Episode 1531
Topic: Grandparents
Air Date: May 7, 1984
Previous Episode: 1530 - Work
Next Episode: 1532 - Grandparents
Purchase/Stream: Amazon
Mister Rogers arrives with a copy of West Penn Railways -- a book about trolleys. Taking the Neighborhood of Make-Believe trolley with him, he invites viewers along as he visits a nearby trolley museum. At the museum, Joe Brandtner provides a tour of several real trolley cars even allowing Mister Rogers to momentarily man the controls of one.
Back at the house, Mister Rogers demonstrates the controls he uses to move the Neighborhood of Make-Believe trolley.
In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, the Trolley is surprised to find an unknown trolley on the track as it attempts to pass the castle. Marked as the "Express de Grandparents," Officer Clemmons attempts to remove the unknown trolley from the track so that the Neighborhood Trolley can pass -- but when he attempts to return it to the tracks, the Express de Grandparents flies away.
Officer Clemmons shares his strange experience with a fascinated Lady Aberlin. The flying trolley returns to the castle and Lady Aberlin communicates with it by speaking French. She follows the Express de Grandparents to the Eiffel Tower where Grandpere suggests that the French trolley is carrying a small red box containing a message. The message reveals that Grandpere's granddaughter, Collette, will be visiting the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
At the castle, Lady Aberlin shares the news with Officer Clemmons and King Friday shares a picture of Prince Tuesday's grandfather (King Friday's father).
Back at the house, Mister Rogers mentions that he is often asked by viewers how they might get a Trolley of their own to play with. By using a cheese box, some paper, and a marker, he encourages viewers to make their own Trolleys. Concluding for the day, Mister Rogers talks about his own grandparents and how he hopes that he might be a grandfather himself someday.
Notes
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is located in Washington, PA.
Mr. Brandtner suggests that the Neighborhood Trolley is a "single truck open car like the St. Louis Car Company built around 1900."
The trolleys seen on this episode include numbers 24, 3756, 66, and 5326 (which is the one Mister Rogers and Mr. Brandtner take a ride on).
King Friday shares a glimpse at a previous generation of Make-Believe royalty by sharing a picture of his father. Based on a conversation in Episode 1615 between King Friday and Prince Tuesday, King Friday's father's name is/was Thursday.
The trolley museum visited in this episode is the same place visited in the live segment of Episode 205b of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.
This episode is included on the It's a Beautiful Day Collection (DVD).
Appearing In This Episode
Guests
- Joe Brandtner
Songs
Images
Episode Credits
With Fred Rogers
Neighbors: Betty Aberlin, Joe Brandtner, Francois Clemmons
Special thanks to Arden Trolley Museum
Executive Producer: Fred Rogers
Producer: Sam Newbury
Director: Paul Lally
Associate Producer: Margaret Whitmer
Music Director: John Costa
Produced in association with WQED/Pittsburgh
A production of Family Communications
© 1984 Family Communications, Inc.