1902 fourteen-bench open car No. 1 (Built by Stephenson) of
the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway is at the
Central Maine Fairgrounds in Waterville circa 1902.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_044
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Here is the newest release in the Maine Bicentennial series of electric railways in Maine. This blog post features the summary of the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland 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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Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - The Norway and Paris Street Railway 1894-1918
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Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - The Somerset Traction Company 1895-192
Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - The Fairfield and Shawmut Railway 1903-1927
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Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Bangor Railway & Electric Company 1905-1925
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Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Penobscot Central Railway 1898-1906
Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Bangor Hydro-Electric Company 1925-1945
Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath St Rwy 1898-1907
Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville St Rwy 1907-19
Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway 1919-1941
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Click Here for the post: Maine Bicentennial series - Atlantic Shore Line Railway 1900-1910
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Seashore Trolley Museum, - Museum of Mass Transit, is celebrating its 80th Birthday year in 2019!
Special Events are scheduled - Public operations start on May 4, 2019.
Click Here for the 2019 Events & Special Activities for the 80th Anniversary Season, with hot links
The Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway
Connecting the city of Waterville, Maine with the neighboring towns of Oakland and Fairfield, the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway came into being on November 28, 1911, by a change of name from the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway and on the following day, absorbed the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company to create a 10-mile system that remained in operation until 1937.
Of the two consolidating companies, the Waterville and Fairfield Railway was the older, having come into being as the Waterville and Fairfield Railroad, a horsecar line, in 1888. It was reorganized in 1891, electrified in 1892, and again reorganized in 1897. Waterville and Oakland, on the other hand, was incorporated in 1901 and began operating a year later.
The Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway was owned and operated by the Central Maine Power Company and was the first street railway property acquired by the CMP system.
At Waterville, the WF&O connected with the Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville Street Railway and provided terminal trackage in that city for the latter. At Fairfield, connections were made with the Fairfield and Shawmut and the Benton and Fairfield Railways, two tiny lines that extended to the north and east of Fairfield.
It is perhaps a misnomer to describe the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland as a "Toonerville" for it was a modern, up-to-date system in every respect - although only a little over 10 miles long. Its history is included in this collection because it did not merit publication separately.
Appropriately, the history of Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland is followed by the histories of Benton and Fairfield and Fairfield and Shawmut. The three roads comprised the so-called Waterville Group - and they marked the end of the continuous electric railway route from New York City to the heart of Central Maine.
The Waterville and Fairfield Railroad
Street railway service in the thriving Kennebec Valley city of Waterville, Maine had its inception on February 24, 1887, when the Waterville and Fairfield Railroad Company was incorporated under Chapter 47 of the Private and Special Laws of Maine and was authorized to build a horse railroad from Waterville to the nearby town of Fairfield, a distance of slightly more than three and one-quarter miles away.
At the time, Fairfield was the base of extensive lumbering operations in the Somerset County area while Waterville, the seat of Colby College, was a busy manufacturing center. With the heavy travel between the two communities, there was every indication that a horsecar line would be both successful and profitable.
Promotors of the enterprise included Amos F. Gerald, Stephen A. Nye of Fairfield, E. F. Webb, Stephen I. Abbott, and E. L. Jones, all of Waterville. The formal organization of the company, capitalization at $20,000, came on November 21, 1887, and construction began the following spring.
The line commenced on Main Street, Waterville, in the heart of the business district, and continued through College Avenue, and along the present Route 201, roughly paralleling the Maine Central Railroad, to Fairfield Village. There were three grade crossings with the steam railroad, two on College Avenue, Waterville, and one on Main Street, Fairfield. Thirty-five-pound rail was used in building the route.
Two eight-bench open and two four-wheel closed cars were purchased and the carbarn and stables were erected on Maine Street, Fairfield, near the Maine Central crossing. The motive power
consisted of six horses.
The total cost of the road was $40,000, of which, $20,000 was provided through the sale of capital stock. In 1899, the company issued $20,000 in 20-year, six-percent, mortgage bonds to finance the balance of the construction and equipment costs.
With appropriate fanfare, the operation of the 3.36-mile route commenced on June 23, 1888, Theodore F. Stephens, was the driver of the first car. A half-hourly schedule was placed in effect and the fare was set at five cents.
Riding was heavy during the summer and fall months but when winter came, operations were hampered by the heavy snow which blocked the tracks for long periods. It was necessary to purchase two sleigh barges to continue service and when spring came, the W&F was forced to spend large sums for the repair of its light track.
Passenger equipment had been increased to five cars (three open cars and two closed cars) and two sleigh barges by 1891 and on March 4 of that year, the Waterville and Fairfield were authorized to extend its line from Waterville, through Winslow, and Vassalboro to the village of North Vassalboro and to operate the railway by electric power. The extension to North Vassalboro was never built but the electrification did take place the following year.
As of June 30, 1891, officials of the W&F included George W. Williams of Salem, Massachusetts, president and chairman of the board of directors; E. F. Webb secretary; D. J. Lord of Lynn, Massachusetts, treasurer; H. D. Bates, assistant treasurer, and Co.O. Sturtevant, general manager.
The Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company
During the early part of 1891, Amos F. Gerald, a man who later became one of Maine's outstanding electric railway promoters, and several of his fellow directors on the W&F, organized the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company to take over the properties of the Waterville and Fairfield Railroad, the Waterville Electric Light, and the Fairfield Electric Light Company. The corporation was chartered on February 12, 1891, and the consolidation took place on June 13.
Associated with Mr. Gerald in the W&FR&L were Stephen A. Nye, who had owned the two power companies absorbed by Waterville and Fairfield, and attorney Herbert M. Heath of Augusta (ME).
Electrification of the railway began early in 1892 and on July 20 of that year, the first trolley passed over the line. On October 4, a one-mile extension was opened in Waterville - from Main Street through Water Street to Waterville Lower Plains.
The railway drew its power from the hydroelectric plants of the former Waterville Electric Light and Power and the Fairfield Electric Light Companies., both of which were equipped with Westinghouse direct-current generators - or dynamos, as they were called in those days.
As of 1893, the equipment consisted of three motor cars, five trailers, and two barges. Another car was added in 1894 and by 1896, the equipment was as follows:
* Boxcars equipped for electric power - 3
* Open cars equipped to operate with electric power - 4
* Open trailers - 4
Total passenger cars - 11
* Work cars - 1
* Snow Plows - 1
* Barges - 2
* Carts and Snow sleds - 1
The road was 4.36 miles in length, plus .073 miles of siding and turnouts, for a total of 4.43 miles of track.
The Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company was capitalized at a total of $400,000 - $200,00 in capital stock and $200,000 in six-percent mortgage bonds, of which $36,000 in bonds applied to the railway property.
Operations of the railway and power system were not particularly profitable. Although a small surplus was realized in some years, sizable deficits were incurred in others. In 1897, the company was reorganized, with the $200,000 in six-percent bonds being replaced by an issue of $240,000 in five-percent securities.
At the same time, the entire property was rehabilitated. New ties were laid the entire length of the road, another car was purchased and an auxiliary steam plant was constructed in Waterville. The hydroelectric plant in Fairfield was enlarged when a new waterwheel was installed.
On August 4, 1898, the Waterville Lower Plains line was extended from Water Street through Grove Street to Pine Grove Cemetery, a distance of .39 miles. The track of Grove Street was further extended in 1906, increasing the length of the mainline to 4.9 miles and the total trackage of the railway to five miles.
Rolling stock as of 1902 included four closed and five open cars and one snowplow, the majority of the passenger equipment coming from the Briggs Carriage Company of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Power facilities of the road, according to the U. S. Street and Railway Census of 1902, included one 400 h.p. steam engine, seven water wheels of 1,250 h.p. total, four direct-current generators of 513 h.p. total, four alternating current generators of 833 h.p. total, and one 100 h.p. rotary converter.
The original one-track carhouse at Fairfield proved inadequate after electrification of the road, and a second wooden carhouse was built on adjoining land.
One of the five opens was discarded in 1906 and in 1907, the rolling stock consisted of four open and four closed cars, one work car, and one snowplow. Two open and two closed cars were added in 1908, coming from the Boston Elevated Railway, and were of the 20-foot, Jones type, with the unique West End vestibule.
By 1907, two more direct current generators had been added to the power facilities of the road and six generators in service had a total output of 730 KW.
Track construction was of 35 and 90-pound girder and T-rail and on the overhead, 1.9 miles had span wire and three miles had side bracket suspension.
The final extension of the W&F took place in 1910 when 700 feet of track was added to the Waterville Lower Plains line - along Silver Street from Grove Street to the point opposite Silver Court. This increased the length of the mainline to five miles and there was .10 mile of siding and turnouts.
Connecting Lines
The Benton and Fairfield Railway completed its line from Fairfield Village to Benton and Benton Falls in 1901, various portions of the route having been opened in previous years, and on October 8, 1907, the Fairfield and Shawmut Railway began operation over its 3.10-mile line from Fairfield to the village of Shawmut. Both roads connected with Waterville and Fairfield at Fairfield Village and both companies purchased power from the W&F.
Following the construction of a concrete arch bridge over the Kennebec River between Winslow and Waterville, the Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville Street Railway entered the latter city on December 15, 1909. The LA&W connected with the Waterville and Fairfield at Bridge and South Main Streets and LA&W cars were given trackage rights over the W&F to the waiting room on Main Street. A wye was built on Common Street to provide turning facilities for the single-end cars operated by the LA&W.
It is interesting to note that when the Waterville-Winslow highway bridge was washed out during the spring floods in 1936, the old trolley span provided the only connection between the two communities until a new bridge was constructed.
The Waterville and Oakland Railway
With Waterville and Fairfield in successful operation, Mssrs. Gerald and Nye withdrew from the company and during the early part of 1902, joined with Edward J. Lawernce and Albert B. Page of Fairfield, and Cyrus W. Davis of Waterville, to form the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway. The articles of association of the new corporation were approved by the Railroad Commissioners on June 4 and on July 26, the railway sought approval for its proposed location.
The projected route of the W&O commenced on Elm Street, Waterville, and continued through Western and Chase Avenues to a private right-of-way that extended for some three miles to the outskirts of Oakland. Here the road entered Main Street, which it followed to the end of the line at Lake Messalonskee, otherwise known as Snow Pond.
Strong opposition to the building of the street railway was offered by the Maine Central Railroad which operated between Waterville and Oakland. The Railroad Commissioners ruled, however, that public convenience required the construction of the Waterville and Oakland, and the necessary authorization was given on September 2.
Work on building the road began in April 1903, with all 60-pound T-rails being used over the entire route. Four double-truck Duplex convertible cars and two 14-bench double-truck Stephenson-built opens were acquired, the latter coming from the Gerald-controlled Portland and Brunswick Street Railway, and operation commenced July 2.
The line was 5.4 miles in length, with .35 miles of sidings and turnouts for a total of 5.75 miles of track. Three miles of the route were on private right-of-way. There were two bridges on the line, the longest of which crossed the Messalonskee Stream in Oakland. This bridge was a steel trestle, with a central truss span of 81 feet in length.
Both span-wire and side-bracket suspension were used on the overhead, there were .25 miles of the former and 5.50 miles of the latter. The power plant was 150 kW. generator in the Shoddy Mill at Emerson-Stevens Dam in Oakland and was driven by three water wheels of 150 h.p. total. There was also a 220-cell storage battery near the State Fairgrounds in Waterville and additional power when needed, was purchased from the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company.
A three-track carhouse was located at the end of the line in Oakland, on the shore of Lake Messalonskee. This building was 128 feet long and had two stories, the second floor containing a fine hall and dining rooms. A restaurant and boathouse occupied the basement.
This second-floor hall was the scene of thrice-weekly dances for many years and, for a time, the company operated a steamer on Lake Messalonskee and provided for excursions from Waterville to the lake and thence to islands where lunches were served and special events were held every weekend.
As an additional attraction, the company created Cascade Park at a picturesque pine grove in Oakland, near the Waterville-Oakland city line, and erected the first outdoor theatre in the area.
The best of entertainment was offered during the late spring, summer, and early fall months, and on Sundays when theatrical performances were prohibited, band concerts drew large crowds to the park.
The Central Maine Fairgrounds were located on the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway and fairgoers provided plenty of business during Fair Week in the fall. There was a small carhouse at the Fairgrounds and extra cars were kept there while the exhibition was in progress.
Half-hourly service was instituted when the railway was opened and the line was an immediate success. Nearly 500,000 passengers were carried during its first year of operation and by June 30, 1906, profits had accumulated to produce a surplus of $11,500. Later that year, stockholders shared a dividend of $5,000.
Additional rolling stock was acquired over the years and by 1907, the W&O pwned eight open and four convertible cars, one work car, and one snowplow. Six of the opens were trailers. All motor cars had been both hand and air-brake-equipped, and the four convertibles had electric heaters. One of the trailers was discarded in 1908 and another in 1911.
Amos F. Gerald and Stephen A. Nye sold their interests in the W&O to Charles F. Johnson of Waterville in 1907. At about the same time, Johnson became financially interested in the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company. Subsequently, other officials of Waterville and Oakland became directors of Waterville and Fairfield - and vice versa.
The Waterville and Oakland were said to have been interested in the Augusta, Oakland, and Waterville Railway, a company charted on February 23, 1906, to build from Oakland, through Sidney, to Augusta, with a connection to the Augusta, Winthrop, and Gardiner Street Railway, a predecessor of the Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville. Due to the construction of the LA&W route, from Augusta through Vassalboro to Winslow and Waterville, the AO&W was never built.
In 1910, the Waterville and Oakland Railway was given the authority to construct an extension from its original terminus on Elm Street, through Spring and Silver Streets, to a connection with the Waterville and Fairfield at Silver and Main Streets. This particular trackage was never built and when the two roads were connected in 1911, rails were laid on Elm Street and through Temple Street to Maine Street at Castonguay Square.
Automobiles were brought in from nearby cities and towns to provide transportation to and from the Fairgrounds and a skeleton trolley service was maintained by linemen and other non-striking employees of the railway.
In the meantime, new men were hired to break in as motormen and conductors and when the strike collapsed on September 18, the striking employees found themselves out of work. None of them were ever again employed by the WF&O.
Fares
The five-cent basic fare of the former Waterville and Fairfield and the Waterville and Oakland were continued by the WF&O until 1918 when the fare was increased to seven cents. Still later, the cash fare was increased to 10 cents, but a strip of 10 tickets was sold for 80 cents and a book of 50 tickets cost $3.50. In addition, there was a 16-ride punch ticket selling for $1. School children were permitted to ride for half fare and free transfers were issued between the Waterville and Oakland lines.
There was only one fare zone on the Waterville-Fairfield line but the Oakland route was divided into two zones, one extending from Waterville to Cascade Park, and the second from the park to the end of the line at Lake Messalonskee.
Various types of fare collection and registration methods were in effect on the WF&O at various times. Ohmer registers were used for several years and on April 5, 1917, Rooke hand registers were introduced. (These are said to have been a contributing cause of the strike in September of that year.) When one-man cars were placed in service, they were equipped with Johnson fare boxes. Still later, double-sided registers were installed in the cars and passengers gave their fares to the operator.
Carhouses and Power Stations
Carhouses of the WF&O were those at Fairfield, Oakland, and at the Waterville Fairgrounds. All were small wooden-framed buildings.
The Oakland carhouse, with its dance hall overhead, was declared unsafe in 1923 and was rebuilt into a one-story structure, narrower and shorter than the original building. It accommodated only two tracks instead of three, the third track remaining as a spur outside the barn.
The carbarn at the Fairgrounds was razed during the twenties and one of the two carhouses at
Fairfield was partially destroyed by a fire in 1936. It was not rebuilt.
Repair shop facilities of the WF&O were those taken over from the Waterville and Fairfield and the Waterville and Oakland roads. These were all discontinued in 1923 following the installation of two motor-generator sets of 500 Kw. and 300 Kw. capacity in the Central Maine Power Company's Bangs Station in Waterville. Power was transmitted to the overhead at 650 volts to provide adequate energy for the Benton and Fairfield and Fairfield and Shawmut lines.
Extensions
The only new trackage constructed by the WF&O was a 300-foot extension on Silver Street, Waterville, in 1921, and a 266-foot spur on Britt Street, Waterville, in 1915. The Britt Street spur served the Maine Central Railroad shops and extra cars were run mornings and evenings to accommodate the railroad employees.
Equipment
Rolling stock owned by the WF&O on December 1, 1911, included six closed cars, eight open cars equipped to operate with electric power, five open trailers, four Duplex convertibles, two work cars, and two snow plows. The five open trailers and one of the open motor cars were scrapped shortly thereafter.
The 17 passenger cars on the roster in 1915 included the two ex-Boston Elevated single-truck closed cars, two 20-foot single-truck closed cars built by Briggs, and two 25-foot double-truck closed cars built by Bradley. Open cars included one, nine-bench by Briggs and two, 10-bench by Lewis and Fowler; two 14-bench opens built by Stephenson, and two, 12-bench, double-truck opens built by Briggs. There were also the four previously mentioned Duplex cars.
Two 35-foot double-truck closed cars, built by Brill and equipped with brill 22E maximum Traction trucks, were purchased second-hand from an unknown source in 1916 or 1917. Fitted with smoking compartments, they were in service until 1922 when they were scrapped.
Modernization of passenger equipment began in 1918 when two double-truck steel closed cars were purchased from G. C. Kuhlman of Cleveland, Ohio. Two similar cars, both built by Wason, were added in 1922, one being new and the other coming from Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden Street Railway for which it had been built in 1920. (The RT&C was also controlled by the Central Maine Power Company.) At the same time, three Wason-built, single-truck Birneys were added to the roster.
The purchase of the new cars led to the retirement of many of the older ones, both closed and open. One single-truck closed was conveyed to the Fairfield and Shawmut in 1921 and a second car of the same type was turned over to the F&S in 1923. The remaining open cars were retired after the Central Maine Fair in the fall of 1926.
A fourth Birney, also Wqason-built, was purchased second-hand from the Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden Street Railway in 1926, and when the RT&C was abandoned in 1931, three double-truck safety cars from that line were acquired by the WF&O. At the same time, another double-truck safety car was purchased from the Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway of Massachusets.
The cars purchased from the RT&C were moved on flatcars from Rockland to Sabattus Village, six miles northeast of Lewiston, where they were unloaded at the interchange of the Maine Central Railroad and the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway. The cars were run over A&K tracks from Sabattus to Waterville.
The car bought from the Plymouth and Brocton was moved on a flatcar from Brocton to Portland and unloaded at the latter point. After being reconditioned at the shops of the Portland Railroad Company, the car was run to Waterville over the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and the A&K.
One of the 14-bench Stephenson opens had been rebuilt to a double-truck motor flat and a general-duty double-truck work car was constructed by the WF&O in 1924. A single-truck-closed car built by Brill and a single-truck plow were acquired from the Fairfield and Shawmut Railway in 1927 and another single-truck plow was purchased from the Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden in 1931.
The Brill closed car purchased from the F&S was originally owned by the Bangor Railway and Electric Company. It was converted into a sand car by the WF&O.
A single-truck plow was badly damaged in the Fairfield carhouse fire of 1936 but was rebuilt and returned to service.
At the beginning of 1937, the rolling stock of the WF&O included eight double-truck safety cars, three single-truck Birney cars, three snowplows, two double-truck work cars, and one single-truck sand car.
Decline and Abandonment
Operation of the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway continued well into the 'thirties, the line outlasting many other roads in the Pine Tree State. The Fairfield and Shawmut Railway was abandoned on July 23, 1927, and the Benton and Fairfield followed a few years later. On July 31, 1932, the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway abandoned its entire Augusta division, including the line from Augusta to Waterville.
The WF&O purchased the Fairfield and Shawmut Railway for salvage purposes after the latter's abandonment.
There was some talk about the WF&O taking over the A&K tracks from Waterville to North Vassalboro, but no official action was taken.
* * *
The WF&O continued to operate for five more years, but finally, because of increasing automobile competition, the Central Maine Power Company decreed that the trolleys must go. A petition for authority to abandon was filed with the Public Utilities Commission during the summer of 1937 and the necessary permission was granted on September 9.
October 11 was set as the date of abandonment and the last car over the line had Theodore F. Stephenson, driver of the first horsecar, is at the controller for part of the trip. (The regular operator was Ernest J. King.) On the following day, the Community Bus Line, owned and operated by one, Arthur T. Duplessie, began serving the territory formerly covered by the WF&O.
Most of the remaining passenger cars were soon junked, a few bodies being sold to various parties. The open rail and all overhead were removed, the carhouses were razed and all street railway power facilities were removed from Central Maine's Bangs Station. By early 1938, only the tracks in the paved streets of Waterville were left to remind the public of the former trolley service.
Theodore Roosevelt on the Narcissus when addressing
Connecting the city of Waterville, Maine with the neighboring towns of Oakland and Fairfield, the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway came into being on November 28, 1911, by a change of name from the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway and on the following day, absorbed the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company to create a 10-mile system that remained in operation until 1937.
Map of Waterville System with Connections.
By Charles D. Heseltine in the 2015 NEERHS book,
"The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's Street &
Electric Railways 1863-1946."
Of the two consolidating companies, the Waterville and Fairfield Railway was the older, having come into being as the Waterville and Fairfield Railroad, a horsecar line, in 1888. It was reorganized in 1891, electrified in 1892, and again reorganized in 1897. Waterville and Oakland, on the other hand, was incorporated in 1901 and began operating a year later.
The Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway was owned and operated by the Central Maine Power Company and was the first street railway property acquired by the CMP system.
No. 10 of the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway near
the Hotel Gerald in Fairfield Village. Hotel Gerald was built
by Amos F. Gerald, who would become known as
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_037
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
It is perhaps a misnomer to describe the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland as a "Toonerville" for it was a modern, up-to-date system in every respect - although only a little over 10 miles long. Its history is included in this collection because it did not merit publication separately.
Appropriately, the history of Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland is followed by the histories of Benton and Fairfield and Fairfield and Shawmut. The three roads comprised the so-called Waterville Group - and they marked the end of the continuous electric railway route from New York City to the heart of Central Maine.
The Waterville and Fairfield Railroad
Street railway service in the thriving Kennebec Valley city of Waterville, Maine had its inception on February 24, 1887, when the Waterville and Fairfield Railroad Company was incorporated under Chapter 47 of the Private and Special Laws of Maine and was authorized to build a horse railroad from Waterville to the nearby town of Fairfield, a distance of slightly more than three and one-quarter miles away.
At the time, Fairfield was the base of extensive lumbering operations in the Somerset County area while Waterville, the seat of Colby College, was a busy manufacturing center. With the heavy travel between the two communities, there was every indication that a horsecar line would be both successful and profitable.
Promotors of the enterprise included Amos F. Gerald, Stephen A. Nye of Fairfield, E. F. Webb, Stephen I. Abbott, and E. L. Jones, all of Waterville. The formal organization of the company, capitalization at $20,000, came on November 21, 1887, and construction began the following spring.
The line commenced on Main Street, Waterville, in the heart of the business district, and continued through College Avenue, and along the present Route 201, roughly paralleling the Maine Central Railroad, to Fairfield Village. There were three grade crossings with the steam railroad, two on College Avenue, Waterville, and one on Main Street, Fairfield. Thirty-five-pound rail was used in building the route.
consisted of six horses.
At the corner of High and Main Streets, the Fairfield
carhouse and stables with two cars, open no. 2, and one
closed, no. 4 on Main Street, of the Waterville and Fairfield
Railroad in 1888. Photo from Gladys Duren among the
O.R. Cummings collection published in 1955
book, Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State.
With appropriate fanfare, the operation of the 3.36-mile route commenced on June 23, 1888, Theodore F. Stephens, was the driver of the first car. A half-hourly schedule was placed in effect and the fare was set at five cents.
Riding was heavy during the summer and fall months but when winter came, operations were hampered by the heavy snow which blocked the tracks for long periods. It was necessary to purchase two sleigh barges to continue service and when spring came, the W&F was forced to spend large sums for the repair of its light track.
Passenger equipment had been increased to five cars (three open cars and two closed cars) and two sleigh barges by 1891 and on March 4 of that year, the Waterville and Fairfield were authorized to extend its line from Waterville, through Winslow, and Vassalboro to the village of North Vassalboro and to operate the railway by electric power. The extension to North Vassalboro was never built but the electrification did take place the following year.
As of June 30, 1891, officials of the W&F included George W. Williams of Salem, Massachusetts, president and chairman of the board of directors; E. F. Webb secretary; D. J. Lord of Lynn, Massachusetts, treasurer; H. D. Bates, assistant treasurer, and Co.O. Sturtevant, general manager.
The Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company
During the early part of 1891, Amos F. Gerald, a man who later became one of Maine's outstanding electric railway promoters, and several of his fellow directors on the W&F, organized the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company to take over the properties of the Waterville and Fairfield Railroad, the Waterville Electric Light, and the Fairfield Electric Light Company. The corporation was chartered on February 12, 1891, and the consolidation took place on June 13.
Associated with Mr. Gerald in the W&FR&L were Stephen A. Nye, who had owned the two power companies absorbed by Waterville and Fairfield, and attorney Herbert M. Heath of Augusta (ME).
Electrification of the railway began early in 1892 and on July 20 of that year, the first trolley passed over the line. On October 4, a one-mile extension was opened in Waterville - from Main Street through Water Street to Waterville Lower Plains.
13-bench open car no. 11 (Briggs-built) of the Waterville
and Fairfield Railway with conductor William McAuley
(standing L) and motorman John Carl, on Grove Street,
Waterville, near Pine Grove Cemetery in 1904.
Photo from Lloyd A. McAuley among the
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_003
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The railway drew its power from the hydroelectric plants of the former Waterville Electric Light and Power and the Fairfield Electric Light Companies., both of which were equipped with Westinghouse direct-current generators - or dynamos, as they were called in those days.
As of 1893, the equipment consisted of three motor cars, five trailers, and two barges. Another car was added in 1894 and by 1896, the equipment was as follows:
* Boxcars equipped for electric power - 3
* Open cars equipped to operate with electric power - 4
* Open trailers - 4
Total passenger cars - 11
* Work cars - 1
* Snow Plows - 1
* Barges - 2
* Carts and Snow sleds - 1
The road was 4.36 miles in length, plus .073 miles of siding and turnouts, for a total of 4.43 miles of track.
The Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company was capitalized at a total of $400,000 - $200,00 in capital stock and $200,000 in six-percent mortgage bonds, of which $36,000 in bonds applied to the railway property.
Operations of the railway and power system were not particularly profitable. Although a small surplus was realized in some years, sizable deficits were incurred in others. In 1897, the company was reorganized, with the $200,000 in six-percent bonds being replaced by an issue of $240,000 in five-percent securities.
At the same time, the entire property was rehabilitated. New ties were laid the entire length of the road, another car was purchased and an auxiliary steam plant was constructed in Waterville. The hydroelectric plant in Fairfield was enlarged when a new waterwheel was installed.
On August 4, 1898, the Waterville Lower Plains line was extended from Water Street through Grove Street to Pine Grove Cemetery, a distance of .39 miles. The track of Grove Street was further extended in 1906, increasing the length of the mainline to 4.9 miles and the total trackage of the railway to five miles.
Rolling stock as of 1902 included four closed and five open cars and one snowplow, the majority of the passenger equipment coming from the Briggs Carriage Company of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Power facilities of the road, according to the U. S. Street and Railway Census of 1902, included one 400 h.p. steam engine, seven water wheels of 1,250 h.p. total, four direct-current generators of 513 h.p. total, four alternating current generators of 833 h.p. total, and one 100 h.p. rotary converter.
The original one-track carhouse at Fairfield proved inadequate after electrification of the road, and a second wooden carhouse was built on adjoining land.
One of the five opens was discarded in 1906 and in 1907, the rolling stock consisted of four open and four closed cars, one work car, and one snowplow. Two open and two closed cars were added in 1908, coming from the Boston Elevated Railway, and were of the 20-foot, Jones type, with the unique West End vestibule.
By 1907, two more direct current generators had been added to the power facilities of the road and six generators in service had a total output of 730 KW.
Track construction was of 35 and 90-pound girder and T-rail and on the overhead, 1.9 miles had span wire and three miles had side bracket suspension.
The final extension of the W&F took place in 1910 when 700 feet of track was added to the Waterville Lower Plains line - along Silver Street from Grove Street to the point opposite Silver Court. This increased the length of the mainline to five miles and there was .10 mile of siding and turnouts.
Connecting Lines
The Benton and Fairfield Railway completed its line from Fairfield Village to Benton and Benton Falls in 1901, various portions of the route having been opened in previous years, and on October 8, 1907, the Fairfield and Shawmut Railway began operation over its 3.10-mile line from Fairfield to the village of Shawmut. Both roads connected with Waterville and Fairfield at Fairfield Village and both companies purchased power from the W&F.
Following the construction of a concrete arch bridge over the Kennebec River between Winslow and Waterville, the Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville Street Railway entered the latter city on December 15, 1909. The LA&W connected with the Waterville and Fairfield at Bridge and South Main Streets and LA&W cars were given trackage rights over the W&F to the waiting room on Main Street. A wye was built on Common Street to provide turning facilities for the single-end cars operated by the LA&W.
Fair-week passenger travel Duplex convertibles and
a 14-bench open car on Main Street, Waterville, are all
jammed with passengers for the Fairgrounds, typical of the
pre-automobile travel to special events.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_008
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The Waterville and Oakland Railway
With Waterville and Fairfield in successful operation, Mssrs. Gerald and Nye withdrew from the company and during the early part of 1902, joined with Edward J. Lawernce and Albert B. Page of Fairfield, and Cyrus W. Davis of Waterville, to form the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway. The articles of association of the new corporation were approved by the Railroad Commissioners on June 4 and on July 26, the railway sought approval for its proposed location.
The projected route of the W&O commenced on Elm Street, Waterville, and continued through Western and Chase Avenues to a private right-of-way that extended for some three miles to the outskirts of Oakland. Here the road entered Main Street, which it followed to the end of the line at Lake Messalonskee, otherwise known as Snow Pond.
Duplex convertible no. 8, at the end of the line, in Oakland,
ready to leave for Waterville. The sides have been rolled
up into the roof pockets. Lew Hutchinson is the motorman,
G. T. Leavitt, conductor.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_085
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Work on building the road began in April 1903, with all 60-pound T-rails being used over the entire route. Four double-truck Duplex convertible cars and two 14-bench double-truck Stephenson-built opens were acquired, the latter coming from the Gerald-controlled Portland and Brunswick Street Railway, and operation commenced July 2.
Car no. 21, to Oakland, was built by J. G. Briggs, a 25-foot
Duplex convertible of Waterville and Oakland Street Rwy.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_066
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
High trestle over the Messalonskee Stream in Oakland with
one of the Duplex convertibles crossing just after the
opening of the Waterville & Oakland Street Railway in 1903,
at the Cascade Woolen Mill.
Photo from Central Maine Power Company among the
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_056
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
A three-track carhouse was located at the end of the line in Oakland, on the shore of Lake Messalonskee. This building was 128 feet long and had two stories, the second floor containing a fine hall and dining rooms. A restaurant and boathouse occupied the basement.
Messalonskee Hall, the combination carbarn and dance hall
at Oakland, Maine, as it looked in 1903. Cars are 14-bench
open No. 3, formerly owned by the Portland & Brunswick
Street Railway Company and Duplex No. 6. At the extreme
left is Amos F. Gerald and next to him, partially hidden by
No. 3, is Superintendent Lester Choate.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_077
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Messalonskee Hall on Messalonskee Lake.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_070
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The best of entertainment was offered during the late spring, summer, and early fall months, and on Sundays when theatrical performances were prohibited, band concerts drew large crowds to the park.
The Central Maine Fairgrounds were located on the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway and fairgoers provided plenty of business during Fair Week in the fall. There was a small carhouse at the Fairgrounds and extra cars were kept there while the exhibition was in progress.
The WF&O's carhouse and mainline to Oakland are shown in
this view of the Central Maine Fairgrounds at Waterville.
Tracks of the Oakland line are at the extreme left.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_043
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Half-hourly service was instituted when the railway was opened and the line was an immediate success. Nearly 500,000 passengers were carried during its first year of operation and by June 30, 1906, profits had accumulated to produce a surplus of $11,500. Later that year, stockholders shared a dividend of $5,000.
Additional rolling stock was acquired over the years and by 1907, the W&O pwned eight open and four convertible cars, one work car, and one snowplow. Six of the opens were trailers. All motor cars had been both hand and air-brake-equipped, and the four convertibles had electric heaters. One of the trailers was discarded in 1908 and another in 1911.
Amos F. Gerald and Stephen A. Nye sold their interests in the W&O to Charles F. Johnson of Waterville in 1907. At about the same time, Johnson became financially interested in the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company. Subsequently, other officials of Waterville and Oakland became directors of Waterville and Fairfield - and vice versa.
The Waterville and Oakland were said to have been interested in the Augusta, Oakland, and Waterville Railway, a company charted on February 23, 1906, to build from Oakland, through Sidney, to Augusta, with a connection to the Augusta, Winthrop, and Gardiner Street Railway, a predecessor of the Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville. Due to the construction of the LA&W route, from Augusta through Vassalboro to Winslow and Waterville, the AO&W was never built.
In 1910, the Waterville and Oakland Railway was given the authority to construct an extension from its original terminus on Elm Street, through Spring and Silver Streets, to a connection with the Waterville and Fairfield at Silver and Main Streets. This particular trackage was never built and when the two roads were connected in 1911, rails were laid on Elm Street and through Temple Street to Maine Street at Castonguay Square.
* * *
Consolidation
Consolidation of the Waterville and Fairfield with the Waterville and Oakland had been authorized as early as 1909 but it was not until 1911, when the Central Maine Power Company entered the scene, that the merger took place.
Car 101 (Wason-built 1922) and no. 54 (Wason-built 1922)
at Colby College in Waterville circa 1936.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_022
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Central Maine acquired control of both companies on September 8, 1911, and on November 1, it formally took over the power business of the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company. Then, on November 20, the Waterville and Oakland Street Railway purchased the railway assets, properties, and franchises of the Waterville and Fairfield, and the name of the former was changed to the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway.
As of December 1, 1911, the WF&O owned 10.50 miles of route plus .45 miles of sidings and turnouts for a total of 10.95 track miles. The company was capitalized at $500,000 and its officials included Harvey D. Eaton of Waterville, president; George D. Hegarty of Waterville, secretary; Walter S. Wyman of Augusta, treasurer; Ralph J. Patterson of Waterville, general manager, and Lester J. Choate of Oakland, superintendent. Mr. Patterson had been general manager of the Waterville and Fairfield and Mr. Choate was formerly the superintendent of the Waterville and Oakland.
Operations
There were a few operating changes after the consolidation. A connecting track was built between the Waterville-Fairfield and Waterville-Oakland lines to permit the shifting of cars from one route to the other and the operation of specials or extras, but the regular service was maintained in the same manner as had existed before the merger.
The Waterville-Fairfield line was 4.75 miles in length, with a running time of 25 minutes. A 15-minute headway was maintained on weekdays, with more frequent service on summer Sundays and holidays. The 5.75-mile Waterville-Oakland line also had a running time of 25 minutes, with two cars maintaining 1 30-minute headway.
At Fairfield, connections were made with the Fairfield and Shawmut and the Benton and Fairfield Railways. And, as previously noted, cars of the Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville Street Railway (the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway after 1919) entered Waterville via Bridge Street, connecting with the WF&O at South Main and Bridge Streets.
The center turnout on the Waterville-Fairfield route was located at the Maine Central depot, near the Colby College campus in Waterville, with the other turnouts, seven and one-half minutes away on either side. The principal turnout on the Oakland line was located near the Waterville Fairgrounds and there was a spur track leading into the Fairgrounds property.
No. 103, College Avenue on the Colby College campus -
part of the well-known "Figure-Eight" route.
August 1936 - O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_023
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The operation of Lewiston, Augusta, and Waterville cars over WF&O trackage resulted in occasional collisions between the trolleys of the two roads. One such smash took place on April 10,1917, when a single-truck closed car (No. 16) of the WF&O was struck and knocked off the rails when it was hit by one of the big double-truck semi-convertibles of the LA&W at Bridge and South Main Streets. One passenger on No. 16 was injured and both cars were damaged.
Following an investigation of the accident, the Public Utilities Commission declared that the LA&W motorman was at fault and it recommended that the WF&O install block signals on South Main Street, Bridge Street, and Common Street, to prevent any further mishaps of this kind.
What could have been a very serious accident took place on March 19, 1920, when a WF&O car, running between Waterville and North Vassalboro on the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway, left the rails near Shoddy Hollow in Winslow and plunged down a 10-foot embankment, overturning on its side and breaking numerous windows. All of the eight passengers and their crew escaped with only minor injuries.
No. 23 of the WF&O jumped the track and struck a utility
pole in front of the Fairfield carhouse.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_036
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The WF&O car, operated by an A&K crew, was being used because the Androscoggin and Kennebec tracks between North Vassalboro and Augusta were blocked by snow and ice. A WF&O plow had been used to clear the line between Waterville and North Vassalboro but the rest of the route remained closed for many days.
The Strike
On September 12, 1917, during the height of the Central Maine Fair in Waterville, 37 conductors and motormen went on strike to enforce their demands that the WF&O sign a union contract.
In the meantime, new men were hired to break in as motormen and conductors and when the strike collapsed on September 18, the striking employees found themselves out of work. None of them were ever again employed by the WF&O.
Fares
The five-cent basic fare of the former Waterville and Fairfield and the Waterville and Oakland were continued by the WF&O until 1918 when the fare was increased to seven cents. Still later, the cash fare was increased to 10 cents, but a strip of 10 tickets was sold for 80 cents and a book of 50 tickets cost $3.50. In addition, there was a 16-ride punch ticket selling for $1. School children were permitted to ride for half fare and free transfers were issued between the Waterville and Oakland lines.
Car 60, formerly No. 400 of the Plymouth and Brocton, at
MEC station in Waterville circa 1936. No. 60 has been at
Seashore Trolley Museum since 1991 and awaits funding to
fully restore this last of its type in Maine.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_021
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Various types of fare collection and registration methods were in effect on the WF&O at various times. Ohmer registers were used for several years and on April 5, 1917, Rooke hand registers were introduced. (These are said to have been a contributing cause of the strike in September of that year.) When one-man cars were placed in service, they were equipped with Johnson fare boxes. Still later, double-sided registers were installed in the cars and passengers gave their fares to the operator.
Carhouses and Power Stations
Carhouses of the WF&O were those at Fairfield, Oakland, and at the Waterville Fairgrounds. All were small wooden-framed buildings.
The Oakland carhouse, with its dance hall overhead, was declared unsafe in 1923 and was rebuilt into a one-story structure, narrower and shorter than the original building. It accommodated only two tracks instead of three, the third track remaining as a spur outside the barn.
Oakland carhouse looked like this after Messalonskee Hall
was condemned and the structure rebuilt in 1922. The outside
track at the right had been a barn track inside the original
building. Note the three-way switch. Charles Duncan photo
among the O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_079
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Fairfield was partially destroyed by a fire in 1936. It was not rebuilt.
Repair shop facilities of the WF&O were those taken over from the Waterville and Fairfield and the Waterville and Oakland roads. These were all discontinued in 1923 following the installation of two motor-generator sets of 500 Kw. and 300 Kw. capacity in the Central Maine Power Company's Bangs Station in Waterville. Power was transmitted to the overhead at 650 volts to provide adequate energy for the Benton and Fairfield and Fairfield and Shawmut lines.
Extensions
The only new trackage constructed by the WF&O was a 300-foot extension on Silver Street, Waterville, in 1921, and a 266-foot spur on Britt Street, Waterville, in 1915. The Britt Street spur served the Maine Central Railroad shops and extra cars were run mornings and evenings to accommodate the railroad employees.
Equipment
Rolling stock owned by the WF&O on December 1, 1911, included six closed cars, eight open cars equipped to operate with electric power, five open trailers, four Duplex convertibles, two work cars, and two snow plows. The five open trailers and one of the open motor cars were scrapped shortly thereafter.
Eugene Nolette (at left) conductor, and Henry Prue, motorman
are the crew with car No. 10, shown at Sherwin turnout on
Water Street in Waterville, about 1914.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_006
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Modernization of passenger equipment began in 1918 when two double-truck steel closed cars were purchased from G. C. Kuhlman of Cleveland, Ohio. Two similar cars, both built by Wason, were added in 1922, one being new and the other coming from Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden Street Railway for which it had been built in 1920. (The RT&C was also controlled by the Central Maine Power Company.) At the same time, three Wason-built, single-truck Birneys were added to the roster.
No. 101, ex-Rockland, Thomaston, and
Camden Street Railway stops for a photo opportunity
on the bridge that crosses the
Messalonskee Stream in Oakland.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_059
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
A fourth Birney, also Wqason-built, was purchased second-hand from the Rockland, Thomaston, and Camden Street Railway in 1926, and when the RT&C was abandoned in 1931, three double-truck safety cars from that line were acquired by the WF&O. At the same time, another double-truck safety car was purchased from the Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway of Massachusets.
The cars purchased from the RT&C were moved on flatcars from Rockland to Sabattus Village, six miles northeast of Lewiston, where they were unloaded at the interchange of the Maine Central Railroad and the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway. The cars were run over A&K tracks from Sabattus to Waterville.
The car bought from the Plymouth and Brocton was moved on a flatcar from Brocton to Portland and unloaded at the latter point. After being reconditioned at the shops of the Portland Railroad Company, the car was run to Waterville over the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and the A&K.
Car 60, formerly No. 400 of the Plymouth and Brocton, is near
the end of the line in Fairfield. No. 60 was at the Seashore
Trolley Museum as of 1991. Sadly, it was scrapped in 2024.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_039
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The Brill closed car purchased from the F&S was originally owned by the Bangor Railway and Electric Company. It was converted into a sand car by the WF&O.
A single-truck plow was badly damaged in the Fairfield carhouse fire of 1936 but was rebuilt and returned to service.
At the beginning of 1937, the rolling stock of the WF&O included eight double-truck safety cars, three single-truck Birney cars, three snowplows, two double-truck work cars, and one single-truck sand car.
Decline and Abandonment
Operation of the Waterville, Fairfield, and Oakland Railway continued well into the 'thirties, the line outlasting many other roads in the Pine Tree State. The Fairfield and Shawmut Railway was abandoned on July 23, 1927, and the Benton and Fairfield followed a few years later. On July 31, 1932, the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway abandoned its entire Augusta division, including the line from Augusta to Waterville.
The days of no. 50 were numbered when Edwin B. Robertson
snapped this photo at Main and Bridge Streets in Fairfield
in 1937. Street Railway service in
Waterville-Fairfield-Oakland area came to an end,
October 11, 1937.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_018
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The WF&O purchased the Fairfield and Shawmut Railway for salvage purposes after the latter's abandonment.
There was some talk about the WF&O taking over the A&K tracks from Waterville to North Vassalboro, but no official action was taken.
* * *
The WF&O continued to operate for five more years, but finally, because of increasing automobile competition, the Central Maine Power Company decreed that the trolleys must go. A petition for authority to abandon was filed with the Public Utilities Commission during the summer of 1937 and the necessary permission was granted on September 9.
October 11 was set as the date of abandonment and the last car over the line had Theodore F. Stephenson, driver of the first horsecar, is at the controller for part of the trip. (The regular operator was Ernest J. King.) On the following day, the Community Bus Line, owned and operated by one, Arthur T. Duplessie, began serving the territory formerly covered by the WF&O.
Most of the remaining passenger cars were soon junked, a few bodies being sold to various parties. The open rail and all overhead were removed, the carhouses were razed and all street railway power facilities were removed from Central Maine's Bangs Station. By early 1938, only the tracks in the paved streets of Waterville were left to remind the public of the former trolley service.
Car 34 (Wason-built 1919) and Car 44 (Wason-built 1922)
In the process of being scrapped in 1937. Kids taking the
last opportunity to spend some quality time with the cars:(
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_40_090
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
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 run 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 each month. 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.
Photo by Patricia Pierce Erikson
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
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