Orono & Old Town Railway in 1895.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Here is the newest release in the Maine Bicentennial series of electric railways in Maine. This blog post features the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway summary/images from the book, "Bangor Street Railway" by Charles D. Heseltine, published as Transportation Bulletin No. 81 January -December 1974 through Connecticut Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society copyright 1976 Roger Borrup and Charles D. Heseltine. Some text/images may be from the NEERHS 2015 publication, "The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946. Additional images will be credited.
- 3.15.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - York Utilities Company 1923-1949
- 3.14.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Atlantic Shore Railway 1911-1923
- 3.11.2020-Maine Bicentennial Series - Portsmouth, Dover & York St Rwy 1903-1906
- 3.9.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Auburn, Mechanic Falls & NorwayStRwy1902-3
- 3.7.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Portland & Brunswick Electric Railway 1902-1911
- 3.7.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway Co. 1919-1941
- 3.7.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville St Rwy 1907-1919
- 3.6.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath St Rwy 1898-1907
- 3.4.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor Hydro-Electric Company 1925-1945
- 3.4.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Penobscot Central Railway 1898-1906
- 3.3.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor. Hampden & Winterport Rwy 1896-1905
- 3.2.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway 1895-1905
- 3.2.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor Railway & Electric Company 1905-1925
- 3.1.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor Street Railway 1889-1905
- 2.23.2020 -Maine Bicentennial Series - Portsmouth, Kittery & York St. Rwy 1897-1903
- 2.22.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway 1899-1904
- 2.21.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Mousam River Railroad 1892-1899
- 1.31.2019 - Maine Bicentennial Series - The Norway and Paris Street Railway 1894-1918
- 1.27.2019 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Aroostook Valley Railroad 1909-1946
- 10.17.2018 - Maine Bicentennial - Portland Railroad History 1860-1941
Another of the early open cars of the Bangor, Orono &
Old Town Street Railway (BO&OT) is seen here as No. 53 of
the Bangor Street Railway. Like several other railways, the
BO&OT merged with the Bangor Street Railway in 1905.
As BSR No. 53, was used on the Hampden line.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway
First, some background information describing the creation of railways that led up to the formation of the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway system.
About two years after Bangor Street Railway was chartered, the Old Town Street Railway was incorporated by the state legislature on March 9, 1889, and was authorized to build a line from the center of Old Town to Upper Stillwater Villiage and to Great Works Villiage.
Covered bridge over the Stillwater River at Orono through
which the trolley cars on the Old Town line ran.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
$100,000 of capital stock was issued. The line was empowered to suspend operations during winter months or at any time when the wants of the public did not require its operation. The company was authorized to operate omnibuses in place of streetcars and for a short time prior to the opening of the line, a horse-drawn omnibus line served outer State Street, but whether it was affiliated with the proposed electric line or not research could not determine.
An amendment to the Old Town Street Railway's charter provided that it might also build from Old Town through Milford and Bradley. This was approved by the legislature on February 27, 1891, but the line was never built through these places. The corporate life of the company was extended until February 9, 1895.
The Old Town, Orono & Veazie Railway (OTOV) was chartered by the legislature on February 26, 1891, with permission to build from a connection with the Old Town Street Railway, through Orono to Main and Olive Streets in the town of Veazie. Here it was to connect with a proposed extension of the Bangor Street Railway. Capitalization was set at $500,000, and, like the Old Town Street Railway, it could suspend operations during the winter months if it saw fit.
The company was permitted to lease all of its property and franchises to another company if it so desired, or it might acquire by lease or purchase the property and franchises of any other street railway whose line was constructed or chartered so as to form a connecting or continuing line with it.
Acting upon this proviso, the (OTOV) took the Old Town Street Railway under a lease on June 15, 1892. Neither line, at that time, had started construction. OTOV then received permission to change its name to the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Street Railway, with permission to build from Veazie into Bangor with stipulations of streets determined.
Nothing was done toward the construction of this railway until the entrance of Amos F. Gerald into the picture in late 1894. Amos F. Gerald was one of the foremost street railway promoters in Maine and was the backer of the Portsmouth, Kittery & York Street Railway, the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway, the Skowhegan & Norregwock Railway, the Bath Street Railway, and the Waterville system and several others.
A resident of Fairfield, Maine, Gerald in association with Isaac C. Libby secured control of the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Street Railway charter and arranged for financing. A similar financial exchange with Thomson-Houston-General Electric was made as had been made with Bangor Street Railway, with a block of securities exchange as a major payment for power source equipment services.
Construction began and on July 9, 1895, a certificate of safety was granted. Cars began operating on the line on July 17, 1895, though some services had commenced earlier to Veazie. Trackage rights in downtown Bangor through state and Otis Streets. The new line was 13.25 miles in length.
Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway
Map by Charles D. Heseltine in the
2015 publication, "The Illustrated Atlas of
Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946.
The line opened with six closed cars with enclosed vestibules, eight single-truck, 10-bench, open cars, and one single-truck snowplow. A second plow was added a short time later.
The early snow-fighting equipment struggled with keeping
the Old Town line open during heavy snow events. The
addition of a rotary plow in 1901 helped.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Early snow-fighting equipment for the Old Town line
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
The main carbarn was a State and Otis Streets in Bangor and a small, one-stall barn on Stillwater Avenue near the hospital in Old Town. Power was provided from the Veazie hydro-station. A storage battery bank was provided at Old Town to help maintain power in that area, fed from a small generating station across the river in Milford.
The rotary plow was purchased in 1901 to cope with heavy snow on
the Old Town line. Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
The track was extended into Bangor in 1897 making the total length of 16.7 miles of line in operation with rights to use an additional 1.2 miles of the Bangor Street Railway tracks.
Express car "A" was purchased in 1897 from the West End
Street Railway of Boston for freight service use
on the Bangor, Orono, & Old Town Railway.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
There were many complaints over the years from Great Works Village of the original single-truck closed cars being behind schedule or not arriving at all. The continued use of these cars culminated in a midnight visit to the one-car storage barn at Old Town by nocturnal callers - students from the State College, legend has it - loaded with combustibles of all kinds, along with a few sticks of dynamite. The resulting conflagration obliterated both car and carhouse! The carbarn was not rebuilt, although the company retained the land until 1920.
Apparently, the company "got the message." In 1902, six new, double-truck, semi-convertible cars built by the J. G. Brill Company, Philadelphia, PA, arrived and started providing service to Old Town and Great Works Villiage with regularity.
No. 76, one of the double-truck, Brill semi-convertibles
bought for the Old Town line in 1902 at the end of the line.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Many of the bodies of the replaced cars were hauled to various sites along the Penobscot River for use by company officials as summer camps and, indeed, several may be found (1973) there today.
At the time of consolidation with the Bangor Railway & Electric Company on June 30, 1905, the Bangor, Orono & Old Town Railway was operating a total of 17.6 miles of mainline track. The high water mark for passengers carried in one year and passenger revenues was in 1897, with 1,268,642 passengers carried, generating $64,474 in revenues.
Restoration work continues on the Narcissus. The Narcissus is more than 100 years old now and has so many incredible stories to share. The restoration is but one.
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-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!
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 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
* 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.
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
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