Pre-PLI: Trolley Service Between Portland and the Twin Cities of Lewiston and Auburn

A photograph of an unknown motorman of the Lewiston, Augusta &

Waterville Street Railway (LA&W). We would really like to know his name.

The LA&W operated from May 1, 1907, through September 30, 1919.

Please contact me if you have a lead.

Thank you. email: p.morse31@gmail.com

PWM photo 

Donald Curry and I are volunteers at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. We often travel together to conduct presentations/lectures in communities that have some connection to the Portland-Lewiston Interurban line (PLI) in Maine or to the PLI interurban, Narcissus. The Narcissus is currently being restored at Seashore Trolley Museum in the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop. In the spring of 2018, we have PLI presentations scheduled in Lewiston, West Falmouth, and West Cumberland (scroll down this page to see the specific dates, times, etc.) One of the points brought up early in the presentation is how one would travel between the Twin Cities using electric trolleys before the PLI provided service starting in 1914. This blog post will provide some background to that point.

The heart of the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway system

was Hulett Square, at the intersection of Main and Lisbon Streets in

Lewiston. A Waterville-bound car is shown turning into

Lisbon Street (left), while a car from Bath stands in front of the

waiting room. Currently, J. Dostie Jewelers occupy the street-level

space of the building on the left, formally known as the "Journal" building.

PWM postcard

From O. R. Cummings' "Maine's Fastest Electric Railroad" 

     Trolley service between Portland and the Twin Cities of Lewiston and Auburn had its beginnings on August 8, 1902, when the Portland & Brunswick Street Railway, incorporated the previous year, opened its 15.4-mile line from the college town of Brunswick southerly through Freeport and South Freeport to Yarmouth. At Brunswick, the Portland & Brunswick had a physical connection with the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway, constructed in 1898, and at Yarmouth, the Portland & Brunswick tracks dead-ended just a few feet from the rails of the Portland Railroad Company's Yarmouth Division, was built in 1898 as the Portland & Yarmouth Electric Railway.

                                                 Cover photo of O. R. Cummings' 1966 publication

     The roundabout route between the Forest City (Portland) and Lewiston created by the opening of the Portland & Brunswick was 42 miles long, with a running time of more than three hours, and with two changes of cars - at Yarmouth and at Brunswick - initially being necessary. The service was frequent, however, and the combined fares of the three railways involved in the Portland-Lewiston trip were only 65 cents. (There would be a time between 1906 and 1919 that there was a joint operation between railways that eliminated one change of cars at Yarmouth).

     Of course, there were steam railroad lines between Portland and Lewiston - the Maine Central Railroad and the Grand Trunk Railway - but there were few trains on either line on weekdays and even poorer service on Sundays. 

     The Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway, which also owned the local lines in Lewiston and Auburn, was absorbed by the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Steet Railway in 1907, and in 1913, the former Portland & Brunswick, which had been reorganized as the Brunswick & Yarmouth Street Railway in 1911, was merged into the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville system. (The Portland-Lewiston Interurban opened on July 2, 1914) The Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville went into receivership in December 1918 and was reorganized on October 1 of the following year (1919) as the Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway. 

     "Electric Railway King of Maine"

     Amos F. Gerald, "The Electric Railway King of Maine", seemed to have his hand in nearly every electric railway charter during the hay-day of electric railway development in the Pine Tree State.

Gerald created both the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway and the Portland & Brunswick Street Railway. 

Photo from O. R Cummings 1966 publication,

"Trolleys to Brunswick, Maine"

Cummings was a prolific writer of books about electric railway

systems throughout New England.

Bath carhouse of the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath and the parlor car,

"Merrymeeting" in 1899. This building was razed in 1911 and a smaller

barn was constructed from the materials. O. R. Cummings collection.

The "Merrymeeting" at the Tacoma Inn near Lewiston

The "Merrymeeting" was a double-truck (two sets of wheels & motors)

parlor car built by the Briggs Carriage Company of Amesbury, MA, for

the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway, cost $7,000.

Photo courtesy of Seashore Trolley Museum's Library. Text from

O. R. Cummings 1959 publication, "Trolley Parlor Cars of New England"

The "Merrymeeting" parlor car was delivered in May of 1899. It could be

chartered for $10 a day and was taken over by the Lewiston, Augusta &

Waterville Street Railway in 1907. It remained in service as late as 1917.

It was stored until 1920 when its trucks were removed for use on a

freight car and the body was scrapped :(

Photo courtesy of Seashore Trolley Museum's Library. Text from

O. R. Cummings 1959 publication, "Trolley Parlor Cars of New England"

Pleasure Resorts

In O. R. Cummings' 1966 publication, "Trolleys to Brunswick, Maine"

     No self-respecting street railway company considered itself complete without a pleasure resort during the golden years of the trolley era, and both the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath, and the Portland & Brunswick maintained such facilities to help generate summer excursion traffic.

Click here for more on Trolley Parks in the heart of Maine by Seashore Trolley Museum.

Merrymeeting Park

Merrymeeting Park was opened to the public in the summer of 1899,

the attractions included this $30,000 casino. Casinos of the day were

not gambling establishments. The three-story casino had broad verandas,

a very large dining room, a dance hall, a parlor, and smoking rooms.

PWM postcard

Twenty-six miles from Lewiston. Notice the castle-like stone attachment to

the veranda. Amos F. Gerald, the builder of the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath

line, loved castles and frequently incorporated a castle into the

trolley parks he was associated with. PWM postcard

     Merrymeeting Park was located one and a half miles from Brunswick on a 147-acre tract along the Androscoggin River. On approach to the casino, the visitors passed through the zoological department where numerous houses, cages, and pens for the fine collection of animals that formed the principal attractions. The collection included a herd of buffaloes, bears, moose, elk, deer, and foxes. Vast lawns, ponds, and groves of trees made for a relaxing atmosphere. Frequently, the attendance in the early years at the park was from 2,000 to 4,000 people on a given day. The park's popularity did decline fairly quickly though and was closed after the 1906 season.

PWM postcard

The amphitheater had seats for up to three thousand patrons and programs

that included band concerts, vaudeville, magic shows, minstrels, comedies,

and dramas.  PWM postcard

 Lake Grove Park

Lake Grove Park was located three miles from Lewiston at Auburn Lake. The attractions included a small rustic theater, with an open stage. The setting was well shaded, and scattered among the trees were several animals including bears, moose, and elk. On the lake, a large number of boats were kept, which were hired for boating and fishing. parties. Lake Grove was Maine's first park developed by a railway - opened in 1883 by the Lewiston and Auburn Horse Railway. It closed in 1928.

PWM postcard

PWM postcard

PWM postcard

Tacoma Inn

    The Tacoma Inn, near the intersection of Sand & Woodbury Ponds, was a favorite spot for factory and commercial outings. Only 14 miles from the Lewiston waiting station, there were many charter trips from Lewiston and Auburn to the Inn. An annual excursion was that of the Healy Asylum, a boys' orphanage in Lewiston. This yearly event was financed by a bequest in the will of W. Scott Libbey, builder of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, Bates College, and probably Colby College classes and groups held outings and reunions at the inn.

A feature attraction at the Tacoma Inn was the "High Diving White Horses."

The handsome white horses, "King" and "Queen" would jump into Sand Pond

from a high platform (info provided by Historical Society of Litchfield, ME)

PWM postcard

New Meadows Inn

     Another attraction on the Lewiston-Bath line was the privately-owned New Meadows Inn, on the bank of the New Meadows River in Bath. The inn was world-renowned for the quality and abundance of its shore dinners. Because of heavy traffic to and from the famous eating place, the railway provided a passenger platform, a small waiting station, and a siding near the inn.

Trolley stop at the New Meadows Inn platform. The Inn was between the

Merrymeeting stop (3 miles) and the Bath carhouse (2.5 miles).

O. R. Cummings collection at STM

A trolley on the Portland line to Yarmouth, Maine, where riders could then

board a trolley to Brunswick, change to a third trolley, and then be

on the way to Lewiston. PWM postcard

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

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