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
- 3.15.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - York Utilities Company 1923-1949
- 3.14.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Atlantic Shore Railway 1911-1923
- 3.11.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Portsmouth, Dover & York St Rwy 1903-1906
- 3.9.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Auburn, Mechanic Falls & NorwayStRwy1902-3
- 3.7.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Portland & Brunswick Electric Railway 1902-1911
- 3.7.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway Co. 1919-1941
- 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
- 3.1.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Bangor Street Railway 1889-1905
- 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, on the hour and 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 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, An 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 were 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 balancing 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 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 which 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 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.
We are still in need of funds for creating the interpretation programs that will tell this fascinating 100+-year-old story of the Narcissus. For information on donation options, scroll down this post and find the one that best fits your position. Fund 816 to help with the restoration and Fund 817 (PLI Education-Interpretation programs ) should be noted when making a donation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click Here for the post that has the short virtual 3-D video of the digital model of the Narcissus, with components added to the file from earlier this year (the gold leaf file had not been added yet).
Restoration work continues on the Narcissus. The Narcissus is more than 110 years old now and has so many incredible stories to share. The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one of those incredible stories.
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.
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
Seashore Trolley Museum Promo Video
The paperback edition of Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride can be purchased online through the Seashore Trolley Museum's store website. Books purchased through the Museum's website directly benefit the Museum and the Narcissus project.
Click Here to go to the Museum Store web page to order online
Click Here to go to the Amazon page to order the ebook or audiobook online
Paperback books are available at these local bookstores in Maine:
Center for Maine Crafts, West Gardiner Service Plaza
The Book Review, Falmouth
The Bookworm, Gorham
Letterpress Books, Portland
Maine Historical Society Store, Portland
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, Portland
Morph Gallery & Emporium, Kennebunk
New Gloucester Historical Society, New Gloucester
Nonesuch Books and More, South Portland
Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport
Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops, All Locations
Thompson's Orchard, New Gloucester
Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride
by Jean M. Flahive
Illustrations by Amy J. Gagnon
Listen to a 2-minute, 30-second, Retail Audio Sample of the Audiobook
Millie Thayer is a headstrong farmer's daughter who chases her dreams in a way you would expect a little girl nicknamed "Spitfire" would-running full tilt and with her eyes on the stars. Dreaming of leaving the farm life, working in the city, and fighting for women's right to vote, Millie imagines flying away on a magic carpet. One day, that flying carpet shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm. A fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, she finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. Despairing that her dreams may be shattered, Millie learns, in an unexpected way, that dreams can be shared.
A resource for teachers
Companion curriculum State-standard-based units,
vocabulary, and reading activities for use in grades 3-8
are available online as downloadable resources through
Seashore Trolley Museum's website
www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/
Maine Historical Society has created eight companion lesson units in Social Studies and ELA that were inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride - These State-standard-based lesson plans for use in grades 6, 7, and 8 are easily adapted for use in grades 3-5. Vocabulary and Reading activities for grades 3-8 along with the eight lesson plan units are available free and may be downloaded through Seashore Trolley Museum's website www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/
Go to the Teacher Resource Page in the pull-down for more details.
A 60-second intro to Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride by author, Jean Flahive
Click Here to watch the video on YouTube
Award-winning author, Jean M. Flahive
Please Consider a Donation to the Narcissus Project to help us tell the incredible story of the Narcissus through the interpretation portion of the Narcissus Project.
Here is an example of how donations to the Narcissus Project now will help with the interpretation portion of the project. The interpretation programming will include exhibits, displays, and education programming. In 2019, through generous donations to the Narcissus Project, we were able to conserve, replicate, and have high resolutions digital image files made of the original, 1910, 28.5-foot long, surveyor map of the elevation and grade of the 30-mile private right-of-way of the Portland, Gray, and Lewiston Railroad (Portland-Lewiston Interurban) Click Here
Thank You!
the crowd gathered in Gray, Maine on August 18, 1914.
Image courtesy of Gray Historical Society
The Narcissus as the Sabattus Lake Diner in Sabattus, Maine,
circa 1940. Photo by John Coughlin in the Kevin Farrell
Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
L. Henri Vallee (right) and family members in the
Narcissus, when it was Vallee's summer camp in
Sabattus, Maine circa 1958. Photo courtesy Daniel Vallee
Inside the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop, the Narcissus is in the midst of major work as we strive to complete its restoration. We are now planning the interpretation portion of the Narcissus Project. Donations to the Narcissus Project may be used in the future to help tell the incredible 100-plus-year-old story of the Narcissus. Your donation to the Narcissus is helping to make the dream of the project's success, a reality.
See below for Donation options -
It starts with YOU
Your Donation Matters
Make a Donation TODAY
Please Help the Narcissus.
Donation Options to Help the Narcissus Project:
The New England Electric Railway Historical Society
is the 501c3 organization that owns and operates the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME, and the National Streetcar
Museum in Lowell (MA).
The New England Electric Railway Historical Society registered with the IRS (EIN# 01-0244457) and was incorporated in Maine in 1941.
Check or Money Order ***** should be made payable to:
New England Electric Railway Historical Society
In the memo: for a donation to the Interpretation programming
please write: PLI Education Fund 817
For a donation to help with the restoration write: Narcissus Fund 816
Mail to: Seashore Trolley Museum
P. O. Box A
Kennebunkport, ME 04046
Credit Card ***** donations can be one-time donations or you
may choose to have a specific amount charged to your card
automatically on a monthly basis. Please contact the Museum bookkeeper, via email at finance@trolleymuseum.org or by phone, at 207-967-2800 ext. 3.
Online Donations - may be made by using a Credit Card:
Click Here to make an online donation through the Museum's website - When at the Donation page: Fill in donor info, etc., when at "To which fund are you donating? Scroll down to "Other" and type in: 816 Narcissus, then continue filling in the required information.
Click Here for PayPal - to make an online donation: you can use email: finance@trolleymuseum.org and in the message box write:
For "Narcissus Fund 816" - if supporting the restoration
For "PLI Education Fund 817" - if supporting Interpretation programs
Donation of Securities ***** We also accept donations of
securities. You can contact the Museum bookkeeper, via email at finance@trolleymuseum.org or by phone, at 207-967-2800 ext. 3,
for brokerage account information for accepting donated securities.
BONUS ***** If you work for a company/corporation that will
"match" an employee's donation to an approved 501c3 non-profit
educational organization, please be sure to complete the necessary paperwork with your employer so that your donation is matched :)
Questions? ***** Please contact Narcissus project sponsor:
Phil Morse, narcissus@gmail.org or call 207-985-9723 - cell.
Thank You :)
Thank You for our Current Funding Partners
* 20th Century Electric Railway Foundation - 2020/2018 - Major Gift, 2017/2014 Matching Grants
* Renaissance Charitable Foundation (LPCT) by Fiduciary Trust Charitable Giving Fund
* Renaissance Charitable Foundation (LPCT) by Fiduciary Trust Charitable Giving Fund
* Mass Bay RRE - 2018 Railroad Preservation Grant
* Thornton Academy (Saco, ME) - Staff & Alumni - Matching Grant Challenge 2014
* New England Electric Railway Historical Society (Kennebunkport, ME) - Member Donations
* Amherst Railway Society - 2015 Heritage Grant
* National Railway Historical Society - 2016 & 2015 Heritage Preservation Grants
* Enterprise Holding Foundation - 2015 Community Grant
* Theodore Roosevelt Association - Member Donations
* John Libby Family Association and Member Donations
* The Conley Family - In Memory of Scott Libbey 2018/2017/2016/2015
* The W. S. Libbey Family - Awalt, Conley, Graf, Holman, Libbey, McAvoy, McLaughlin, Meldrum, O'Halloran, Salto, - 2018/2017
* The Hughes Family 2017/2016/2010
* New Gloucester Historical Society and Member Donations
* Gray Historical Society and Member Donations
* Gray Public Library Association - Pat Barter Speaker Series
* Scarborough Historical Society - PRR/PLI
* LogMein - Matching Employee Donation
* IBM - Matching Employee/Retiree Donations
* Fidelity Charitable Grant - Matching Employee Donations
* Richard E. Erwin Grant - 2017/2016
The Narcissus, with interior back-lit, stained glass windows is majestic.
Make a donation today to help restore the interior of this Maine gem.
Help Theodore Roosevelt's Maine Ride get back on track! Once restored,
you will be able to ride in luxury on this National Register Treasure at
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
PWM photo
Please Consider Making a Donation to the project of the National Register of Historic Places member, Narcissus. We are currently raising funds to advance the restoration and to tell the incredible story of this Maine gem.
Various News stories during the summer of 2015 about the
Narcissus and its connection to Theodore Roosevelt. TR
was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914.
Patricia Pierce Erikson photo
The Narcissus - July 31, 2015. Make a donation today.
Help Theodore Roosevelt's Maine Ride get back on track!
Once restored, you will be able to ride in luxury on this
National Historic Treasure at
