YAKIMA, Wash. -- Is it crazy to imagine a trolley returning to downtown Yakima? Not if you're Ken Johnsen.

The longtime president of Yakima Valley Trolleys recently spoke about his passion for all things that run on rails and his belief the trolley system is one of Yakima's most underrated assets.

"It's so unique and so old," he said. "You just won't find anything like this in the state."

For those unfamiliar with the trolley, it is billed as the nation's last, intact turn-of-the-century interurban electric railroad.

In reality, it's a shell of its former self. The trolley's last passenger run on Yakima Avenue ceased in 1947, and its been 25 years since its last freight run to Wiley City via Nob Hill Boulevard.

But thanks to the dedication of Johnsen and other volunteers, the trolley continues to ply a limited run of a few blocks near Davis High School on summer weekends and holidays. This year the season kicks off over the Memorial Day weekend.

However, the efforts are not without continuing challenges. It's been almost five years since thieves stole and chopped up the overhead cooper wire that powered the 100-year-old trolleys through the Selah Gap. That's meant the run is restricted to its current short route, rather than approximately 7-mile round trips the association used to offer to Selah. Johnsen said it remains a sore spot for volunteers.

The trolley association has all the material and hardware in place to restore the Selah run, including a large donation of aluminum wire from Puget Sound Energy. The only remaining obstacle is rewiring the poles.

Johnsen said the permit process with Pacific Power, which owns the poles, has been bogged down in a bit of red tape but he remains confident a design agreement can be reached.

"Code has changed a lot since 1913," he observed, stressing that neither he nor other trolley volunteers are upset with Pacific Power or fear the utility is negotiating in bad faith.

Clark Satre, a spokesman for Pacific Power, said changes in code and safety regulations are the sticking point, but Pacific Power is committed to seeing the Selah line restored.

A plan, including cost, has yet to be finalized.

"It's a great historical thing for Yakima and a fun ride to take," he said. "Certainly we don't want to be obstructionist. That's not our intent.

"I do want to stress that it's a real shame this is all happening because a few punks stole the wire. In the end, I'm sure we're going to get this done."

In the meantime, Johnsen and fellow trolley volunteer Ed Neel plan to travel to Edmonton in the Canadian province of Alberta this week to pick up hundreds of brackets called trolley ears that were donated by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society.

The brackets help guide the overhead wires that power the trolley. Many of the original brackets were ruined during the 2005 theft and would have cost more than $40,000 to replace if it weren't for the generosity of the Edmonton streetcar society.

As much as Johnsen and his colleagues would like to restore the Selah run, they also remain obsessed with restoring the trolley's equally historic Yakima Avenue line.

For years a plan has been in circulation that would see the trolley loop down to the Convention Center via A Street from its 100-year-old trolley barn at Third Avenue and Pine Street.. However, tracks that were long ago removed would have to be re-installed.

Johnsen said public awareness and political vision is as much an obstacle to the downtown plan as lack of funding. Businesses are supportive, he said, but many residents of Yakima remain indifferent to the trolley's potential.

"It would be really neat" for the trolley to come downtown, he said. "The whole tourism industry would really come to life down there."

John Cooper, president of the Convention Center and Visitors Bureau since 2007, admitted he's not that familiar with the plan and said he wouldn't mind a briefing on the subject.

Even so, he said a trolley line to the Convention Center would almost certainly represent another reason -- like wine country tourism -- to book a convention in Yakima.

"As we say in this industry, it adds more product," he said, adding, "Something that's unique and fun would be a great addition."

His predecessor, City Councilwoman Kathy Coffey, is a key supporter of the trolley and said in a recent interview that a trolley line downtown could put Yakima on the map.

"Stranger things have happened," she said. "If we could get the funding and the resources, promote it more..."

But she also hastened to add that city officials are trying to concentrate for now on developing a comprehensive plan to deal with gang violence.

With the economy still spinning its wheels, she said an expanded trolley line will have to remain a pipe dream for the time being.

"Right now we're worried about potholes and gangs, and that has to be our focus," she said, adding, "All things take time, and I think the time is coming."

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.