Best Seat in the House for a parade!
Seashore Trolley Museum's 80th Anniversary Trolley Parade
on July 6, 1919, also had a locomotive :) Above, Theodore
Roosevelt is seated left on a specially designed...fender...in 1909
(Two years earlier, while TR was still President, the surveyors
completed their survey of the first half of the right-of-way
for the Portland, Gray & Lewiston Railroad).
for the Portland, Gray & Lewiston Railroad).
TR, 110 years ago, steamed westward out of Mombasa and into
the plains of Africa that teemed with impala, wildebeest, ostrich,
and monkeys. The seating arrangement effects on TR may have
led him to find an elegant ride, with plush seats, when he
80 years ago on July 5, 1939, a deposit of $108 was made to the Biddeford & Saco Railroad for car 31. The balance of $42 was made in short order and the work proceeded on moving the then 39-year-old 60-passenger J.G. Brill Company-built open car to the original ten acres at what is now the entrance to Seashore Trolley Museum. Car 31 arrived on July 15, 1939. Car 31 is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is an official Save America's Treasures Project. As part of the 80th Anniversary celebration activities, on July 6, 2019, a trolley parade took place at the Museum to commemorate the event from 80 years ago and to have visitors see some of the vehicles that have been acquired. This post will include some photos and some video clips from my position on campus and does not include photos or videos of all the vehicles that participated in the event. Nor are the images/videos in order by which they were presented. Twenty years ago, we took Car 31 home for a visit for the first time in 60 years! To hear the story of how the Museum acquired its first cars, watch Ted Santarelli tell it first-hand, see the video link below :)
A BIG, THANK YOU to all the volunteers and staff that made the parade a Success!
The Birth of Seashore Trolley Museum
by Ted Santarelli. Interviewed and recorded
by Ed Dooks 1987
Car 31 from the Biddeford & Saco Railroad.
Built, in 1900 by the J. G. Brill Company,
Philadelphia, PA
Car 31 heading back to Highwood exhibit barn
after the parade.
Car 38 from Manchester, NH was built in 1906
by the Laconia Car Company and in 1940,
was the second complete electric vehicle
acquired by the Museum.
1906 wooden steeple cap electric locomotive No. 100
from the Atlantic Shore Line Railway. On the National
Register of Historic Places is one of eleven vehicles
on campus built by the Laconia Car Company.
Electric locomotive No. 100 heading to
Highwood in preparation for the parade.
No. 396, was built, in 1900 by the St. Louis Car Company,
for the Boston Elevated Railway. Acquired in 1954.
396 heading back to Highwood exhibit barn.
The City of Manchester is the name of this parlor car.
The Manchester Street Railway placed the order to be built in 1897 by
the Briggs Carriage Company, Amesbury, MA. In 1952,
the "City" became the first trolley anywhere acquired
by a Museum from a source (Malcolm Bustin), other
than a streetcar company. Of course, this practice
became more the norm in the years to follow.
City of Manchester heading back to Highwood
No. 434 (left) from Dallas, TX was built in 1914 by
the American Car Co. of St. Louis, arrived
at the Museum in 1954, and has operated every year in public
service since. And all the way to the right, peeking out of
South Boston exhibit barn is 5821. 5821, also arrived at the
Museum in 1954. It was built in 1921 by the J. G. Brill Co.
and operated on the Boston Elevated Railway.
The Golden Chariot, No. 2, was built in 1906 by
the Montreal Street Railway as a sightseeing observation car
for use during summer tours in Montreal, Ontario, Canada.
The Golden Chariot exits the Riverside exhibit barn
in advance of entering the trolley parade.
Passengers board No. 1227 at Morrison Hill Station. 1227,
along with 4387 and 1267 went on a mainline trip after the
parade. 1227 will now return to the visitor center. 1227 was
built in 1914 by G. C. Kuhlman Car Co., Cleveland, OH,
for the Cleveland Railway
1227 departs the visitor center loop on a mainline
trip following the parade.
1227 arrives at Morrison Hill Station
1227 waits at Morrison Hill Station as 4387
moves forward on the shop lead, making room
for 1267 to also advance onto the shop lead. 1227
then departs for the visitor center loop.
No. 639, a Cincinnati Car Company-"curved-side"
built in 1924 for West Virginia's Wheeling Traction Company.
Here it awaits outside the Riverside exhibit barn for
its turn to enter the parade.
No. 1267 was the very first car to operate at the Museum
via electricity generated by the Museum's own service in 1953.
The "gate car" was built by the Transit Supply Company in
1907 and operated in Minneapolis and St. Paul areas.
1267 departs the visitor center loop on a mainline
trip after the parade ended.
1267 arriving at Morrison Hill Station.
1267 departs Morrison Hill Station for the
visitor center loop.
Earlier in the morning, No. 4387 basks in the
sunshine outside the restoration shop, while
2890 (the faint headlight on the right inside the
shop) is having finished the work that will
allow it to make its operating debut following
major motor work.
And 2890 peeks out of the shop into the welcoming rays of the morning sun.
The "youngest" member of the Museum's Laconia Car Company
family is No. 4387, a semi-convertible,
was built in 1918 for the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway.
4387 is here on the shop lead awaiting its turn to enter the
parade. At the controls is Donald Stephenson with many of
the Stephenson family members in the car. Donald's
grandfather, Lester Stephenson, Sr. was an early member of
the Museum. Lester, Sr., was the last motorman to
operate No. 4387 when it finished its public service for
Eastern Mass Rwy in 1946. Les, Sr. brokered the deal
that brought 4387 to the Museum in 1946. Donald's lineage
of Museum membership included his father, Lester
Stephenson, Jr., and now extends to a 5th generation!
4387 had been out of service for more than four
years. Here squeezing by 2890 to the shop lead.
Donald Stephenson at the controls of 4387
as it departs the shop...lead...to enter the parade
and receive the applause of the visitors in
attendance to see this wonderful car reenter
the operating fleet.
4387 departs the visitor center loop for a mainline
trip following the parade.
4387 arrives at Morrison Hill Station.
4387 departs Morrison Hill Station for the
visitor center loop.
No. 2890 arrived at the Museum twenty years ago following a swap
of railway equipment with a museum in Ontario, Canada. Jim Schantz,
seen here at the controls of 2890 at the shop lead stop sign, with
Director of Shop Operations, Rany Leclair in the doorway. Jim has been
the leader of the 2890 project over the years which included regauging the
trucks to fit standard gauge track, restoration of the car, and the
recent overhauling of the four motors.
2890 approaching the shop lead stop sign where
it would await its turn to enter the parade.
2890 is a Peter Witt-designed, center-entrance car, that was
built 1923 by the Ottawa Car Company, Ontario, Canada
for use in Toronto.
The Blue Line train of rapid transit cars 0622 and 0623,
built 1978 by Hawker-Siddeley Canada for Massachusetts
Bay Transportation Authority, rolls to a stop during the parade.
The Blue Line train makes a grand entrance.
BONUS VIDEOS
The Golden Chariot leaves the visitor center loop
on July 2, 2019
The Golden Chariot arrives at Morrison Hill
Station after its mainline trip to Talbott Park
July 2, 2019
No. 1160 was in the parade, I just didn't capture
an image of it during the parade. Here is
1160 departing the visitor center loop on
July 2, 2019. 1160 was built in 1906 by the
John Stephenson Car Company for the
Connecticut Company in New Haven, CT.
Electric locomotive No. 300 was built by
Baldwin Motor Works, Philadelphia, PA\ in 1920
for the Oshawa Railway in Ontario, Canada.
Here it is on June 29, 2019, as it was used to
shift vehicles in preparation for the parade.
In the background, No. 434 from Dallas, TX
departs the visitor center loop for a mainline trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.
Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts
Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem. This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!
Click Here: Donation Options
The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.
Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban
The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.
Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project
Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive
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