No. 4387 - 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

1918 - No. 4387 - Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway

Semi-Convertible - Double/Air

Laconia Car Company - Seats: 44   L: 43' 3"   W: 8' 10"    H: 12' "  Wt: 44,880
Acquired on August 29, 1946

No. 4387 in the Talbott Park loop at Seashore Trolley Museum
August 28, 2004. PWM

No. 4387, a somewhat improved version of Bay State Street Railway semi-convertible No. 4175, is one of 200 cars built for the Bay State Street Railway by the Laconia Car Co. in 1918. It has large platforms and extremely large three-sash windows, of which the lowermost drop into pockets in the sides. The frame is of composite steel and wood construction and the car is equipped with both transverse and longitudinal seats, having been designed for operation on both city and suburban lines. They were widely used throughout the vast Bay State system.

No. 4387 at Franklin Square, Melrose, MA 1925.
From the 1946 annual report of the N.E.E.R.H.S.

Including those sold to the Boston Elevated in 1936, along with the Chelsea and Revere car lines, many of this fleet survived until the late 1940s. Car 4387 last was used on an Eastern Mass. line running between the Sullivan Square elevated terminal in Charlestown and the town of Stoneham. It was acquired by the museum in 1946. Although No. 4387 was in fairly good condition when acquired, a poorly executed roof repair of the 1938 Hurricane damage had failed to hold up. There were numerous electrical problems, and general fraying over the years, but a total restoration has made 4387 another particular jewel of the Seashore fleet. Historic Cars: The National Collection at the Seashore Trolley Museum by Ben Minnich

The video below has No. 4387 in operation during the July 5, 2014, Seashore Trolley Museum 75th Anniversary Trolley Parade. Thanks go to Andy Dolph for giving his permission to draw the 4387 clip from his full video.

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 for the Seashore Trolley Museum. Here are some of those transcriptions, as they relate to 4387.

Transcripts from 1988 interviews conducted by Ed Dooks. Interviewees:

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

B = Henry Brainerd, one of Seashore's earliest members

A: They quit in August 1946. The last car ran then, so what they told me in Boston was that the reason for it was that the cars were getting old and that they had wanted to modernize the line and put the seven-thousands up there instead of selling them but people up there objected to it and they wanted buses. So they said, "All right if you want buses, we'll give them to you." And that's what they did.

B: They had a farewell ride about midnight the night before (abandonment) and then sort of a ceremony where the Selectmen rode a car up to Stoneham Square and then rode back again to the town line in a bus. The car that did the farewell with the Selectmen  was 4387 and the motorman was Les Stephenson (Sr.) Is that right?

A: Right. They had the 4387 all fixed up. It was taken to the shops and they checked all the mechanical portions of it. They gave it a good wash job and inside they cleaned it all up and it looked as though it had just come out of the builder's shops. 

B: I believe Les commented he picked that because it was the one that was in the best condition of the surviving Eastern Massachusetts 4300s.

Mr. and Mrs. Lester Stephenson, Sr., on July 28, 1946, with
Les's favorite car, No. 4387. Les was the individual who brokered the
deal to have 4387 become the property of the fledgling
Seashore Trolley Museum the very next month.
From the 1946 annual report of the N.E.E.R.H.S.

A: I know that the 4300 was originally a much faster car than it is today. It had a 17:61 gear ratio with 31-inch wheels and they were later changed over to a 15:63 gear ratio, still 31-inch wheel, and slowed down from 42 mph to 35.

A: 4387 is another car I ran off the property. I ran it at Salem Street Carhouse (Medford, MA ed.). Wally Goddard and I went out there one day to take some pictures and, at the time, I had a Chrysler. So, we pulled into the yard and there's the office building out front. It was in the summertime. The windows were open so I stopped and blew the horn in the car and a fellow came to the window. Wally said, "Uh-oh, that was a bad mistake you just made." I said, "No, no, Wally." So, the fellow looked out and I waved to him, didn't say anything, and started up again, so then I got in the yard, went over to the yard office and there were two cars in the way. We wanted to take one of the 4300s.

We wanted a nice picture of 4387 for use for the heading of the publicity we were putting out to raise funds to move it. But it was in the yard that day and there were two type 5's in front of it so we couldn't get a picture of it. I went to the yard office and asked, "Is the head shifter on duty?" He said, "Yes, Mike Shea." So, he came out and I said, "Mike, I'm here with a photographer to take pictures of 4387. We came out from Boston." I didn't say we were sent out. I said, "So, I wonder if you could move Type 5's out of the way?" "Oh, sure." so, he pulled them up and I said, " That's fine. I'll let you know when we're through so you can move them back again." so, Wally took the pictures and I went back to the office and said, "Will you tell Mike Shea that we're all set now?" And he said, "Yes, he's right here." So, he came out and I said, "Mike, we got the pictures. We're all set. Thanks a lot now, and if you want to move the 5's back, go ahead." So, I got up to the front office, blew the horn again and the fellow came to the window again and waved. "Okay?" I said, "Yes. everything is fine. Thanks for your cooperation." and off we went. Wally said, "Boy, what nerve you've got." I said, "Look, if I had driven in there without stopping to call that fellow in the office, they would have sent out someone to know who I was and what I was doing. that's why they didn't dare ask me who I was because I was driving a big car like all their executives and they don't want to admit they don't know me." That's exactly right.

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. 

July 1, 2004. PWM

September 13, 2003. PWM

The video below is the full video of Andy Dolph's recording of the July 5, 2014, Seashore Trolley Museum 75th Anniversary Trolley Parade

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 & No. 9 - 1895, 1902, & 1904 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