Shop at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine
September 2015 - PWM image
Portland-Lewiston Interurban
and
No. 14
NARCISSUS
· National – National Register # 1980111480000262
· National – 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, was a passenger on August 18, 1914
· State – Only surviving railway equipment from the Portland-Lewiston Interurban
By: O. R. Cummings -
Maine’s finest and fastest electric railway, the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, commenced regular operation on Thursday, July 2, 1914, its 29.8 miles of main track extending almost due north from a connection with the Cumberland County Power & Light Company-leased Portland Railroad Company in Portland through West Falmouth, West Cumberland, Gray and the town of New Gloucester to Auburn and a connection with the Mechanic Falls line of the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway. Trackage rights over the PRR and the LA&W permitted the operation of through cars between Monument Square, Portland, and Union Square, Lewiston, 34.37 miles, and the initial two-hour headway soon was replaced by hourly service, which was maintained until the line was abandoned. The connections in Portland and Auburn were known as Deering Junction and Fairview Junction respectively and from register stations, at both points, conductors called the dispatcher in Lewiston for orders.
Six passenger cars on hand for the opening day consisted of six 36-foot double-truck coach smokers – Nos. 10, 12, 14, and 16, built by the Laconia (NH) Car Company, and Nos. 18 and 20, outshopped by the Wason Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Mass. The Laconia order was placed on April 24, 1912, and the car bodies arrived in Portland in January 1913, being placed in storage in a temporary wood frame carhouse until the late spring of 1914 when they were towed to Lewiston to be equipped with trucks, motors, controllers and air brake systems and otherwise made ready for operation.
Because of interurban promoter W. Scott Libbey’s desire that each car has a distinct personality and not be identified just by number, all six were named after flowers.
No. 10 was the Arbutus; No. 12, the Gladiolus; No. 14, the Narcissus; No. 16, the
Clematis; No. 18, the Azalea; and No. 20, the Magnolia. A seventh coach-smoker, No. 22, acquired from Wason in 1920, became Maine.
Each of the original cars was 46 feet long overall and 8 ft. ¾ in. wide and had steam coach roofs and straight vertically sheathed sides. There were seven arch windows – six double sashes and one single sash – on each side, the sashes being arranged to lift.
The arches above the sashes and the windows in the roof clerestory were glazed with ornamental leaded glass. The exterior livery was Pullman green with gray roofs, dark red doors and trim, and gold leaf numbers and lettering.
The main passenger compartment in each car was 30 feet long and contained twenty 19 in. by 31in. reversible transverse seats and two 18 in. by 32in. longitudinal seats upholstered with green plush and accommodating 44 passengers. The six-foot smoking section had two 18in.-wide leather-covered longitudinal seats for eight riders. According to the Electric Railway Journal of Sept. 25, 1915, the center aisle in the main compartment was 24 in.-wide while that in the smoking section was 4 ft. 10 in. wide, the two areas being separated by a bulkhead having a central sliding door with ribbed glass panels. The interior finish was mahogany with ebony and holly decorations, and interlocking rubber tiling was used on the floors.
Quoting from the Journal:
“The vestibules are each 4ft. 6in. long and 3 ft. 4in. wide. Each is provided with two sets of Pullman-type steps with trapdoors on the floor, three steps being provided in each case. The steps are each 10 in wide. The bottom step is 22 in. above the rail, each of the risers being 10 in high. In front of each vestibule is a small door with a latch, which can be operated from the outside only to facilitate operating the cars in trains.
“Heiwado reversible seats are used and the cars are fitted with baggage racks. The end of each seat is provided with a leather ticket holder, eight holders also being attached to the inside sheathing, with four more in the smoking compartment.
“The car lighting is accomplished by two 60-watt lamps in each vestibule above the steps, three lamps of this size in the smoking compartment, and sixteen in the main compartment. The last-named was installed in three parallel rows.”
The trucks under the Laconia cars were of Baldwin 79-25A type with a wheelbase of 6 ft. 7 in. while each of the Wason cars rode on Brill 27MCB-2X trucks.
(Both types of trucks had 36in. wheels with a standard MCB flange and a 3 1/2 in. tread.) Each car was powered by four Westinghouse 304 (90 hp) inside hung motors geared for a maximum speed of 59 miles an hour at 600 volts. Other equipment included Westinghouse HL automatic control systems with 15-B master controllers. Westinghouse air brakes, auxiliary hand brakes, Consolidated electric heaters, air whistles, Van Dorn couplers, and Crouse-Hinds luminous arc headlights of the portable type. Initially, the cars had steel bar pilots on one end only, similar pilots soon were installed on the other end.
(Although the cars were equipped for double-end operation, they normally were run with the smoking compartment forward.)
Each car had two trolley poles with the conventional harps and wheels and carried destination signs of the revolving four-sided wooden box type lettered PORTLAND, LEWISTON, and SPECIAL and mounted on the vestibule hoods. The signs were illuminated from below by incandescent lamps inside two reflectors. Between the reflectors were receptacles for electrical jumper cables used when cars were operated as trains. Air brake connections probably were made with flexible hoses. The original couplers eventually were replaced by the Westinghouse automatic type and in 1917 the harps and wheels on the trolley poles were replaced by Miller sliding shoes. New
luminous arc headlights were purchased in 1924 and in 1930 the whistle at the No. 1 end of each car was replaced by a dual air horn. Brass plates, with spaces for inserting the names of crew members, were installed in the main passenger compartments of Nos. 10-20 in 1927 or 1928 and as automobile traffic in Portland, Auburn, and Lewiston increased, the end dashers on at least some of the original cars were painted orange with green diamonds to make the interurbans more visible at night. Each car was equipped with a fare register but the make and type are unknown – and there’s nobody around to ask!
* * *
The Azalea made the first trial trip between Lewiston and Portland on Tuesday, June 16, 1914, and several additional trips were made on subsequent days. Then on Friday, June 26, two of the state Railroad Commissioners, Frank Keizer of Rockland and John A. Jones of Lewiston officially inspected the PLI. The trip was made in the Narcissus which, in addition to the commissioners, carried about 30 other passengers.
Among those attending the party were Mr. & Mrs. Henry M. Dingley, Mrs. Nelson Dingley, Mr. & Mrs. John A Morrill, Mrs. Annie E. Libbey, Mrs. Gertrude Libbey Anthony, Miss Alla Libbey, Mr. and Mrs. Harold S. Libbey, W. Scott Libbey, Jr., George W. Bowie, general superintendent of the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway, and representatives of the press. Regrettably absent was W. Scott Libbey, PLI promoter, who had died unexpectedly on May 17, 1914.
Numerous stops were made en route so the commissioners could look over bridges, major culverts, cuts and fills, special work, and the like, and upon arrival in Portland, the car was joined by Mayor Oakley C. Curtis. Then the party proceeded to Riverton Park, the Portland Railroad’s pleasure resort beside the Presumpscot River in Deering, where a “splendid” banquet was served in the casino “under the supervision of Dan Smith, supreme dictator of the inn.”
Then on Tuesday, August 18, the Narcissus carried what probably was the most distinguished passenger in the PLI’s history. Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt was invited by the interurban management to inspect the new railway. He rode from Lewiston to Portland and at brief stops in New Gloucester and Gray, the former chief executive addressed gatherings of townspeople. Upon arrival in the Forest City, “Teddy” voiced his pleasure over the “bully” ride he had enjoyed and gave motorman Charles H. Mitchell and conductor Joseph N L’Heureux, best known as “Joe Happy”, each a tip of $10, a not inconsiderable amount in those days.
* * *
The Narcissus is known to have been involved in two fatal accidents, the first of which occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1917, when one James E. Flynn, 40, of Auburn, was struck and killed near Marston’s Corner on the outskirts of the city. Flynn, who reportedly had been seen in an intoxicated condition at an earlier hour, was lying on the track and failed to heed the whistle blasts sounded repeatedly by motorman John E. Abbott, who had cut the power and applied the brakes as soon as he spotted the man. The railway was absolved of all blame.
Somewhat more than two months later, on Friday, December 21, No. 14 and a Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville double-truck closed car, No. 280, collided head-on on Minot Avenue, near High Street, in Auburn. Albert W. Beals, an LA&W motorman, and Eugene Roux, a student motorman, were fatally injured in the collision. George Blair, motorman on the Narcissus, shut off the power and applied the brakes when he saw the collision was imminent and then “joined the birds.”
According to newspaper reports of the crash and the investigation, that followed, No. 280, entering Minot Avenue from Court Street on its way to Mechanic Falls, failed to trip a block signal, which would have caused the Narcissus to stop at the corner of Minot Avenue and Washington Street. Blair, believing he had a clear line, was heading toward Court Street when he observed the LA&W trolley approaching at a fast clip about 200 feet away. Witnesses testified that Beals made every effort to stop his car, reversing the motors and throwing the air brake handle into the emergency position, but because of the speed at which the car was traveling, his actions were too late. No passenger in either car was injured but all were shaken by the impact. No. 280 was heavily damaged and had to be towed to the Lewiston carhouse but the Narcissus received only minor damage and was able to proceed under its own power.
No further accidents or incidents involving the Narcissus are known to have occurred after 1917 and the car still was active when the Portland-Lewiston Interurban was abandoned on June 28, 1933. (Two of the Laconia cars, the Arbutus and the Gladiolus made the very last trips on that sad day.) Three months later, on September 27, the railway properties, including all rolling stock, had been sold to H. E. Salzburg Inc. of New York City, a railroad salvage concern, and dismantling of the property began shortly thereafter. One complete car, the Arbutus, was conveyed to Mrs. Gertrude L. Anthony, daughter of W. Scott Libbey, as a memorial to her father. Several car bodies were sold to private parties and among them was the Narcissus, which eventually became the summer home of J. Henry Vallee near Sabattus Lake in the present town of Sabattus.
For reasons not entirely clear today, Mrs. Anthony had the Arbutus dismantled during World War II years and in 1969, Seashore Trolley Museum initiated efforts to acquire the Narcissus, which was deemed sufficiently sound to warrant restoration. Mr. Vallee agreed to dispose of the body if the Museum would have the shell of a replacement cottage constructed and after a major fundraising effort, the deal was consummated. The Narcissus arrived at the Museum in October of that year. Funding is needed to complete the restoration.
During the restoration and development of educational materials, we will be on the hunt for evidence, artifacts, pictures, and personal stories of:
Theodore Roosevelt and his visits to Maine. We're specifically looking for info, etc. related to...
- In 1872, as a 13-year-old, he attended summer camp at Moosehead Lake
- In 1878-79, as a 20+-year-old, he was with Maine guides William Sewall and Wilmot Dow in Island Falls
- During his presidency, he visited Maine in the summer of 1902
- On August 18, 1914, he was campaigning between Lewiston and Portland on the Portland-Lewiston's Narcissus (an 8.5 pond lake trout on board)
- On August 31, 1916, he was campaigning between Portland and Lewiston aboard the Portland-Lewiston Interurban railway...he rode one of the interurbans, we don't know which one? (Clematis)
- In July 1918, he was with his family in Dark Harbor, ME (Islesboro) with his family grieving the death of his son Quentin.
Please consider becoming a supporter of this exciting Narcissus project by making a donation today!
Thank You :)
W. S. Libbey. The visionary that built, what became
to be known as the "Finest Electric Railroad
in All-New England." O. R. Cummings collection
to be known as the "Finest Electric Railroad
in All-New England." O. R. Cummings collection
The Narcissus c 1914 with Oscar S. Adkins (left) and
John I. Cluff motorman at Gray. O. R. Cummings
collection
The Lewiston Daily Sun, August 19, 1914,
page 2. The last sentence in the first paragraph
states that Colo. Roosevelt boarded the
Narcissus for Portland on August 18, 1914.
The Narcissus. O. R. Cummings collection.
from the Gray Historical Society
Porcelain sign from PLI Ticket Booth. O.R. Cummings collection
The end of the PLI announcement. Seashore Trolley Museum collection
Narcissus as a summer camp for the Vallee family at
Sabattus Pond near Lewiston in 1969 just before traveling to
Seashore Trolley Museum. O. R. Cummings Photo
Narcissus shortly after it arrived at Seashore Trolley Museum
Norm Downs photo
Publicity for the restoration of the Narcissus and its role
in the Teddy Roosevelt Days event weekend was
exemplary in July 2015. Photo by Patricia Pierce Erikson
Narcissus and Randy Leclair are ready for visitors
during Teddy Roosevelt Days event weekend 2015
during Teddy Roosevelt Days event weekend 2015
Photo by Patricia Pierce Erikson
Narcissus at night 7-31-2015 with a few
stained-glass windows in temporarily for visitors to see during
Teddy Roosevelt Days event weekend.
Photo by Patricia Pierce Erikson
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
Letterpress Books, Portland
Maine Historical Society Store, Portland
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, Portland
Morph Gallery & Emporium, Kennebunk
New Gloucester Historical Society, New Gloucester
Nonesuch Books and More, South Portland
Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport
Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops, All Locations
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 run 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!
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
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
Museum in Lowell (MA).
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 each month. 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: 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
* 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
* Scarborough Historical Society - PRR/PLI
* 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.
Photo by Patricia Pierce Erikson
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
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