TAMPA - A nostalgic chapter of Tampa history rumbles and clangs to life this weekend with the grand opening of a new electric streetcar system.

Eight shiny yellow cars, all replicas of the city's original streetcars from a century ago, will shuffle back and forth from downtown to Ybor City during festivities Saturday and Sunday. Rides are free until Monday, when the $53 million Teco Line Streetcar System officially opens for business.

The weekend marks the first time since 1946 that electric streetcars operated in Tampa, and caps nearly two decades of planning. The project mirrors similar streetcar systems in other cities, but differs in two ways: Tampa has the nation's first air-conditioned streetcars, and they run on tracks independent of auto traffic.

``What's wonderful is this really is our system,'' says Joan Jennewein, a member of the Tampa & Ybor City Street Railway Society. ``And they're almost exact replicas of the originals, and the first air-conditioned replicas ever built.''

The $600,000 cars were built by the Gomaco Trolley Company of Ida Grove, Iowa. The company also is constructing three replicas for the Central Arkansas Transit Authority in Little Rock, Arkansas. Each match the old Birney Safety Cars that stopped running in Tampa shortly after the end of World War II. Those streetcars could no longer compete with the city's new bus system, and the popularity of the automobile.

To link the old and modern streetcars, the first replica wears No. 428. Tampa's last operational electric car was No. 427.

Many Amenities

Car interiors are richly appointed in oak and cherry wood, with bi-directional bench seats that switch back and forth. Standing passengers can hang onto leather straps, and if somebody really feels nostalgic before coming to the next stop, they can tug on an old-fashioned wire pull cord. Many of the brass and iron fittings were taken from decommissioned cars in Milan, Italy.

But the cars are more than replicas - they are equipped with plenty of high-tech gadgetry. An ``Opti-Com'' sensor system will help synchronize each car with intersection lights and keep the overall system running smoothly.

All eight cars also offer sound and visual cues for people with vision and hearing impairments. Cars are accessible to people in wheelchairs, with lockdowns to keep them secure during the ride. Passengers also will stay cool, as each car is equipped with two 40,000 BTU air-conditioning units.

The streetcars will run from downtown Tampa at the $14 million Southern Transporta tion Plaza (which won't open until December) and take passengers 2.3 miles east to the 20th Street Station at Eighth Avenue in Ybor City. To solve the problem of eight cars on one dedicated track, engineers designed five ``passing junctions'' with warning lights.

One advantage of an electric streetcar system over buses is they don't spew diesel or gas exhaust, and they are relatively quiet. Cars draw electricity from a boom touching an overhead catenary system that delivers 600 volts (direct current). Two separate substations provide the electricity, ``so if one substation fails, we can still operate the system on the other,'' says Bob Hamric, an engineering supervisor at Tampa Electric Co.

``Electrical cars are efficient,'' he says. ``They're not technologically advanced, but they're nostalgic and simple.''

HARTline will operate and maintain the cars, while the overall system will be managed by the nonprofit Tampa Historic Streetcar corporation.

White Elephant?

The project isn't without controversy and critics. Some people are calling the system a white elephant that detracts from the city's transportation issues, such as its fledging public bus system and burdened roadways. Others fear the system won't generate the 500,000 passengers a year mayor Dick Greco predicts, and will lose money.

But the streetcars aren't designed to solve transportation problems, nor is the project intended to generate lots of cash, says Jill Cappadoro, a spokesperson for HARTline.

``Public transportation isn't meant to make a profit,'' she says. ``It's about connecting communities and minimizing traffic congestion.''

The project as it stands today only connects downtown with Ybor City. But officials hope to expand the tracks. An additional $500,000 in federal funds will go to a half-mile extension from the Tampa Marriott Waterside up Franklin Street to Whiting Street. Future plans might include a rail into Tampa Heights.

The concept of resurrecting Tampa's streetcars began back in 1984, when a small group of rail enthusiasts considered the logic of using routes following the old tracks still embedded in city roadways.

``The idea was to form a nonprofit streetcar line on existing tracks,'' says Jennewein. ``To me, it's bringing back a very important part of Tampa's past.''

But it's also about Tampa's future, she says: ``When you have an on-track system, you know the system is going to stay there. A lot of development that's happened in the Channel District is along the streetcar line.''

Jennewein says the system is intended as both practical transportation and as a focal point for Tampa, one that symbolizes the city's bustling past. She also believes the criticism over its costs is short sighted.

``There's tremendous visitor potential because it's an attraction,'' she says. ``How many people said the same thing about the aquarium? You will always have naysayers who say it's not going to work.''

A Unique Draw

The streetcar system won't compete with the city's public buses, says Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena.

``The purpose isn't primarily as a transportation system,'' she says. ``It's success shouldn't be gauged on that. It's an economic development tool. Just look at the amount of development that's been done along the track since it was announced.''

If it takes off, the system will act as a draw for other Tampa attractions, says Sue Ellen Richardson, spokesperson for the Florida Aquarium.

``We're hoping it will allow people to make a decision about spending a day in this area,'' she says. ``There's more of a reason to come here for the whole day when streetcars bring you from one place to the next. Anything that's going to make an area unique is wonderful.''

But the system can't depend on financial bailouts to stay afloat; it needs to grab public interest from the get-go, says Warren J. Weathers, chief deputy property appraiser for Hillsborough County.

``In order to succeed, it has to be fun, easy to use and run on time,'' he says. ``If any of those elements are missing, it may end up in trouble.''

Weathers adds that it could become a vital ``people'' link between downtown Tampa, the Channelside District and Ybor City: ``It's one more piece of the puzzle that's bringing us toward a true mixed-use urban center.''

Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570.