Thomas B. Goodall, "father" of the Atlantic Shore Line Railway
sits in an open doorway of the baggage compartment
of Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway Company (S&CP),
No. 6, seen here on Summer Street, Kennebunk, near the
Boston & Maine bridge. No. 6, a combination car (express
and passengers carried) was built in 1899 for the S&CP by
Jackson and Sharpe Company, Wilmington, DE.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Here is the newest release in the Maine Bicentennial series of electric railways in Maine. This blog post features the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway Company summary/images from the book, "Atlantic Shore Line Railway" by O. R. Cummings, presented as Transportation Volume 4 by the Connecticut Electric Railway and the National Railway Historical Society-Connecticut Chapter - June 1950 Re-issued January 1957. And text/images are also taken from an O. R. Cummings book, "Atlantic Shore Trolleys", Bulletin No. 2, New England Electric Historical Society, January 1, 1966. Additional text is also taken from an insert O. R. Cummings wrote in "The Atlantic Shore Line Railway and Successors" - Historical Summary-1900-1949. Additional images will be credited.
To see the online version of the 1957 book, Atlantic Shore Line Railway: Its predecessors and its successors 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
A tower wagon in the distance and a carload of rails in
the foreground indicate the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway
was under construction in 1899. This scene may show part of
the private right-of-way between South Sanford and West
Kennebunk. O. R. Cummings Collection
In the fall of 2016, a section
of 1899 rail from the S&CP
was unearthed in West
Kennebunk. This section
along the right-of-way
never had the rail upgraded.
Image by Tom LaRoche
The rail above was donated to the
Museum by the contractor that
unearthed it, Hissong Corp.
Sections were cut, cleaned up
and stamped. Larger segments
were put on the end deck of 1906
electric locomotive, ASL-100,
that operated on this track from 1906
til 1927. Other larger sections were
donated to Kennebunkport
Historical Society, the Brick Store
Museum, the Arundel Historical
Society, and the Sanford
Historical Society. Smaller
segments, like the one in
the image was used to raise funds
for YUCo No. 88 PWM
Sanford and Cape Porpoise Railway Company
Although the Mousam River Railroad (MRRR) was more than adequate in serving the purpose for which it was built, it soon became apparent that some means had to be provided to handle coal for the Sanford mills in a more economical manner, for the cost of bringing it to Springvale via Portland & Rochester Railroad and hauling it to Sanford over the MRRR was almost prohibitive.
The solution came in the form of the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway (S&CP), organized by the Goodalls and chartered on October 6, 1897. It proposed to build from Central Square (Sanford), through the outlying districts of Alfred, Lyman, West Kennebunk, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Cape Porpoise, 20.3 miles away.
To the tidewater terminal at Cape Porpoise, it was planned to bring coal in schooners and barges for transfer to Sanford via the new electric railway, and from interchanges (spur tracks) with the Boston & Maine Railroad at Kennebunk (Summer Street), and West Kennebunk. The S&CP intended to run a direct carload freight service to points along its route.
This locomotive serviced the highly successful Goodall Mills
in Sanford, bringing carloads of coal from Cape Porpoise.
No. 1 was the original locomotive for the Mousam River
Railroad in 1892. It was a four-wheel, single-truck
weighing ten tons with only two, 30-hp Westinghouse
motors, but it could handle up to 45 tons relatively easily.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Construction began in 1898. The route followed the private right-of-way from the outskirts of Sanford to West Kennebunk. It crossed the Mousam River on a high trestle at Old Falls in Alfred where a hydroelectric power plant and a pleasure park were built. Briefly known as Fluellen Park, Old Falls Park had existed for many years before the Sanford Power Company purchased the site for the hydroelectric plant.
Map by Charles D. Heseltine of
the MRRR from the 2015 book
"The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's
Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946
Map by Charles D. Heseltine of
the S&CPRwy from the 2015 book
"The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's
Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946
A substantial steel bridge, with stone abutments, spanned
Mousam River west of Old Falls. Car No. 2 of the
Mousam River Railroad is stopped on the bridge.
O. R. Collection
Continuing through West Kennebunk, the trolley line paralleled the old highway through Kennebunk village to the Town House at Kennebunkport and thence again over private right-of-way to Cape Porpoise. Here a long trestle, intended to serve also as a coal wharf, was built across the harbor to Bickford's Island where a large casino was erected.
Map by Charles D. Heseltine of the MRRR from the 2015 book
"The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's
Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946
The trestle of the S&CP extends to the Bickford Island coal
wharf in Cape Porpoise. A portion of the casino is on the left.
PWM Postcard Collection
The approx. 100-feet by 50-feet casino on Bickford Island
in Cape Porpoise had its grand opening on July 20, 1900.
O. R. Cummings Collection
No. 14 of Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway at the end of the
line in Springvale. No. 14 later became No. 10 of the
Atlantic Shore Line was converted to a line car in 1919.
O. R. Cummings Collection
On August 15, 1899, the operation began on 14.6 miles between Sanford and West Kennebunk. Passenger service to B & M station in Kennebunk commenced four days later on the 19th with No. 13, a new Jackson & Sharp 15-bench open trolley, leaving Sanford at 7:30 a.m. with 100 passengers aboard and arriving at Kennebunk about an hour later. More than 1,000 people traveled on the route that first day. Initially, the tracks in Kennebunk ran through Fletcher Street to Main Street. In mid-November, the rest of the route to Cape Porpoise was complete (5.83 miles). On November 14, cars were rerouted to the newly completed track on Storer Street and on Main Street. On November 20, a local car began operating between the B & M station at Kennebunk and Cape Porpoise. It was not until the spring of 1900 after the ice was out of the harbor at Cape Porpoise, that the hauling of coal to the Sanford mills began.
Laying ties and spiking down rails, trackworkers pave way
for the construction train along Summer Street, Kennebunk,
during the building of the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Shortly after the construction of the new Sanford and Cape Porpoise Railway was completed, with both the S&CP and the Mousam River Railroad under common ownership, The MRRR was leased to the S&CP on August 15, 1899. Both companies began operating as a single system - the Sanford and Cape Porpoise Railway. In a few short years, the same would happen to the Sanford & Cape Porpoise. When the Atlantic Shore Line (ASL) was completed, the MRRR and the S&CP would both come under the corporate umbrella of the ASL and eventually lose their own identity.
The new Atlantic Shore Line route was built between
Town House and Dock Square in Kennebunkport and
opened on July 4, 1900.
PWM Postcard Collection
Dock Square, Kennebunkport, February 28, 1901.
Miss Rose Seavey, a Kennebunkport teacher, standing beside
the car will ride to the railroad station in Kennebunk to catch
a train to Washington, DC to attend the second inauguration
of President McKinley. O. R. Cummings Collection
O. R. Cummings Collection
The S&CP joined the ASL to provide an attractive wood-framed
waiting station at the intersection of North Street and
Arundel Road at Town House Junction. The car on the left
has arrived from Dock Square. The car on the right is headed
to Sanford. This is an early image circa 1901/02. The home
and barn behind the waiting station at the forefront were
moved across Arundel Road (on the right) in 1903 to make
room for a new brick office building that would include
a large carhouse and repair shop for the ASL.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Entering Dock Square, Kennebunkport, from Spring Street,
is No. 13 of the S&CP. No. 13 was the first trolley on
opening day to carry passengers to the B & M station on
Summer Street, Kennebunk, August 19, 1899.
It is believed that this S&CP waiting station on Summer Street
was built in 1902 on the northwesterly end of the bridge
passing over the B&MRR. Designed along the lines of a
typical steam railroad depot, it was designated as
the Kennebunk Station, complete with a lunch counter
and restroom facilities. The spur track to the B&M station
was probably removed at this time.
O. R. Cummings Collection
The B&MRR passenger station at Summer Street, Kennebunk
PWM Postcard Collection
The S&CP soon developed sizable passenger traffic, especially during the summer months when riding between Sanford and Old Falls Park and to Cape Porpoise casino was very heavy. The shore dinners and the deep sea fishing excursions available at Cape Porpoise were excellent attractions for tourists and the railway did not neglect to capitalize on these enticements. In addition, the S&CP rapidly built up a lucrative freight business that grossed more than $17,000 in its first year.
Large numbers of children in this view may indicate that at
least two of these three cars in Central Square, Sanford, were
specials carrying Sunday School picnics to Old Falls or
Cape Porpoise. O. R. Cummings Collection
The first image in this post is of No. 6 with Mr. Goodall
seen sitting in the open doorway of the baggage door. Here
No. 6, which was built in 1899, is in Sanford in front of the Mousam
River Railroad's carhouse when it first arrived from Jackson
& Sharpe Co. in Wilmington, DE.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Once the Atlantic Shore Line (ASL) was created by a group of individuals that were directors and officers of the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway and the Mousam River Railroad. It would be but a matter of time before the ASL became the dominant member of what would become the railway family including other York County electric railways. The official authorization by the Maine legislature was on March 13, 1903, and on April 1, 1904, the consolidation of the Sanford & Cape Porpoise Railway, the Mousam River Railroad, and the Sanford Power Company was completed and they all merged with the Atlantic Shore Railway.
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 every 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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