Changeling Movie Shoot with Birney Trolley 2

The production crew built a replica Birney trolley based on the design of the original Pacific Electric birney cars at the Orange Empire Railway Museum. If you look closely you can see this trolley actually rides on rubber tires!
Pasadena resident David Johnson was on location near his house where they were shooting the movie "Changelings" (directed by Clint Eastwood, with Angelina Jolie and John Malcovich), where he shot this footage of the Birney car providing "background" for a shot.

[@SamAronow]

@TheDepotCat that was a 1000 class, which is back in use. The bigger cars were more of a regional, BART-type operation, whereas these were more local.

[@SamAronow]

@BenAliGtor Birneys probably would have been used on the East Washington Line, which is where this is.

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

That would be a sick car

[@RENunez-sd6ov]

This one looks like the one they used here in San Dimas Ca.

[@dandsparks]

@BenAliGtor I'm sure the small Birney was all the movie budget would allow for. I wonder if they looked into the old Roger Rabbit cars.

[@BenAliGtor]

I wondered WHY there was a Birney in every street scene, when they were such a relatively small part of PE operations.

[@elisasuperiordork6755]

Probably something to do with a) availability, b) affordability, or c) portability. Also they could have just preferred the look of a Birney car.

[@microbusss]

wish I could have the blueprints to build one myself hehe

[@PowerPawsNW]

Cool! Tho' I'm surprised they just didn't try renting Orange Empire Ry Museum's PE Birney...that would have needed 600V power, though...guessing the replica was motorized with a compact gas engine or ran on batteries (?)

[@microbusss]

thats my guess & its how they did it in Roger Rabbit too
I want it!

[@johnrobertfox7775]

SORRY GENERAL MOTORS ! PACIFIC ELECTRIC LIVES !

[@microbusss]

heh this is just like what they did in Rodger Rabbit trolley scenes

[@LDTV22OfficialChannel]

RARE!!!