"Quite Likely The Most Valuable Stanley In The World" - Right Here in Maine!

Family members seated in W. S. Libbey's 1908

Stanley Motor Coach Company, K 30-hp Semi-Racer.

L-R, daughter, Alla Libbey, Mrs. W. S. "Annie" Libbey, and

son, W. S. "Scott" Libbey, Jr. - W. S. Libbey, Sr.

was most likely the photographer. Circa 1910

Photo courtesy of Mary Libbey Conley

(daughter of W. S. "Scott" Libbey, III) via Paul Libbey

(son of W. S. "Scott" Libbey, Jr.)

W. S. Libbey, the intrepid builder of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, the "Finest and Fastest Electric Railroad in All New England", was a beloved father, a prominent Lewiston financier, and businessman, with a generous heart. He had a zest for life, relentless energy, and indomitable will. So, it was quite fitting, that he should purchase a motor vehicle in 1908 that exemplified many of those endearing characteristics.

Hear More About W. S. Libbey's Stanley K Semi-Racer - July 21, 2017
at the 2017 Teddy Roosevelt Days opening gala - details below

W. Scott Libbey driving his 1908 Stanley Steamer K 30-hp

Semi-Racer. Mr. Libbey would drive his Stanley while inspecting

excavation and construction work as his

Portland-Lewiston Interurban line was being built (1910-1914) This page is

from the large "Interurban" Scrapbook

made to  commemorate the employees of the

Portland-Lewiston Interurban. PWM image

W. S. Libbey depicted in a

caricature from the book,

"Men of the Hour". Notice his Stanley :)

Courtesy of DigitalMaine.com

"Quite Likely The Most Valuable Stanley in the World"

W. S. Libbey's 1908 Stanley stayed in the Libbey family for generations. It is now part of the Richard C. Paine, Jr. Automobile Trust and resides in the collection of the Seal Cove Auto Museum on Mount Desert Island, Maine. 

The Seal Cove Auto Museum's website has this to say about the Stanley:

Provenance: "The Stanley Model K Semi-Racer is one of three remaining of the 25 built by Stanley from 1906-1908. While the other two have been restored, this one is in its original condition. It is thus of exceptional value, quite likely the most valuable Stanley in the world. Plans to preserve this car include full reassembly while preserving what makes it so original."

W. Scott Libbey's 1908 Stanley Steamer K 30-hp Semi-Racer at the

2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. The permanent home

of this very rare car is at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in

Mount Desert Island (MDI) in Maine.

A total of twenty-five of these cars were built in 1906 and 1908 combined.

Image courtesy of Seal Cove Auto Museum

Hear More About W. S. Libbey's Stanley K Semi-Racer - July 21, 2017
And....see Libbey's beloved 1912 "Narcissus" from the Portland-Lewiston Interurban

Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, as he traveled from Lewiston To Portland on the Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The 3rd Annual Teddy Roosevelt Days event will be hosted by the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME on the weekend of July 21-23, 2017. The schedule will kick off with a Friday activity that requires tickets to be purchased in advance for the limited-seating gala opening. The Friday activity will include a reception, trolley rides, a guided tour of the Narcissus, presentations, raffles, a silent auction, and Theodore Roosevelt-related items for sale. All proceeds benefit the restoration of W. S. Libbey's 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban, Narcissus. Saturday and Sunday activities are open to the public with the purchase of general admission tickets to the Museum.

     One of the presenters on the schedule for the Friday gala opening is Mr. Roberto Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez is the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Seal Cove Auto Museum on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Mr. Rodriguez will present a short history of the Stanley Brothers Company and their land record speed holding Stanley from the early 1900s; as well as discuss the very rare W. S. Libbey Stanley Steamer K 30-hp Semi-Racer that is included in the Museum's extensive collection of automobiles.

     Wade Zahares, the Maine artist, will also be a presenter at Friday, July 21st opening gala. Wade will be unveiling his beautiful original artwork depicting the historic Portland-Lewiston Interurban, Narcissus, operating on the rails alongside the indomitable builder of the PLI, W.S. Libbey driving his 1908 K Semi-Racer!

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

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

No. 14 - Seashore Trolley Museum's Laconia Car Company-built Collection

In the hands of the 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

1912 - No. 14, Narcissus - Portland-Lewiston Interurban

Wooden Interurban Coach - Double/Air

Laconia Car Company - Seats: 52   L: 46' 0"   W: 8' 7"   H: 12' 11"  Wt: 68,000
Acquired the car body in October 1969

Theodore Roosevelt was on the No. 2 end of the Narcissus as he addressed the

gathered folks in Gray, Maine on August 18, 1914.

Image courtesy of Gray Historical Society

     Maine's finest and fastest electric railway, the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, commenced regular operation on Thursday, July 2, 1914, its 29.8 miles of main track extending almost due north from a connection with the Cumberland County Power & Light Company-leased Portland Railroad Company in Portland through West Falmouth, West Cumberland, Gray and the town of New Gloucester to Auburn and a connection with the Mechanic Falls line of the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway. The cars operated between Monument Square, Portland, and Union Square, Lewiston, 34.37 miles, and the initial two-hour headway soon was replaced by hourly service which was maintained until the line was abandoned in mid-1933. The connections in Portland and Auburn were known as Deering Junction and Fairview Junction, respectively, and from register stations, at both points, conductors called the dispatcher in Lewiston for orders.

From the Laconia Historical and Museum Society archives,
in Laconia, NH a list shows that in April 1912,
the Laconia Car Company Works received the order (661)
to build four interurbans for the

Portland, Gray, and Lewiston Railroad.
This is the same month that Titanic set sail on its maiden
and final voyage, as well as the month the Red Sox new home,
Fenway Park opened. The
PGLRR became the Portland-Lewiston Interurban in 1914.

     Six passenger cars on hand on an opening day consisted of six 36-foot double-truck coaches "smokers," Nos. 10, 12, 14, & 16 were built by the Laconia Car Company, and Nos. 18 & 20 were built by Wason Company. The car bodies arrived in Portland in January 1913, being placed in storage in a temporary wood frame carhouse until the late spring of 1914 when they were towed to Lewiston to be equipped with trucks, motors, controllers, and air brake systems and otherwise made ready for operation.

Because of interurban promoter W. Scott Libbey's desire that each car has a distinct personality and not be identified just by number, all six were named after flowers. No. 10 was the Arbutus; No. 12, the Gladiolus; No. 14, the Narcissus; No. 16, the Clematis; No. 18, the Azalea; and No. 20, the Magnolia. A seventh coach-smoker, No. 22, was acquired from Wason in 1920 and was named Maine.

     Each of the original cars was 46 feet long overall and 8 ft. 3/4 in. wide and had steam coach roofs and straight vertically sheathed sides. There were seven arched windows - six double sashes and one single sash - on each side, the sashes being arranged to lift. The arches above the sashes and the windows in the roof clerestory were glazed with ornamental leaded glass. The exterior livery was Pullman green with gray roofs, and, dark red doors and trim, and gold leaf numbers and lettering.

Interiors of the Laconia Car-built PLI interurbans

     On Tuesday, August 18, the Narcissus carried what probably was the most distinguished passenger in the Portland-Lewiston Interurban's history. Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, while in Boston, set out on a day trip to northern Maine, campaigning for the Progressive Party. He was invited by the interurban management to inspect the still new railway, riding from Lewiston to Portland with brief stops in New Gloucester and Gray. The former chief executive addressed the gatherings of townspeople at each stop. Upon arrival in the Forest City, "Teddy" voiced his pleasure over the "bully" ride he had enjoyed and given motorman Charles H. Mitchell and conductor Joseph N. L'Heureux, best known as "Joe Happy," each a tip of $10, a not inconsiderable amount in those days.

     The Narcissus still was active when the Portland-Lewiston Interurban was abandoned on June 28, 1933. Three months later, on September 27, the railway properties, including all rolling stock, had been sold to H. E. Salzburg Inc. of New York City, a railroad salvage concern, and dismantling of the property began shortly thereafter. Car bodies were sold to private parties and among them was the Narcissus, which eventually became the summer home of J. Henry Vallee near Sabattus Lake in the present town of Sabattus. Mr. Vallee agreed to part with the Narcissus, if the Museum would have the shell of a replacement cottage constructed; after a major fundraising effort, the deal was consummated. The Narcissus arrived at the Seashore Trolley Museum on October 31, 1969. Currently, the Narcissus is undergoing restoration at the Town House Restoration Shop at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. History by O. R. Cummings, Historian, New England Electric Railway Historical Society


Additional Details on the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and Narcissus - Click the Date to open a link
4.27.2015   - The PLI Bouquet is Ordered - April 1912
8.15.2015   - W. S. Libbey: The Man and His Mill

6.28.2016   - The End of a Classic Interurban - June 28, 1933
7.1.2016     - Sudden Death of Hon. W. Scott Libbey - Lewiston Evening Journal May 18, 1914
7.2.2016     - The Beginning of a Classic Interurban - July 2, 1914

9.30.2016   - Scrapbook Celebrates the People of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban

1.7.2017     - Narcissus Restoration Project Outreach-Research 2016

1.29.2017   - W. S. Libbey-Builder of the PLI: His Stanley Steamer Model K 30-hp Semi-Racer

4.2.2017     - May 1956 - Portland-Lewiston Interurban by O. R. Cummings - PLI History

4.16.2017   - September 1967 - Portland-Lewiston Interurban by O. R. Cummings-PLI History
5.12.2017  - Cell Phone for the Narcissus Arrived Today - 1903 Model ;)

Oscar S Adkins and John I Cluff with No. 14, Narcissus  in Gray @1914

Narcissus and an Augusta & Kennebec Railways in Union Square, Lewiston,

Maine - April 6, 1933. O. R . Cummings Collection 

Click Here: Video clip of the 1930s/40s railway fan trip as it passes "Camp Narcissus" in Sabattus, ME

Narcissus is loaded on the trailer and ready to leave Sabattus and head

to its new home, Seashore Trolley Museum Oct. 1969

Photo courtesy of Daniel Vallee

     The video below has Daniel Vallee describing what it was like growing up while living in the Narcissus. The Narcissus was Vallee's summer camp for 30-+ years (and a year-round home for two years).

     The video below has Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr. discussing what it was like to race the Portland-Lewiston Interurbans in the early 1930s.

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

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

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