Patron Pines for the PLI - A Poem - 1939 Portland Lewiston Interurban

To the Grand Old Interurban

The shining rails are silent,

The sandy roadbed lays

A grim and lone reminder

Of the good old days.
The days when the Interurban
on schedule every time,
Came humming down the railway
Of the Portland-Lewiston Line.

When the sun is slowly sinking
At the close of a busy day,
In fancy, I hear her whistle
In the distance far away.
Even the trees and bushes
That beside the old track grew
Are whispering and sighing
They're lonely for her too.

Tho she's gone forever, her memory
Time never can erase
And the buses that replaced her
Can never take her place.
She served us every hour
Like a true and faithful friend
Wherever we wished to go
On her...we could depend.

There's a haunting sort of silence
Along that deserted line.
That went, a regretful sacrifice
To the progress of "Time."
She's gone but not forgotten
We're proud of the record fine
Of the grand old Interurban
And the Portland-Lewiston Line.

Written by Mrs. Margaret Turner and read at the former PLI employees' second reunion held on June 29, 1939 (excerpt from the 1967 book by O. R. Cummings, Maine's Fastest Electric Railroad: Portland Lewiston Interurban, Bulletin No. 3, New England Electric Railway Historical Society).

Maine's finest and fastest electric railway, the Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI), commenced operation on Thursday, July 2, 1914, its 34.6 miles of track extending almost north from a connection at Monument Square in Portland, Maine, to a connection at Union Station in Lewiston, Maine. Operations concluded on June 28, 1933, after carrying nearly 7 million, 302 thousand passengers.

Narcissus as a camp at Sabattus Pond. Maine June 1969
Collection of O.R. Cummings

The lone surviving representative of the PLI interurbans, No. 14, Narcissus, was acquired in 1969 by the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. Anticipating the acquisition, beginning in 1965, and over the ensuing years, components and other pertinent materials to the restoration of the historic PLI icon have been obtained. Some preliminary restoration work and planning have taken place. The Museum is now prepared to have the Narcissus enter the Museum's restoration shop to implement the plan of work to restore this historic treasure to operating condition for public demonstration on the Museum's heritage railway. The Narcissus has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1980 (#1980111480000262), along with nine other Maine railway vehicles.

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914.

There is a weekend fundraising event scheduled from July 31 through August 2, 2015, at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. Titled, Theodore Roosevelt: Naturalist, Nature, and the Narcissus. The weekend event honors TR's passion for observing and understanding nature, his vigor for an active outdoor life, his commitment to conservation, and his connections to Maine, including the Museum's 1912, Portland Lewiston Interurban, No. 14, Narcissus.

As someone who enjoys finding coincidences of dates that happen to connect historical events in some way or another, concerning this post. The poem featured in this post was read publicly at a PLI employees' reunion on June 29, 1939. Three days later, on July 2, 1939, the fourth and final majestic carving at Mount Rushmore, that of Theodore Roosevelt, was dedicated. During that same week, perhaps on either or both of those two days, the young gentlemen who would become known as the "founding fathers" of Seashore Trolley Museum, were pooling their very limited financial resources together and seeking contributions from a few friends to make a deposit of $108 (the total price was $150), on July 5, 1939 (the $42 balance was paid several days later), for the purchase of 1900, open car from the Biddeford and Saco Railroad, No. 31. The very first trolley car was preserved, anywhere in the world, by private citizens to start what would become a trolley museum.

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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!

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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