The Narcissus early in August 2016
Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914.
The restoration of this National Register of Historic Places gem is
underway at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
The Narcissus 1912 Project Blog will have its first full calendar year under its belt as 2016 transitions to 2017. The blog posts are created to reach out to a large number of folks through the power of social media to introduce them to the Narcissus Restoration Project. The Narcissus is a luxury, high-speed, wooden electric interurban. The Narcissus was built in 1912 in Laconia, NH, and operated on the Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI) in Maine, between Portland and Lewiston, from 1914 into 1933. The blog posts appeal to folks with an interest in the restoration process of a historic electric wooden interurban, Theodore Roosevelt and his connection to Maine, to folks generally interested in regional/local history, as well as those folks within the greater railway community. Hopefully, these posts will help readers take action and help support the Narcissus financially, as it undergoes a complete restoration over the next few years at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. For information on how to do so, scroll down the page to see the donation options. All donations are currently being matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $40,000 through a generous matching grant challenge from the 20th Century Electric Railway Foundation in La Canada, CA. We are more than halfway to raising the initial $40,000. Please help us meet our goal by making a Donation Today!
Long-time STM member, Mark Forman, snapped this image of Narcissus
project manager, Phil Morse (L), and Lead restoration technician,
Donald Curry, as they discuss the project while standing in front of the
historic Portland-Lewiston Interurban icon, Narcissus.
July 7, 2016. photo courtesy of Mark Forman
Click Here: For Project Manager Phil Morse's 2016
Summary of Narcissus Outreach Adventures!
Click Here: For Project Manager Phil Morse's 2016
Summary of Narcissus Outreach Adventures!
Narcissus restoration work in 2016 started with removing the poplar exterior arches that hold the ornate leaded stained glass in their mahogany sash (frame). Throughout the following months, the arches would have their ends expertly replaced using vintage recycled poplar located in Akron, PA Three complete sets of arches would also be made from the vintage wood. Four blog posts would follow Museum volunteer, Lary Shaffer, as he works on the arches. The restored arches are beautiful.
The word beautiful is often used to describe the Narcissus, but also many, many pieces and portions of this gem.
Volunteer, Lary Shaffer removing a screw that holds one-half
of the original exterior arches. PWM
Left: One of only two original ends that remained and could be restored.Right: At the top of each arch half, an extension branches out.
 |
Lary Shaffer working on the exterior poplar arches
Test-fit of first restored arch set
Set of vertical sheathing that fit in the "corners"
above each exterior poplar exterior arc.
The tiniest pieces are tucked into the corner.
Nearly all of the exterior of the Narcissus are wooden components that are what we today generally call "vintage" or "old growth" poplar. The Narcissus and its three sisters, Laconia (NH) Car Company-built, wooden interurbans were constructed in 1912. Poplar was a lightweight, inexpensive wood, that was readily available in the local market. We are very fortunate to have Rousseau Reclaimed, a local supplier of recycled lumber, be able to supply the vintage poplar to us in so many different widths and thicknesses.
 |
| Vintage poplar from a bank barn in Akron, PA, stacked in the yard of Rousseau Reclaimed. This poplar wood would be milled for many, many different-sized boards for use in the restoration of the Narcissus. |
Volunteers Jim Mackell and Dick Avy mill
vintage poplar for some needed replacement
roof boards for the Narcissus.
 |
| Volunteer Jim Mackell milling vintage poplar for short extensions to replace some missing from the exterior arches on the Narcissus. |
Ash is another wood that is used in the roof of the Narcissus. Many of the replacement wooden ribs of the main roof and the vestibule end roofs needed to be steamed and then bent into a specific curve. The rib would need to be held in place for weeks while drying so that once released from its retainer, the rib would hold its proper curve before installation.
Throughout the late winter and into spring, Museum volunteer Jim Mackell worked on restoring original passenger windows. All remaining original brass components for these windows are used.
Left: Original passenger windows with mahogany sash (frames).
Right: Jim Mackell adding a brass screw to hold the wood glazing in place on a restored window.
Left: Newly restored original passenger window with original brass components in place.
Right: Restored original stained glass "eyebrow" in its original mahogany sash being held in place by the restored poplar exterior arched frame. Two restored original passenger windows, all in place on the right side of the number one end smoking compartment for the 2016 Teddy Roosevelt Days fundraising event to benefit the Narcissus.
When the Narcissus was the Vallee's summer camp at Sabattus Pond (late 1930s-1969) several mahogany panels in the vestibules were painted white. These and other painted components were stripped during the winter. All panels, window sash, left and right passenger doors. The train door was later temporarily installed in the number one end vestibule for the 2016 Teddy Roosevelt Days fundraising event to benefit the Narcissus.
Many of the restored mahogany components were temporarily
in place on the right side of the smoking compartment so
guests like Dan and Rose Vallee could have a special photo
taken during the 2016 Teddy Roosevelt fundraising
event to benefit the Narcissus.
While work on the exterior components continues throughout the winter, planning, and research for future work on the interior take place as well (Ceiling panel decorations and floor tile). The ceiling panels of the Narcissus are veneer, made of layers of birch. The panels were originally painted a soft green and included intricate gold leaf lines and fleur-de-lis. These panels were painted over with white in later years and were in very poor condition. The delicate gold leaf lines and fleur-de-lis can be seen in the image below (left). Recording these was a priority.
The center aisle and the floor in the smoking compartment have some remnants remaining of the interesting interlocking rubber tiles. Research turned up this information that will be very helpful as we prepare a plan to replace tiles.
Meanwhile, the beat goes on with work on the exterior components...
The original poplar exterior verticalsheathing for the number one end dasher
was also receiving attention over the winter.
Left: Lead Restoration Technician,
Donald Curry, applying a fine filler that
will be sanded before a final coat of primer.
Right: The number one end vestibule
received a lot of attention in 2016. This image is from earlier in the year.
Original sheathing for the number one dasher
drying after an application of the final coat of
Pullman Green.
Left: Thornton Academy (Saco, Maine) Residential Life Program student sandblastingRight: Components sandblasted and primed
Right Below Center: Vertical iron through-rods
were removed from the clerestory roof. The lower ends of each were severely rusted and were cut off. A new section was added to the sandblasted, primed, and painted rods before being reinstalled.
 |
| Clerestory roof lag-bolt, carriage bolts, w/washer & nuts were sandblasted, primed, painted, and reused. Iron roof ribs were wire brushed and rust inhibitor paint was applied. |
 |
One of the challenges we had over the winter months was the fact that the Narcissus was tucked into the easternmost track of the former "Quonset Hut" section of the Town House Restoration Shop. The ceiling is much lower in that portion of the shop. The 600-volt overhead wire is quite close to the roof of the big interurban, which restricted roof work from happening until the car could be moved into the larger portion of the shop. This could not happen pending anticipated roof work. So, we were relegated to more peripheral component work. The right-side clerestory window openings and roof work did take place during the late winter and into the spring.
Turnbuckles were added to strengthen the support system of
Town House Restoration Shop's main roof. The new roof was
fully installed by late May 2016. Electrical upgrades and
new LED lights completed the roof work in late September
2016.
Right-side clerestory window openings and roof received a lot of attention during the late winter into the late springRight: Donald Curry
Left: Once all the wooden clerestory roof ribs were removed, the iron ribs were wire brushed and painted with rust inhibitor paint, then the copper flashing was removed. Right: Faceboards removed, paint removed, sanded, primed, painted, and will be reinstalled.
Right: Right-side clerestory roof with most of the wooden roof ribs removed, but before the copper flashing was removed. Also, before the ceiling panels were removed from the interior.
Donald Curry preparing to remove the right-side
clerestory ceiling panels.
The three sections of the heavy letter boards were removed from the right side, repairs made, primed, and reattached.
Below: All the right-side clerestory wooden ribs were removed, repaired, primed, and reinstalled.
Tucked into the shop area affectionately called the "Quonset hut" extension,
the right side of the Narcissus is seen with the letter boards removed. Sanding
the ends of the ash roof ribs and the face and interiors of the clerestory
window openings took a lot of time, patience, and good ole elbow grease.
Ah yes, sanding the clerestory window openings and surrounding areas.....it all comes back to me now! Thankfully, that work is but a not-so-fond memory :) Cleaning, sanding, and stripping the area and the removed cover boards (see images below the below images :) was one of the many challenging jobs at this stage of the exterior work.
Then there was a need to reward one's self by test-fitting the restored clerestory stained glass windows (in their mahogany sash) to their respective openings. Photo ops...these are the little things that help us refuel our mojo and inspire us to move on to the next challenge :)
Next moved on to repair each of the clerestory openings' poplar filler boards. Every single one of them had failed at the narrowest part of the arch at the iron roof rib where the copper flashing is nailed into the board. Good grief! You may notice that on the inside of an opening, there is a break in the mahogany cover board in the same place on the inside! We will deal with those at a later date. Making replacement pieces for the exterior from the vintage poplar acquired from Akorn, PA via Rousseau Reclaimed, took some patience and finesse.
All right-side clerestory window openings and surrounding
areas were repaired, sanded, and in some cases, primed. Letterboards
and clerestory roof ribs are all repaired, primed and or
stained, and reinstalled.
Several repaired exterior poplar arches and short extensions
ready for primer. Several right-side clerestory cover pieces
stripped, repaired, and primed.
Working on the left-side clerestory window opening & surrounding area was next.
The beautifully restored (Thank you, Deb, at Sundancer Stained Glass, Saco,
ME) original leaded stained glass were each test-fit in their openings.
Next up.... remove all the roof boards.
The roof ribs were removed. Each was assessed for need of repairs, and replacement, and measured for the degree of curve. Each of the thirteen ash roof ribs that will be made for replacements will be steamed and formed to fit before being installed.
Early this fall, Donald Curry and volunteer Ernie Eaton researched various styles of Heywood-Wakefield seats, in preparation for developing a budget for use with grant applications. Twenty reversible, Mohair plush, walk-over seats, plus seats for the smoking compartment and next to the bulkhead will need to be made from scratch.
Now The Heavy Lifting Begins
Preparation began in advance for separating the body of the Narcissus from its trucks (the wheels, axles, and motors assembly). The actual separation will take place early in 2017.
Donald Curry is the lead restoration technician working on the Narcissus in the Town House Restoration Shop at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME. Donald has been on staff at the Museum since 1954. Donald has been the author of hundreds of "Shop Reports" over those many years. Here is (with some edits from this blogster) an excerpt from one of his shop reports that begins to describe the serious corrosion problems discovered when inspecting the side sills on the Narcissus, referred to here as #14:
- Steel bars (channels and I-beams in #14's case) are often used to reinforce the long wood beams as well as give an easy means of fastening hardware. We have found that even on rot-resistant woods such as the southern yellow pine (SYP) they used on #14, the moisture does its dirty work, with rust forming in the interface between wood and steel. (It should be noted that if the wood-to-metal fit is good, with surfaces given a good coat of paint, there is little corrosion or rot) One of #14's heavy angle-iron bumpers came to us in excellent condition, but the other, because of its orientation on the car while in Sabattus (ME), has large holes and thin spots that will require some work [For those of you who always wanted to know: an exfoliation is a form of intergranular corrosion that involves the selective attack of metal at or adjacent to grain boundaries. In this process, corrosion products are formed, forcing metal to move away from the body of the material and giving rise to a layered appearance. Exfoliation is also known as layer corrosion or lamellar corrosion.]
Some significant corrosion problems weren't discovered until recently as they were hidden under other frame members, usually wood-forming the side sills. These 40-foot SYP beams are extremely important because, with the help of trusses, they tie the whole floor area together. As we looked down into the area beside the channel, we saw some chunks of rust. As Ernie Eaton continued to work on the channel with thin punches and eventually the pneumatic needle scaler, we discovered the magnitude of the problem. Major portions of the exfoliated steel had built up, stretching the 5/8" bolts holding the wood beams to the channel and causing a wide gap. Finally, after an hour of strenuous chipping, he dug out most of the pitting formed from exfoliated steel and the flat side of the channel, showing depressions of up to 1/4". Fortunately, we have a good supply of 5/*" machine bolts all sandblasted, primed, and painted.
What to do now? First, we made room inside the body along the entire 40-foot stretch of the sills. This gave us more room to work to knock off as much of the rust as possible along the entire length of the channel.
In addition, each of the 102" metal rods that pass through one side sill all the through to the opposite side sill, must all be replaced as well.
The replacement channel (C8-2.37" x 40') will each cost $350 for a total of $700.
The removal of the channel from the side sills will be a very complicated maneuver. In preparation for developing the steps needed to remove the channel and bolster, Ernie Eaton has done a thorough analysis of the relationship between the bolster, the side sills, and the floor of the body. To do this work safely, the body of #14 will need to raise a few inches to clear the way for the Baldwin trucks and the air compressor to be moved. Once the truck assemblies and the compressor are cleared from under the body, the body will be lowered to rest on supports that will leave about 3.5' of clearance to work under the body of #14.
We have been doing a lot of research on the 40 ft. long side sills, as to what goes into repairing the wood and replacing the steel channels. In his curatorial report on them, Ernie Eaton did several calculations to be certain of no collapse. This week we started gathering the materials needed
There you have the summary for much of the work done in 2016. Thank you Thornton Academy Residential Life students for all your help in 2016!Thank you to all the staff and volunteers that participated in 2016 :) And also a big thank you to all the folks and organizations that contributed financially to the project in 2016!!
Click Here: For Project Manager Phil Morse's 2016 Summary of Narcissus Outreach Adventures!
Volunteer Ernie Eaton working on removing materials
on the right side of the Narcissus in preparation for the "big lift."
We have been doing a lot of research on the 40 ft. long side sills, as to what goes into repairing the wood and replacing the steel channels. In his curatorial report on them, Ernie Eaton did several calculations to be certain of no collapse. This week we started gathering the materials needed
to support the car while much of its structural integrity is being removed. First were the five - five in. heavy structural steel tubes, which we located, thanks to the efforts of Charlie Publicover and Chuck Griffith’s running the Pettibone to bring them from out on the property, back into the Shop.
There you have the summary for much of the work done in 2016. Thank you Thornton Academy Residential Life students for all your help in 2016!Thank you to all the staff and volunteers that participated in 2016 :) And also a big thank you to all the folks and organizations that contributed financially to the project in 2016!!
Click Here: For Project Manager Phil Morse's 2016 Summary of Narcissus Outreach Adventures!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
