In 1907, this, single-truck, combination
baggage-passenger car (originally No. 12) was acquired from
the Rockland, Thomaston, & Camden Street Railway,
by the Norway and Paris Street Railway and became No. 7.
Photo from O.R. Cummings 1955 publication,
Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
Here is the newest release in the Maine Bicentennial series of electric railways in Maine. This blog post features the summary of the Norway and Paris Street Railway as written by O. R. Cummings in his 1955 book, Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State.
Additional photos will be credited accordingly. This material is taken from a copy of the Toonervilles of Maine book acquired by this blogger.
To see the online version of the 1955 book, Toonevilles of Maine at Bangor Public Library here
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- 3.9.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Auburn, Mechanic Falls & NorwayStRwy1902-3
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- 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
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- 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
Seashore Trolley Museum, the Museum of Mass Transit in Kennebunkport, Maine, is celebrating its 80th Birthday year in 2019! Many events are scheduled and many more will be scheduled before the opening of public operations on May 4, 2019.
Maine's Shortest Trolley line was the Norway and Paris Street Railway
which, from 1895 to 1918, connected South Paris, the seat of Oxford County, with the neighboring town of Norway, a little more than two miles away.
Chartered on November 14, 1894, under the provisions of Chapter 268 of the Public Laws of 1893, the Norway and Paris had been organized on April 25th of that year by George L. Beal and Freeland Howe, both of Norway; George E. Macomber, J. Manchester Haynes, John F. Hill, and Orville Baker, all of Augusta, and Herbert L. Shepherd of Rockport.
At the same time, Mssrs. Macomber, Haynes, and Shepherd were directors of the Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden Street Railway, and Macomber, Haynes, and Hill were on the directorate of the Augusta, Hallowell, and Gardiner Railroad, later absorbed into the extensive Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville system.
The new company was capitalized at $10,000 (later increased to $25,000) and its first officials included Freeland Howe, president; H. L. Shepherd, treasurer, and John F. Hill, clerk of the corporation. Directors included the three officers and the other incorporators of the road.
The proposed route of the Norway and Paris, approved by the Railroad commissioners on January 1, 1895, began at Pleasant and Main Streets in Norway, continued through Main Street, to Paris Street, and ran along Paris Street, first on the left and then on the right side of the road, to south Paris Square, terminating opposite the old Andrews Hotel. There were to be two grade crossings of the Grand Trunk Railway; one across the Norway branch on Paris Street, near the Norway-Paris town line, and the second across the Grand Trunk's mainline, near the South Paris depot.
Norway & Paris Street Railway map - 2.1 miles of total trackage
Map created by Charles D. Heseltine - from
the NEERHS 2015 book, "The Illustrated Atlas of
Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946."
Construction began in the late spring of 1895, the work being done by a contractor. Forty-five-pound T-rail was used in building the 2.13-mile line and the overhead was of both side bracket and span wire suspension, there being 1.07-mile of the former and 1.06-mile of the latter. A turnout was provided near the Agricultural building at the Oxford County Fairgrounds in South Paris.
A two-track brick carhouse, with a wooden office building adjoining, was erected on Paris Street, Norway, and four single-truck passenger cars - two open and two closed - were purchased. Arrangements were made to purchase power from the Norway Electric Light Company which operated the combination steam and hydroelectric plant.
Norway and Paris Street Railway carhouse in Norway.
Photo from O.R. Cummings 1955 publication,
Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
Operation
With construction nearly completed in late June, the management made plans to commence operations as soon as possible, and on June 28, the Railroad Commissioners issued a certificate of safety for the trackage from Norway Village to the South Paris depot. Regular service began July 1, with M. W. Sampson of Norway and Frank A. Taylor of South Paris, conductors, and John D. Cole of Norway and C. F. Penley of South Paris, motormen, as the first crews. F. B. Lee was the general manager and superintendent of the railway.
The certificate of safety for the balance of the line - from South Paris depot to South Paris Square - was received on August 2nd and operations between Norway Village and South Paris Square began the following day.
Under the schedule set up by the company, cars left the head of Maine Street, Norway, the hour and a half hour, and hour. A five-cent fare was charged and the running time was about 15 minutes.
One car was enough to maintain base service on the line, with two or three cars being placed in operation during Oxford County Fair week in the fall. The U. S. Mail was carried from the South Paris depot to the Norway post office and, in addition, the N&P carried on a small package and express business. In later years, a second turnout was built near the South Paris depot.
Several attractions were offered by the railway to include patronage of the trolleys. On a warm evening in June 1896, a small orchestra rode aboard one of the cars, and in 1897, the company purchased a pine grove about midway between the two towns and created "Electra Park", later renamed "Central Park". This area contained an outdoor theatre with seats for several hundred people, a croquet lot, an electric fountain with colored lights, and refreshment stands. In later years, motion picture shows were presented at the theatre.
A sign advertising Electra Park is carried on the roof of
one of the 10-bench opens of Norway and Paris St. Rwy
in South Paris. Photo from O.R. Cummings 1955 publication,
Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
Rolling Stock
The original passenger equipment of the Norway and Paris Street Railway consisted of two 10-bench open and two 20-foot closed single-truck cars, believed to have been built by the Briggs Carriage Company of Amesbury, MA. The closed cars were numbered 3 and 4 and the open cars, 5 and 6.
No. 3 of the Norway and Paris at the carhouse in Norway.
Photo from Charles C. Holt in O.R. Cummings
1955 publication, Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
There were only four motors and they were placed under the open cars in summer and under the closed cars during other seasons of the year. The trucks, of Bemis manufacture, may also have been exchanged between the two types of cars.
Pictorial evidence indicates that No. 3 may have been a former horsecar rebuilt for electric service as its roof type was characteristic of horsecar construction.
Closed cars were painted Pullman green and the open cars were yellow in color.
No. 6 open car of the Norway and Paris Street Railway near
the carhouse in Norway.
Photo from O.R. Cummings 1955 publication,
Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
A third closed car was purchased in 1900. This was No. 2 and was of the 20-foot box type, with a steam coach roof and equipped with a Peckham truck. It was on the property only a few months, subsequently being sold to the Augusta, Hallowell, and Gardiner Railroad.
In 1907, a single-truck passenger-baggage combination car, No. 7, built by Briggs, was acquired from the Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden Street Railway. Later, one of the original closed cars was retired and a second No. 2 - this a single-truck closed car with home-built vestibules - was purchased from an unknown source.
The original No. 2 of the Norway and Paris at the Norway
carhouse. Photo from Charles C. Holt in O.R. Cummings
1955 publication, Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
For snow fighting in winter, there was a four-wheel, homemade contraption with a nose plow mounted on one end. This rig, properly weighted down, was pushed by one or both of the closed cars when necessary to clear the line and old-timers relate that it frequently derailed. Also, there was no place to turn it around.
The home-built snowplow of the Norway and Paris Street
Railway at the Norway carhouse.
Photo from Ernest R. Rowe in O.R. Cummings
1955 publication, Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
Power
The equipment at the power station of the Norway Electric Light Company, later the Oxford Light Company, consisted of one 75Kw. Thompson-Houston 600-volts d.c. generator belted to a jackshaft driven by either a water wheel or steam engine, A 1,100-volt, 60-cycle, alternator, was belted to the same jackshaft that drove the railway generator. A second alternator was driven by a Corliss steam engine.
In addition to the Norway plant, there was a small hydroelectric station, owned by the Maine Power Company, in South Paris. This station was equipped with a 75Kw. 600-volt d.c. generator and a small alternator, both driven by a water wheel through a single jackshaft.
The alternators at the Norway and South Paris plants were used to provide electricity for house lighting in the two towns.
One of the 10-bench Briggs opens near the end of the line
in Norway Villiage.
Photo from Ernest R. Rowe in O.R. Cummings
1955 publication, Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State
Financial and Corporate
During its first year of operation, Norway and Paris carried 177,102 passengers who paid fares totaling $8,103.93. Operating expenses were $4,445.51, leaving a net operating income of $3,658.42. Miscellaneous revenues were $202.71, producing a gross income above operating expenses of $3,861.13. From this was deducted an advance of $2,136.77 to the building contractor and a five percent dividend on the common stock, leaving a surplus of $474.36.
Operations in 1897 and early 1898 were also profitable but for the year ended June 30, 1899, there was a deficit of $943.21. From then on, the railway followed a pattern of having a deficit one year and a profit the next - neither very large, and, about balanced each other out, as time passed.
F. B. Lee was succeeded by W. J. Jones of Norway as general manager and superintendent in 1900 and in 1903, Mr. Jones was replaced by H. B. Young. Mr. Young remained with the railway until its abandonment.
The Norway Electric Light Company, owned by the same parties as Norway and Paris, changed its name to the Oxford Light Company on February 3, 1897, and on December 27, 1904, the lighting company was merged with the street railway. The latter increased its capitalization by $50,000 and floated a second mortgage of $20,000, due in 1925. In addition, it assumed the $80,000 funded debt of the Oxford Light Company.
Freeland Howe, president and one of the founders of Norway and Paris, died in 1912 and was succeeded in the presidency by the late Guy P. Gannett, owner of a chain of newspapers in the Pine Tree State. During the following year, the railway came under the control of the Central Maine Power Company, and Maynard S. Bird, of Rockland, was named the president. William T. Cobb, also of Rockland, became president in 1915.
Norway and Paris absorbed the Maine Power Company on May 29, 1914, and 18 months later, on January 6, 1916, the name of the Norway and Paris Street Railway was changed to the Oxford Electric Company.
The new management immediately undertook the task of rehabilitating the railway to bring it up to the standards of the other traction properties of the Central Maine Power Company. In 1915, nine hundred feet of the original 45-pound rail were replaced with 70-pound steel, and 600 new wood ties were installed. A 15-foot by 60-foot addition to the carhouse, for the storage of electrical supplies, was constructed. In 1916, 2,482 feet of track were relaid with the 70-pound rail, and 986 new wood ties were installed. Additional improvements were carried out in 1917 - and plans were made to acquire new rolling stock for the line. Unfortunately, this never came to pass.
Abandonment
The rise in prices that accompanied World War I had an effect on Norway and Paris. Operating expenses increased rapidly without a corresponding boost in revenues. But the railway might have kept on had it not been for the winter of 1917-18 when trolley service was suspended for several months because of deep snow blocking the tracks. Operations resumed in the spring but the cars ran only a short time thereafter, abandonment taking place on October 5, 1918. The decision to discontinue railway service was apparently made to avoid losses that would have to be charged against the profitable electricity business.
Attempts were made to induce the Oxford Electric Company to resume trolley operations in the spring of 1919 but Central Maine Power vetoed the idea. During the summer, the rails were torn up, the overhead was removed and the cars were junked. So far as Norway and Paris were concerned, the electric railway was a thing of the past.
A 2007 publication by O. R. Cummings and Peter C. Hammond; Norway & Paris Street Railway - The Shortest Streetcar Line in The State of Maine 1895-1918 is a very comprehensive history of the line containing dozens and dozens of photos, copies of advertising, and statistics for all the years in service.
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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.
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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.
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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
