The ding-ding-ding of the trolley bell sounded in St. Louis this morning — although you'll still have to wait a few more weeks for the clang-clang-clang of the cars moving on the tracks.
At a press conference to show off the new trolley cars and detail upcoming developments, project managers made it clear that the rollout should start by mid-March, but that their schedule includes a series of lengthy phases.
First, in approximately two weeks, testing will begin. That involves a trolley car being pulled along the line by a truck — a step that will allow the project's managers to make sure nothing is in the way of the cars, and also that the trolley cars align properly with the platforms.
Only after that step — late March at the earliest, according to project impresario Joe Edwards — will actual trolley runs begin.…