Wildwood testing new tramcar engine — but only for this summer

A familiar sight at the Jersey Shore is undergoing some changes this summer — but they’re only temporary. 

The tramcars traversing Wildwood’s Boardwalk have been the same for decades. This year, Patrick Rosenello of the Wildwoods Boardwalk Special Improvement District, said the town is testing a new engine for the vintage electric train.

“The tramcars were built for the 1939 World’s Fair,” he said. “They have been in continuous service on the Wildwood Boardwalk since 1949, which obviously entails a lot of wear and tear.  We have successfully replicated two of the passenger trains in the past several years, and we are working on building a replacement engine.”

The engine being tested this summer is not “aesthetically perfect,” he said.

“The body design that people are seeing is not the body design that we at this time intend to use moving forward,” he said.

But you can be sure one thing is not changing … the famous warning message: “Watch the tramcar please!”