After transporting San Diegans for over 20 years and traveling more than two million miles, four trolley cars began a trip this week like no other.

Cranes raised the cars and placed them on flatbed trucks that will transport them to Houston, Texas. Then they will be loaded on a ship bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they will again ride atop flatbed trucks to their final destination, the city of Mendoza. There, they will become part of the light rail system that city is developing.

The Metropolitan Transit System, which operates San Diego's buses and trolleys, sold 11 of its trolley cars to the provincial government of Mendoza for $3.3 million in September.

On Wednesday, the first of the cars began their journey to their new home in South America.

"It's extraordinary that after so many years of service in San Diego these trolley cars continue to have such exceptional value and have so much life left in them," said Wayne Terry,

the MTS chief of operations. "That they will have a second life and help launch a new light rail system is a testament to our efforts to maintain them."

MTS bought each trolley car for about $1.2 million more than 20 years ago. The government of Mendoza bought each car for $300,000.

Engineer Mariano Pombo, deputy chief of public works for the Mendoza government, traveled to San Diego to personally supervise the transportation of the trolleys.

"We are very satisfied with this purchase," he said. "This is a special moment for us. To be able to take this type of public transportation to Mendoza, the only one of its kind in Argentina, makes us very happy."

That's not to say that San Diego will be left without its trolleys. At the end of the year, MTS is scheduled to receive the first shipment of 57 new trolley cars it has on order. The vehicles, Siemens S-70s, will allow passengers to board from floor level, making access easier for cyclists, parents with strollers and people in wheelchairs.

"The purchase of these cars is part of the upgrades we are making to the Blue and Orange Lines," Terry said. "The project includes platforms and other amenities for the public."

He said that when the project is completed and all 57 cars have been installed, they will dramatically improve the system's efficiency and the travel experience of all passengers.

Local trolleys may be making tracks for other locales, as well.

"They city of Guadalajara has also shown an interest in buying San Diego's trolleys."

Micaela.arroyo@sandiegored.com

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