No. 4175 - Seashore Trolley Museum's Laconia Car Company-built Collection

In the hands of Seashore Trolley Museum members/volunteers,

Ed Dooks and his granddaughter Chelsey Pino, carefully

peel away the paper from the newly applied Laconia Car

Company decal on the side sill of the Laconia Car

Company-built, and then newly restored,

1906 electric locomotive from the Atlantic Shore Line Railway,

No. 100. Image by PWM 6-30-2009

The Laconia Car Company was located in the center of

Laconia, NH. Over the years, it expanded and took up 7 acres

of land. There were woodworking shops, foundries, set-up

shops, storehouses, and paint shops. The extensive

four-story brick building was dedicated to the iron foundry, which was

connected with the car fabrication business.

     Laconia Car Company was one of the important electric railway streetcar manufacturing companies at the turn of the 20th century. This builder was the only industry in the New Hampshire town of the same name. The community problems faced by the townspeople following the company's collapse in 1928 have been the subject of several important economic studies. (1) Seashore Trolley Museum has ten accessioned electric railway representatives from the Laconia Car Company among its collections. The Laconia collection at Seashore Trolley Museum is diverse. Starting with two early single-truck models from 1895, with monitor roofs and a seating capacity of 26 passengers, up to a 1918 semi-convertible, with a seating capacity of 44. The collection includes a 1904, double-truck, 15-bench, open car with a railroad roof, wooden interurbans, a postal service car, and a wooden steeple cab locomotive.

     Three of these Laconia vehicles in Seashore's collection are listed in the National Register of Historic Places; 1904 Portsmouth Dover & York Street Railway, No. 108, wooden Railway Post Office/Express, 1906 Atlantic Shore Line, No. 100, wooden Steeple Cab Locomotive, and 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 14 - Narcissus, wooden Interurban Coach.

(1) p. 6, 1954 "Historic Cars of the Seashore Electric Railway, 1st edition

1914 - No. 4175 - Bay State Street Railway

Semi-Convertible - Double/Air

Laconia Car Company - Seats: 40   L: 39' 8"   W: 8' 3"   H: 12' 11"  Wt: 43,800
Acquired in 1976

No. 4175 at Seashore Trolley Museum's Town House Restoration Shop

Its restoration is approaching the finish line....needs $10-$15K to complete.

Click Here: to make a donation to Fund 528 - Bay State Street Railway 4175

     No. 4175, was built by Laconia in 1914 and came to Seashore in 1974 as a body that had been used for a summer camp in New Jersey. On July 1, 1919, the Bay State was reorganized with public assistance from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Part of the deal called for the termination of operations in other states. Some of the 4100 series cars were assigned to Newport, Rhode Island, and were later sold off to operate on the Coast Cities Railway in Asbury Park, New Jersey, from 1925 until 1929.

     No. 4175, which carried the number 703 in New Jersey, is being restored to its 1914 Bay State Street Railway configuration and appearance. The complete restoration is nearly finished (another 

$10-$15K is needed - Donations to Fund 528, Bay State St. Railway 4175. PWM) and will be a splendid example of the success of the reclamation of a stripped car body into an outstandingly restored electric railway car. This car was also used as a prototype for a replica at the Lowell National Historic Park. Historic Cars: The National Collection at the Seashore Trolley Museum by Ben Minnich

     Edward Dooks, a long-time Seashore Trolley Museum member/volunteer, conducted, recorded, and transcribed, recollections of  Seashore Trolley Museum members' experiences involving the Museum. In addition, Ed recorded, collected, and transcribed recollections of local neighbors to the Seashore Trolley Museum. Here are some of those transcriptions, as they relate to the acquisition of No. 60 in 1941.

Transcripts from 1988 interviews conducted by Ed Dooks. Interviewees:

A = John Amlaw, one of Seashore's original members

A: Another place where they had a lot of fun was when they first bought the 7000s. Five of them were assigned to Fall River for use on the Taunton run and the track was pretty rough down there. The 7000s have swing-link bolsters, which means that the car body just sways back and forth and the motormen were afraid to run them at full speed because they were jumping around so much. So they used to joke about it that when they got up to Taunton, some of the passengers would get out and lie on the grass to recover their balance again, which is a story. I don't know how much truth there is to it but the 7000s were only on that run for a couple of weeks. The 4100's went back. The 41, of course, had Bay State trucks under them (as does 4387, ed) so they used to bang over those ends of the rail joints and such things, but they'd bang over them but they didn't sway. So, nobody got sick riding them. 

FYI - Seashore Trolley Museum volunteers, at its satellite operation, The National Streetcar Museum in Lowell, MA, operate the Museum's 1924 New Orleans Public Service car, No. 966, on the Lowell National Historic Park line.

4131 operating at the Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, MA

on June 5, 2017. Seashore Trolley Museum's recognized founder, Theodore

Santarelli de Brasch, help make building the replica 4131 possible.

Replicas from the same pattern were built for Portland, OR.

Story below. Photo courtesy of Mike de la Vega

During one of his frequent visits to Ida Grove, IA,

Ted stands on the front platform of the nearly complete

Eastern Mass. replica 4131 for Lowell.

Seashore Trolley Museum, NEERHS annual report

1987, pg. 8.

     From the 1987 NEERHS Annual Report (with some minor edits)
Theodore Santarelli, the recognized founder of Seashore Trolley Museum, spent several years in the mid-1980s assisting the Lowell (MA) Historic Preservation Commission with their plans for expanding their historic trolley line, most notably in constructing a replica closed car. Engaged first as a consultant, then as a part-time employee, Ted suggested the construction of a 4100, virtually identical to Seashore's 4175. The contract was awarded to Gomaco, of Ida Grove, Iowa, the constructor of Lowell's two open cars. On frequent trips to Iowa, Ted ensured the historical accuracy of the semi-convertible, researching even the finest details through historical documents and the memories of Eastern Mass. fans, plus via careful measuring and probing of 4175 at Seashore. Ted worked closely with Gomaco founder Harold Godberson, a dedicated craftsman, until his untimely death in 1986. Ted's dedication to this project and Gomaco's responsive craftsmanship resulted in a beautifully finished car plus the fabrication of numerous parts for Seashore's 4175. Lowell's car was delivered just a month before Ted passed away (1987).

The commemorative brass plate plaque inside Lowell's 4131

officially states the car is dedicated in memory of

Theodore Santarelli de Brasch.

James D. Schantz photo from 1988 NEERHS annual report

     From the 1988 NEERHS Annual Report (with some minor edits)
4131 was delivered to Lowell, MA in November 1987. Ted was on hand in Lowell to welcome it only a few weeks before his untimely death. A ceremony in Lowell on June 18, 1988, was held to dedicate 4131 to Ted's memory.

A large contingent of Seashore representatives attended the dedication

ceremony of 4131 in Lowell, on June 18, 1988. James D. Schantz photo.

Click Here: Video of Theodore Santarelli de Brasch explaining the "Birth" of Seashore Trolley -1939 

Additional blog posts on Seashore Trolley Museum's Laconia Car Company-built Collection:

Click Here: No. 14 - 1912 Laconia Car Company-built Collection

Click Here: No. 38 - 1907 Laconia Car Company-built Collection
Click Here: No. 60 - 1895 Laconia Car Company-built Collection
Click Here: No. 100 - 1906 Laconia Car Company-built Collection
Click Here: No. 108 - 1904 Laconia Car Company-built Collection
Click Here: No. 235 & No. 50 - 1895 & 1902 - Laconia Car Company-built Collection
Click Here: No. 4175 - 1914 Laconia Car Company-built Collection
Click Here: No. 4387 - 1918 Laconia Car Company-built Collection

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!

Click Here: Donation Options

The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     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.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

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