Friday, May 1, 2015

In a Class by Itself - The Making of a Narcissus CAD Drawing

Quinn Campbell (2015), a senior at Thornton Academy in 
Saco, ME, makes adjustments to the Narcissus CAD drawing
he has created in his drafting classroom at the

     During the summer of 2014, I was hoping to find a high school student that would take on the challenge of creating a CAD (Computer-aided design) drawing of the Narcissus. I had a specific design in mind. A CAD drawing had been created in 1999 of Seashore Trolley Museum's first trolley, Car 31 from the Biddeford and Saco Railroad. That drawing was done as part of the Museum's 60th-anniversary celebration. The design is based on a drawing that when copied onto heavy paper, "cut out", and folded properly, would make a 3-dimensional model. Used in a classroom of younger children, this trolley could be colored, people added into the image, riding in the car, being an operator, etc., prior to being cut out and folded, then taped together.


Above: A previous CAD drawing of Seashore Trolley Museum's very first acquisition.1900, Car 31 operated in the Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach Maine area until coming to Seashore Trolley Museum in July1939.  Car 31 is one of the Museum's ten Maine cars listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesIt also has the distinction of being a Save America's Treasure project.
Quinn used this 1999 CAD drawing by Trolley Museum member/volunteer, Chet Bishop, as reference material, as he created the Narcissus drawing.

     There was a beautifully detailed drawing of the Arbutus in O. R. Cummings' 1956 publication, Portland Lewiston Interurban, A History of the Finest Electric Interurban Railway to run in the State of Maine. Portland Lewiston Interurban (PLI), No. 10, Arbutus, is a sister interurban car to the Narcissus and was part of the original order of four interurbans, built at the Laconia Car Company Works in 1912. One of the CAD drawing challenges would be the ability to extract the details from the Arbutus drawing and then manipulate those details of the various components into the Car 31 format, to scale,  for a Narcissus design.

The original drawing details are taken from O. R. Cummings',
Portland Lewiston Interurban, A History of the Finest Electric
Interurban Railway to run in the State of Maine. May 1956.

     I was led by Edward Driscoll, the Engineering, Architecture, and Drafting Instructor at Biddeford Regional Center for Technology. Ed was very interested in the Narcissus CAD project and offered to present the project to his students. A few days later in later September, or early October of 2014, Ed emailed me that he had a student candidate that had an interest in taking on the project. Ed introduced me to Quinn Campbell. Quinn was a senior at Thornton Academy (TA), class of 2015, and would be entering the Engineering program at the University of Maine in Orono, ME in the fall of 2015. Quinn and I met at TA during school one day and discussed the project I handed him print copies and later emailed him electronic copies of the Car 31 CAD drawing and the Arbutus drawing. 
Over the ensuing weeks and months, Quinn would check in with me via email send me draft images and seek clarification on certain details, and in March 2015, Quinn had this great CAD drawing of the Narcissus. Thank you, Quinn!

Here is the text written in the CAD Drawing

Portland Lewiston Interurban No. 14 "Narcissus"
1912 Laconia Car Company.
In the Collection of the Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine, since 1969.
August 18, 1914 - Colo. Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the United States 
was a passenger on the Narcissus from
Lewiston, Maine to Portland, Maine.

Original drawing details are taken from O. R. Cummings',
Portland Lewiston Interurban, A History of the Finest Electric Interurban Railway to run in the State of Maine. May 1956.

Adapted by Quinn Campbell, Engineering/Architecture/Drafting Class of 2015 Biddeford Regional Center of Technology

** Reproduced for the First Annual, 
Theodore Roosevelt: Naturalist, Nature, and the Narcissus (event, ed.)
8/2015 **



Quinn Campbell (2015) comments on the Narcissus CAD project.

"I first heard of the trolley project from my drafting teacher at the beginning of the school year. At the time, I didn't realize how big of a project it was. I started by making the template that the image of the Narcissus would be on. From there I started tracing the existing lines of the identical trolley image I was given. There was a lot of detail in this drawing and for this reason, it took me longer than expected. The project went into my robotics season where I had to also work on designs for a robot for my school. However, after robotics ended I had more time to work on this project and I started adding more details that weren't in the original drawing but were on the Narcissus drawing. After approximately 100 hours of work spread out between months I was finally ready for it to be printed. Once I printed out a copy of the drawing I showed it to Mr. Morse and it went through a series of revisions until it was finally done. This project has helped me realize time management and how to balance multiple projects at the same time. What I liked about the project was seeing it all come together to form the final drawing."

We are still in need of funds for creating the interpretation programs that will tell this fascinating 100+-year-old story of the Narcissus. For information on donation options, scroll down this post and find the one that best fits your position. Fund 816 to help with the restoration and Fund 817 (PLI Education-Interpretation programs ) should be noted when making a donation.

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click Here for the post that has the short virtual 3-D video of the digital model of the Narcissus, with components added to the file from earlier this year (the gold leaf file had not been added yet).
Restoration work continues on the Narcissus. The Narcissus is more than 110 years old now and has so many incredible stories to share. The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one of those incredible stories.

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
 the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive

Seashore Trolley Museum Promo Video 
     
     The paperback edition of Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride can be purchased online through the Seashore Trolley Museum's store website. Books purchased through the Museum's website directly benefit the Museum and the Narcissus project. 

Click Here to go to the Museum Store web page to order online

Click Here to go to the Amazon page to order the ebook or audiobook online

Paperback books are available at these local bookstores in Maine:
Center for Maine Crafts, West Gardiner Service Plaza
The Book Review, Falmouth
The Bookworm, Gorham
Nonesuch Books and More, South Portland
Thompson's Orchard, New Gloucester

Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride
by Jean M. Flahive
Illustrations by Amy J. Gagnon

Listen to a 2-minute, 30-second, Retail Audio Sample of the Audiobook 

     Millie Thayer is a headstrong farmer's daughter who chases her dreams in a way you would expect a little girl nicknamed "Spitfire" would-running full tilt and with her eyes on the stars. Dreaming of leaving the farm life, working in the city, and fighting for women's right to vote, Millie imagines flying away on a magic carpet. One day, that flying carpet shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm. A fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, she finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. Despairing that her dreams may be shattered, Millie learns, in an unexpected way, that dreams can be shared.

A resource for teachers 

Companion curriculum State-standard-based units,

vocabulary, and reading activities for use in grades 3-8

are available online as downloadable resources through

Seashore Trolley Museum's website

www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/


Maine Historical Society has created eight companion lesson units in Social Studies and ELA that were inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride - These State-standard-based lesson plans for use in grades 6, 7, and 8 are easily adapted for use in grades 3-5.  Vocabulary and Reading activities for grades 3-8 along with the eight lesson plan units are available free and may be downloaded through Seashore Trolley Museum's website www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/
Go to the Teacher Resource Page in the pull-down for more details.

A 60-second intro to Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride by author, Jean Flahive
Click Here to watch the video on YouTube 

Award-winning author, Jean M. Flahive

    
Please Consider a Donation to the Narcissus Project to help us tell the incredible story of the Narcissus through the interpretation portion of the Narcissus Project.

     Here is an example of how donations to the Narcissus Project now will help with the interpretation portion of the project. The interpretation programming will include exhibits, displays, and education programming. In 2019, through generous donations to the Narcissus Project, we were able to conserve, replicate, and have high resolutions digital image files made of the original, 1910, 28.5-foot long, surveyor map of the elevation and grade of the 30-mile private right-of-way of the Portland, Gray, and Lewiston Railroad (Portland-Lewiston Interurban)  Click Here 

Thank You!

Theodore Roosevelt on the Narcissus when addressing
the crowd gathered in Gray, Maine on August 18, 1914.
Image courtesy of Gray Historical Society

The Narcissus as the Sabattus Lake Diner in Sabattus, Maine,
circa 1940. Photo by John Coughlin in the Kevin Farrell
Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum

L. Henri Vallee (right) and family members in the
Narcissus, when it was Vallee's summer camp in
Sabattus, Maine circa 1958. Photo courtesy Daniel Vallee

The Narcissus in the restoration shop in 2022 PWM

   Inside the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop, the Narcissus is in the midst of major work as we strive to complete its restoration. We are now planning the interpretation portion of the Narcissus Project. Donations to the Narcissus Project may be used in the future to help tell the incredible 100-plus-year-old story of the Narcissus. Your donation to the Narcissus is helping to make the dream of the project's success, a reality.

See below for Donation options -
It starts with YOU
Your Donation Matters
Make a Donation TODAY

Please Help the Narcissus. 
Donation Options to Help the Narcissus Project:

The New England Electric Railway Historical Society
is the 501c3 organization that owns and operates the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME, and the National Streetcar
The New England Electric Railway Historical Society registered with the IRS (EIN# 01-0244457) and was incorporated in Maine in 1941.

Check or Money Order ***** should be made payable to:
New England Electric Railway Historical Society
In the memo: for a donation to the Interpretation programming
please write: PLI Education Fund 817
For a donation to help with the restoration write: Narcissus Fund 816
Mail to: Seashore Trolley Museum
              P. O. Box A
              Kennebunkport, ME 04046

Credit Card ***** donations can be one-time donations or you
may choose to have a specific amount charged to your card
automatically on a monthly basis. Please contact the Museum bookkeeper, via email at finance@trolleymuseum.org or by phone, at 207-967-2800 ext. 3.

Online Donations - may be made by using a Credit Card: 
Click Here to make an online donation through the Museum's website - When at the Donation page: Fill in donor info, etc., when at "To which fund are you donating? Scroll down to "Other" and type in: 816 Narcissus, then continue filling in the required information.

Click Here for PayPal - to make an online donation: you can use email: finance@trolleymuseum.org and in the message box write:
For "Narcissus Fund 816" - if supporting the restoration
For "PLI Education Fund 817" - if supporting Interpretation programs

Donation of Securities ***** We also accept donations of
securities. You can contact the Museum bookkeeper, via email at finance@trolleymuseum.org or by phone, at 207-967-2800 ext. 3,
for brokerage account information for accepting donated securities.

BONUS ***** If you work for a company/corporation that will
"match" an employee's donation to an approved 501c3 non-profit
educational organization, please be sure to complete the necessary paperwork with your employer so that your donation is matched :)

Questions? ***** Please contact Narcissus project sponsor:
Phil Morse, narcissus@gmail.org or call 207-985-9723 - cell.

Thank You :)

Thank You for our Current Funding Partners
* 20th Century Electric Railway Foundation - 2020/2018 - Major Gift, 2017/2014 Matching Grants
Renaissance Charitable Foundation (LPCT) by Fiduciary Trust Charitable Giving Fund
Mass Bay RRE - 2018 Railroad Preservation Grant 
Thornton Academy (Saco, ME) - Staff & Alumni - Matching Grant Challenge 2014
New England Electric Railway Historical Society (Kennebunkport, ME) - Member Donations
Amherst Railway Society - 2015 Heritage Grant
National Railway Historical Society - 2016 & 2015 Heritage Preservation Grants
Enterprise Holding Foundation - 2015 Community Grant
Theodore Roosevelt Association - Member Donations
John Libby Family Association and Member Donations
* The Conley Family - In Memory of Scott Libbey 2018/2017/2016/2015
* The W. S. Libbey Family - Awalt, Conley, Graf, Holman, Libbey, McAvoy, McLaughlin, Meldrum, O'Halloran, Salto, - 2018/2017
* The Hughes Family 2017/2016/2010
New Gloucester Historical Society and Member Donations
Gray Historical Society and Member Donations
Gray Public Library Association - Pat Barter Speaker Series
* LogMein - Matching Employee Donation
* IBM - Matching Employee/Retiree Donations
* Fidelity Charitable Grant - Matching Employee Donations
* Richard E. Erwin Grant - 2017/2016

The Narcissus, with interior back-lit, stained glass windows is majestic.
Make a donation today to help restore the interior of this Maine gem.
Help Theodore Roosevelt's Maine Ride get back on track! Once restored,
you will be able to ride in luxury on this National Register Treasure at
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
PWM photo

Please Consider Making a Donation to the project of the National Register of Historic Places member, Narcissus. We are currently raising funds to advance the restoration and to tell the incredible story of this Maine gem.

Various News stories during the summer of 2015 about the
Narcissus and its connection to Theodore Roosevelt. TR
was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914.
Patricia Pierce Erikson photo

The Narcissus - July 31, 2015. Make a donation today.
Help Theodore Roosevelt's Maine Ride get back on track!
Once restored, you will be able to ride in luxury on this
National Historic Treasure at
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.

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