OCEAN CITY, Md. - If you've been plying the boardwalk and feeling tired, or just want to relax and take in the boardwalk's sights, sounds, and smells, Ocean City has had the ticket for 60 years.
It's the Boardwalk Tram. They have become the workhorses of the resort town that on a busy weekend evening can transport as many as 4,000 visitors from the Inlet to 27th Street and everywhere in between.
The first Boardwalk Tram set out on June 6, 1964, and the fare was just $0.25. These earliest trams looked quite different than today's models, powered by Jeep Wranglers.
"The original Boardwalk Tram looked like a small locomotive, that's why it was dubbed the 'Boardwalk Train'," said George Peake, Ocean City's transportation operations manager.
The Wisniewskis have been visiting Ocean City from their home in Port Ewen, N.Y. for 38 years, and the Tram has become a staple of their trip.
"Just like seeing what else is new, what's different, what's changed," said Bruce Wisniewski. "And what hotel we might want to stay at next year to see the different facades and how everything is."
The trams have enchanted newcomers to Ocean City, who want to be able to explore all the boardwalk has to offer.
"My mom came with me last year and she doesn't want to walk so far, so we took it last year and it's really fun, so we decided to do it with her, too, with my friend," said Rebecca Stonestreet of Poolsville, Md. In addition to her mother, she had brought along her friend from Texas.
Larry Harmon of Salisbury has been a tram conductor for three years. He says the beach seems to keep pulling him back to the coast.
"It's enjoyable meeting people," Harmon said. "It takes me back when I was here 53 years ago working down here at Phil's Crab House and other restaurants down here."
According to Peake, the Boardwalk Trams will be working even harder in the future.
"Our season grows. We start earlier, we end later every year. The goal is to be able to run the trams longer," Peake said.
The fare on the Boardwalk Tram today is $5 per person, one-way.