WOLFEBORO – With the first day of spring less than 2 weeks away, plans for the 2025
trolley season are underway and will include something more and something less
according to Wolfeboro Trolley Company Owner Kathy Fairman.
Molly the Trolley will return for her 38th season continuing her traditional narrated trolley
tours and a busy private charter schedule featuring weddings, concerts, trips to the theatre
and special events.
New this year, Molly is on track to welcome upwards of 50 mid-week tour buses for a
full day in Wolfeboro to include a visit to the Wright Museum of World War II History,
lunch and shopping Downtown, along with a trolley tour.
A contract with Diamond Tours was put in place last year according to Kathy, with one
or two tour buses a week anticipated in the spring and summer, and four to six buses a
week after Labor Day.
“I spoke with the folks from Diamond Tours last week. They’ve been promoting this
since last summer and report that reservations are strong, so I’m optimistic that we’ll see
an uptick in bus tour visits not just in the fall, but in the spring and summer too,” said
Fairman.
Details about Molly’s special events schedule including fall Haunted Trolley Tours, Ride
& Dine Concerts with Great Waters Music Festival and Trolley Dinner-Theatre Trips will
be announced in the next few weeks.
The free Park ‘n Ride Shuttle with Jolly the Trolley will not be coming back this year.
“After reviewing ridership over the past three summers we’ve concluded that the
numbers do not reduce traffic congestion downtown enough to justify the cost of running
the shuttle, or the inconvenience of having another large vehicle circling through town
twice an hour,” said Fairman.
“We will, however, continue hourly service from the Kingswood Arts Center to
Downtown as part of Molly’s regular tours.”
Introduced in 2022 with the goal of reducing traffic congestion and increasing parking
availability in the downtown core, the Park ‘N Ride Shuttle was a cooperative effort
including the Wolfeboro Trolley Company, 40 local businesses who purchased signs on
Jolly the Trolley, the Governor Wentworth Reginal School District, which authorized a
trolley stop and use of parking at the Kingswood Arts Center, and the Wolfeboro Board
of Selectmen, which authorized placement of a Park ‘N Ride sign at McManus Road.

In an effort to attract riders, there was no charge to ride the shuttle in 2023 and 2024.
“While we saw a slight increase in riders each year, we never had more than a handful of
cars on any given day use the free parking,” she said.
“I sincerely appreciate the support of everyone involved, especially the business owners
whose financial support made the shuttle possible,” said Fairman. “However, I can’t ask
these people to continue purchasing signs on a second trolley when we have not met our
mission.”
“While the continuous shuttle did not reduce traffic congestion, we discovered two things
that did,” said Fairman.
“The most significant is that when the Town’s two-hour parking limit was enforced
consistently, employees who work downtown found other places to park, opening up
parking spaces for customers seeking to dine and shop downtown.
“They didn’t ride the shuttle, but they did find somewhere else to park, and that relieved
congestion, which is, after all, the goal.”
The second positive result was that by collaborating with the Mount Washington Cruise
company many visitors who purchased a two-and-half hour cruise out of Wolfeboro on
the Mount also reserved trolley transportation on the Shuttle before and after the cruise.
“We will continue this service by expanding Molly’s schedule to include a regular stop
once an hour at the Kingswood Arts Center where people can park and ride downtown.
We will also offer season passes for frequent riders,” said Fairman.
Anyone seeking more information may contact Kathy at 603-569-1080 or at
info@wolfeborotrolley.com .