SHELBURNE FALLS — The Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum will open for the season on Saturday, May 24.

The museum, which is operated by volunteers, will be open to visitors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends through October. Visitors can learn about the trolleys and trains that once frequently traveled through the region, ride Trolley No. 10 and smaller pump cars, and see the progress volunteers have made on restoring a parlor car from 1903, a line car and a trackmobile.

In February, the museum acquired “Berkshire Hills,” a once-elegant parlor car that served patrons of the Berkshire Street Railway until 1917. Museum President Sam Bartlett said the parlor car has spent the past 20 years covered by tarps in Maine, and is now being restored after decades of exposure to the elements. The museum hopes to be able to use the line car to give caboose rides later on.

“We’ve done extensive demolition of the cars and removed rotten wood and rusted parts,” Bartlett explained. “We’ve got the line car kinda hidden in the back workshop. It’s pretty much stripped bare and we’ll be working to piece it back together.”

Bartlett said working to restore these old cars is a lot like solving a puzzle. It requires teamwork and creativity to figure out how old engines and cars were built, and it sometimes takes a bit of a treasure hunt to find antique parts.

“It’s a lot of planning and trying to figure out how it was put together originally,” he said. “That’s part of the fun of it — working with people to figure out how it was built.”

In addition to looking at the old cars and learning about the process to restore them, museum guests will have the chance to enjoy 15-minute trips on Trolley No. 10, pump car rides and, after their popularity last season, speeder rides on the first Saturday of each month.

Visitors are also encouraged to return on the second Saturday of each month to experience rides on the new velocipede, a small three-wheeled rail car that is “sort of like a bicycle that’s on the tracks,” Bartlett explained. Powered by a hand crank, velocipedes were used to go out and inspect the rails and telegraph lines.

Bartlett said the museum also recently acquired a trackmobile, which is “kinda like a cross between a train and a tractor.” While it is still being repaired and is not ready to be ridden, the museum hopes to offer rides on the trackmobile later this season.

Throughout the season, the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum holds special event days, including free Fathers Day and Grandparents Day rides, and on Aug. 3, the museum will offer a benefit concert. Local musicians will perform a free concert at the First Congregational Church of Shelburne, with donations being accepted to support museum projects, such as the restoration of “Berkshire Hills.”

Tickets to the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum are $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 6 to 17. Children under age 6 will be admitted for free. Visit sftm.org for more information.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.