Purple Cat trolley car headed to Glocester Memorial Park – to become new PHS student project

GLOCESTER – The antique Purple Cat trolley car, originally scheduled to be located at Al Costantino’s new construction site in the center of Chepachet Village, has found a new home.

“Obviously, we have all been talking about this for a great deal of time,” said Town Council Vice President Stephen Arnold at the board’s recent meeting. “It’s a tricky one because I think everybody here wants to preserve it. I think everybody here sees the opportunity to do something really cool. There have been a lot of different plans, and we have been kicking this one around for awhile.”

At issue was finding a place for the historic trolley car, either on school or town property, and the question of who could restore it as part of the town’s history. The trolley was once used to transport mill workers from Woonsocket to Pascoag. The transportation system was eventually discontinued and replaced by busses and in 1927, former Purple Cat owner Kevin Lavoie’s grandfather purchased two of the cars and moved the structures to Chepachet.

The Purple Cat Restaurant opened in 1929 using one trolley for a kitchen another as a lunch counter. Ken and wife Rose Lavoie would run the business from 1964 to 2007 before closing the restaurant. Ken Lavoie passed away in 2018 and Rose Lavoie passed away in 2017.

After purchasing the property where the structure remained in 2022, Costantino said he planned on restoring the trolley car and placing it in the new development. But the investor later decided there was no room for it there, and offered the car to the town for free, saying he would move it wherever town officials wanted at his cost.

“I think everybody’s end goal is to try to preserve it and do something really special with it down the road,” said Arnold.

According to plans approved by the council, the new location will be Glocester Memorial Park, where Department of Public Works Director Gary Treml explained the trolley will rest on wooden blocks on a leveled area. The car, which is on steel beams, is currently located in a building on Route 100 in Glocester. Treml added that Costantino said he will pay for the move.

“They are going to provide the crane,” Treml said. “They are going to provide the truck to get it there. All I have to do is provide the blocks to set it on. Once it’s there, they can do whatever they want to do on it.”

Inland Marine of Glocester volunteered to wrap the car once it’s relocated and it will be available for Ponaganset High School construction students to work on in the future. The students, officials said, can hopefully renovate the structure for future use as an historic landmark or learning facility.

“I asked them for a quote, and they said they would like to do it for the school and the kids,” said Council President William Worthy.

“I’m excited to hear the game plan,” said Arnold.

“It’s great for the kids to be able to work on it – To have that base project to start with, ” added Councilor Jonathan Burlingame.

“I appreciate the outreach last spring,” Foster-Glocester School Superintendent Renne Palazzo told the council. “There is an excitement, as you said, if we can restore this and bring it back to the life it had. There are many, many, many steps that have to happen before that.”

Palazzo added that there is some work that has to be done by professional restorers before they can begin any renovations by students.