran diagnostic tests earlier in the day, which included driving the trolley up Interstate 575 to
Ridgewalk Parkway, and discovered relatively simple fuel filter issues
“Basically, water had gotten in the fuel tank,” Bennett said. “Our best guess is the trolley had been in storage so long, condensation had gotten into the tank. They were able to get it repaired and running again smoothly pretty quickly.”
County Manager Jerry Cooper said the trolley, purchased in the mid-2000s, has been stored for many months without use.
Bennett said since the repair was minor, Cherokee County officials handled the cost. The month-long lease is still not expected to surpass $2,000, which includes fuel costs and a driver’s wages.
Cherokee County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement in November 2007 to take over the city of Canton’s five buses and the trolley vehicle after the city decided to discontinue services, which is now operated by Cherokee Area Transportation System.
Trolley service will resume as scheduled for the next two weekends at various stops throughout the city on Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday 2 to 10 p.m.
Bennett updated Woodstock’s mayor and council at their Monday meeting about the trolley’s popularity.
In total, he said somewhere between 600 to 700 riders took advantage of the free transportation. Bennett added the city may look into a more long-term lease agreement for the future.
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