No. 12 Bangor Street Railway with its original type of trolley
pole. This car was the first electric trolley in Maine. Crew
members are O'Brien and Coombs. The motorman would
operate the car from the platform with no protection
from the elements. It would be 1906 before Maine
laws were enacted to enclose the platforms.
Image from C. D. Heseltine Coll.
Update 7-20-2026
A resource for educators
Maine Historical Society has created companion lesson plans inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. These State-standard-based lesson plans are for classroom use in grades 6, 7, and 8. The lesson plans and companion vocabulary and reading activities are available as free downloads through the Seashore Trolley Museum's website at www.trolleymuseum.org/eleganttide or Click Here.
The eight Social Studies/ELA units were also uploaded to the Maine Memory Network and are available with other statewide lesson plans for K-12.
The Audiobook is available at all audiobook distributors.
The eBook is available at all eBook distributors.
This blog post was created specifically to support the new lesson plan titled:
* "Clang, Clang, Clang, Went the Trolley..."
Objective: Students will be able to identify different types of trolley cars and how they were used historically in Maine.
This post is to provide supplemental information, variations, images, and descriptions that expand on those three main types and the 20 subsets presented in Procedure #7, Field Guide to Trolley Cars by Amber Tatnall, Seashore Trolley Museum Library, and posted in Maine Memory Network
Procedure #6: There are three main types of trolley cars. Passenger, freight, and utility
Procedure #7: This assignment includes researching these various types.
This blog post delves into the subsets of the three main types of trolley cars, expanding descriptions and examples.
This blog post delves into the subsets of the three main types of trolley cars, expanding descriptions and examples.
Procedure #8: This post will be useful for filling out the "Trolley Car Note Catcher" using other historical records that provide information on all types of cars.
Here we go...
The Portland Railroad Company was initially a horsecar railroad starting in 1863. The system began its electrification in 1891 and discontinued its electric trolley service in 1941. Over its many years of operation, the company owned and operated nearly 400 vehicles. There are many images of the many different electric railway vehicles in the system. The images below are from several Maine railway systems, but many are from the Portland system.
Passenger Cars (Main Type #1)
Here we go...
The Portland Railroad Company was initially a horsecar railroad starting in 1863. The system began its electrification in 1891 and discontinued its electric trolley service in 1941. Over its many years of operation, the company owned and operated nearly 400 vehicles. There are many images of the many different electric railway vehicles in the system. The images below are from several Maine railway systems, but many are from the Portland system.
Passenger Cars (Main Type #1)
Subset will all begin with text as described in the Field Guide to Trolley Cars by Amber Tatnall, with edits by Phil Morse in this post.
An early mode of public transportation was the horse car. Horse cars were often open cars, drawn by horses or mules. It is interesting to note that cars rode on tracks.
With the advent of electricity, horse cars were replaced by trolley cars with electric motors.
In the image below, the Portland Railroad horsecar - the body of this horsecar is described as an open bench horsecar with a turtleback roof or a rounded roof. The area that the driver is standing in is called the front platform. The roof above the driver is called the platform roof, or a platform hood, or canopy. The short metal wall or divider that is in front of the driver is called a dasher. Open cars were used during warmer weather. The image is circa 1887. In 1890, the Portland Railroad Company operated a total of 11 miles of horsecar tracks for passenger operations. The company had 50 horse-cars. Open-bench cars and closed cars. PRR owned 225 horses.
With the advent of electricity, horse cars were replaced by trolley cars with electric motors.
In the image below, the Portland Railroad horsecar - the body of this horsecar is described as an open bench horsecar with a turtleback roof or a rounded roof. The area that the driver is standing in is called the front platform. The roof above the driver is called the platform roof, or a platform hood, or canopy. The short metal wall or divider that is in front of the driver is called a dasher. Open cars were used during warmer weather. The image is circa 1887. In 1890, the Portland Railroad Company operated a total of 11 miles of horsecar tracks for passenger operations. The company had 50 horse-cars. Open-bench cars and closed cars. PRR owned 225 horses.
Horsecar at Union Station while it was still being built-1887
There was a crew of two working on the car. The driver drove
the team of horses, and the conductor, working from the
rear platform, would collect the fare from passengers.
Five cents was the fare to ride between scheduled stops.
This car will go from St. John Street to Union Station Square
along Congress Street to Monument Square.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_32_004
Below is a closed horsecar. It has a deck roof, also known as a monitor roof. The deck roof space with rectangular glass windows is called the clerestory. Closed cars were used year-round, though less frequently during the summer months. During the winter months, a closed car may have an operating wood or coal stove in the passenger compartment. With the open platform, the operator would be exposed to the elements. In winter months, no protection from extreme cold, snow, freezing rain, etc. The partition with a doorway that separates the driver from the passengers in the car body is called the bulkhead. During winters with lots of snow, the cars' wheels and axles were replaced with runners, and then they were operated as sleighs. You may recognize the train shed canopy in the background. Have you attended a concert or been ice skating at Thompson's Point in Portland? One section of the canopy in this image is the canopy used for the ice skating rink at Thompson's Point.
Portland Railroad Horsecar No. 54 at the train shed of
Union Station. The image is circa 1888
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_32_038
The closed horsecar below was originally bought for use by the Ocean Street Railroad in Portland.
Ocean Street horse-cars operated only along Ocean Street, now Ocean Avenue, in Portland. The Portland Railroad bought this company in 1895. Notice the roof style of the closed car, and its roof is very different compared to the previous two images of horse-drawn cars. Like differences with automobiles made by different companies, horse-cars might differ depending on the manufacturer. This car has a turtleback or rounded roof style.
Horsecar No. 13 on the Ocean Street line circa 1882
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_31_035
Closed car (Subset #2)
Closed cars had a roof, floor, end bulkheads, and sides with windows that could not be removed, but could be opened.
Closed cars were generally in use during the cooler months of the year. Some closed cars had coal-burning water heaters that heated the cars.
To help narrow the field of closed cars in this subset, the term standard will be used as an additional qualifier for cars pictured in this series.
There are many, many different subsets and types of closed electric trolley cars. Once horse-cars were electrified, manufacturers adapted to the growing needs of electric railway companies serving their communities. The designs, capacity for carrying passengers, speed they could travel, and the materials used to construct the cars evolved over time. Below are just a few of the variations.
The image below shows one of the very early electric closed cars in Portland that operated in Westbrook. It was common for many horsecar railroads to simply add electric motors to some of their horsecars. The design of the car below is still similar to a horsecar, with both ends being open platforms, but the body is larger than most closed horsecars. This larger car is a double-truck car. A truck is the set of wheels, electric motor(s), and axle(s) that the body of the trolley car rests on. This car rests on two separate sets of trucks, so the common term used is double-truck. These wheels are typical for horse-cars. Over time, the overall weight of cars increased substantially. From one motor to two, to four. From carrying 25 passengers to 75. Changes to the truck frame, wheels, and axle sets would need to be structurally enhanced.
For three years, before the electrification of the Munjoy Hill
area, horses were used to tow electric trolley cars each day
for use on the Westbrook line from the Bennett Street carhouse
to Monument Square. Image circa 1893.
O. R. Cummings' book,
"Portland Railroad" Part 1, 1957.
In the image above, a single trolley pole was added to the middle of the deck roof. The trolley poles of early electric cars had a large brass trolley wheel attached to the end of the pole, designed to engage the overhead wire and conduct electricity using the pole to energize the cars' controls and motors. The trolley wheel is meant to "troll" behind the trolley car as the car moves forward. If the car has stopped and needs to reverse direction, the pole would need to be redirected first. While stopped, the conductor used the rope attached to the pole's end. First, pull the pole down, disconnecting the pole from the overhead wire. Then the conductor, while holding the rope to the pole and keeping the pole in a lowered position, would walk around the car until the pole was at the opposite end of the car and then carefully relax the tension on the pole, allowing it to rise up towards the overhead wire while directing the wheel on the end of the pole to properly connect to the wire overhead. There were 600 volts of direct current (DC) flowing through the overhead wire. Due to the 600 watts of DC electricity, the overhead wire, being connected to the pole, posed a risk for the conductor. Being aware of and handling the pole properly was important.
The image below has two trolley cars at the Seashore Trolley Museum. One car has its trolley pole raised and connected to the overhead wire. The other trolley pole is lowered, but clearly, you can see the trolley wheel at the end of the trolley pole. The trolley pole is raised and making the connection to the wire with a more modern device than the trolley wheel. In the late "teens" of the 20th century, the new trolley shoe was released. A trolley show is much smaller than a wheel. A show uses a carbon insert to conduct the electricity. This insert is inexpensive and easily replaced.
A nice shot of the overhead wires and rooftops of two cars at
Seashore Trolley Museum at the end of an ice cream night event.
One trolley pole has a wheel. One trolley pole has a shoe.
PWM image
The platforms of horse-cars became known as vestibules when the platform area became enclosed. The drivers of the cars became known as "motormen" when operating the motorized electric cars. The motorman continued to be exposed to various weather conditions when operating the cars with only the canopy overhead and the short bulkhead in front.
PRR No. 103 (sister car to No. 105 & 108) was built in 1895
by J. G. Brill Company, Philadelphia, PA. Motormen would
operate in platforms (vestibules once enclosed) open to all
elements and temperatures for another ten years.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_35_019
When a law was passed that all closed cars must have enclosed vestibules, existing cars with open vestibules, like No. 104 below, had their vestibules rebuilt. After the law was passed, all closed trolleys ordered were constructed with enclosed vestibules.
PRR No. 104 (sister car to No. 105 & 108) was built in 1895
by J. G. Brill Company, Philadelphia, PA. Vestibules were not
enclosed until 1905. Here at Fort Allen Park. This is a smaller
single-truck closed car.
single-truck closed car.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_024
Wages - 1900
Electric Railways in Maine employed 941 (an increase from 1899) with a total payroll of $423,500.Portland Railroad - Daily Wage - Motorman $1.60, Machinist $1.82, Other Shop $2.25, Other Employee $1.50 (1900 $1 = $39.90 in 2026)(inflation value)
Closed trolley cars for Portland were getting larger and were operating on many streets. Electric trolley cars that provided city passenger service were commonly called streetcars. Below, you see that this larger closed car is very different from the earlier closed cars. Much larger, double-truck car with a different roof style. The roof is called a railroad roof. This roof style was very common on large steam railroad passenger coaches. The car below also has two separate trolley poles. The pole above the conductor that is standing on the fender (commonly called a cow or people catcher) is secured in the lowered position. That means the car will be traveling forward from this end. The pole on the opposite end of the car will be in the extended or raised position.
No. 158 in the snow with destination sign; South Windham
via Brighton Avenue. 158 was built in 1901 by the
J. G. Brill Co., for operation on the Westbrook line of PRR.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_36_062
Biddeford & Saco Railroad motorman,
Pat Kearney, at the end of the line in
Old Orchard Beach on a cold winter
day in 1914. Dressed to try and keep
warm while operating the trolley.
image PWM
During World War I, the closed cars serving Pond Cove (Cape Elizabeth) were converted to "one-man" cars. Following World War I, the other closed cars, over time, converted to an operating crew of one. The economic conditions that followed World War I would also lead to the gradual but steady removal of open cars in the operating fleet.
No. 249 was built in 1911. The destination, Pond Cove, was
converted to "one-man" crew operations during WWI. That
meant the motorman had to change the poles when stopped
at the end of the line. I think this image captures the change
taking place. Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_34_090
The closed car shown below was one of the more modern electric trolleys to operate in Maine. Manufactured in 1926 and described as a double-truck, steel light-weight, double-ended closed car, with an arch roof. The body of this car was constructed using lightweight steel. Double-ended means the trolley car has controls to operate from both ends from inside. There are also two trolley poles on the arch roof. The trolley pole on the right end of the car has been lowered and is secured to the roof. This means the car will move forward using the controls at the end inside the car.
This trolley was operated in Sanford & Springvale, Maine. The
York Utilities Company operated the passenger service between
Sanford & Springvale until service ended on April 1, 1947.
Here is No. 88 (or 90?) in Springvale. No. 88 was
the last trolley car in Maine to carry public passengers.
No. 88 was acquired by Seashore Trolley
Museum for historic preservation, and is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places. It awaits the
funding needed to have its turn restored.
O. R. Cummings' Collection
Open car (Subset #3)
Open cars were generally in use during the summer months for city and suburban service. Open cars had a roof, floor, and end bulkhead, but no sides.
The seats typically extended across the car. Canvas curtains mounted between the side posts could be pulled down to the floor during summer squalls to protect passengers from wind and rain.
Open cars are often referred to by the number of seats or benches provided: a 14-bench car, for example.
Like the closed cars, electric motorized open cars, affectionately called "breezers," became larger. Many double-truck open cars operated over many years on the Portland Railroad lines and divisions.
In preparation for the Westbrook electrification, four
double-truck open trolley cars were built during
1892 in PRR's own Bennett Street carhouse shop
on Munjoy Hill for use specifically in Westbrook. Seen here
is No. 77, one of the four open cars that were built in 1892.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_36_040
No. 70 was one of the two original open cars for the Deering
line. The...single-truck...axle car, No. 70, was built in 1891
by the Portland Railroad in their shop.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_31_041
The larger open cars could carry 75 passengers. During summer days, thousands of passengers would be transported to various recreational venues, including several trolley parks, Riverton Park, beaches, theaters, lakes, etc.
Another busy day at Riverton Park.
The open trolley cars in this photo could each carry 75 passengers.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_31_103
Cape Cottage Theater Postcard of PWM
1903 - The Portland Railroad System
Following the opening of the extension to Saco-Old Orchard Beach in 1902, the PRR operated 77.82 miles of route and 93.75 track miles, employed more than 500 persons, including 133 motormen and 133 conductors, and owned a total of 217 passenger trolley cars, while serving the communities of:
* Portland
* South Portland
* Cape Elizabeth
* Scarborough
* Saco
* Old Orchard Beach
* Westbrook
* Gorham
* South Windham
* Falmouth
* Cumberland
* Yarmouth
More than 13 million passengers were carried on the Portland Railroad system during the year ending June 30, 1904, with revenues of $686,000. Net profit of $86,000. Stockholders of Portland Railroad Company shared dividends of nearly $60,000.
(What do these numbers equate to in "2026" dollars?)
During the summer months, service to OOB was provided by passengers changing cars at Dunstan Corner in Scarborough. 30-minute headway, although on Sundays and Holidays, 15 minutes was common, and trips often ran in sections of two or three cars to handle heavy ridership. Winter service was 60 minutes to OOB and 30 minutes to Saco.
Three 14-bench open cars approach Monument Square
from Saco/Old Orchard Beach. These three open trolleys
were built in 1902 to be used for the Saco Division. Image,
circa 1905, Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_35_066
In 1910, only about 10% of Maine's population had electricity in their homes. Early Electric Power companies’ major revenue was from lighting Main Streets, larger mills/manufacturing, & Electric Railways.
Trolley tracks in Middle Street, Portland, Maine.
A postcard postmarked November 5, 1909, from PWM
Starting in 1863, Monument Square was the hub for the
Portland Railroad Company's far-reaching public
transportation system. Image circa 1910 Print PWM
Notice that many of the trolley cars in the above photo are different colors. For many years, trolley cars were painted different colors according to the line (or later the division) on which they operated. The company name was on the lower side panel (on closed cars) & sill (on open cars).
* Light green - Union Station-Munjoy Hill
* Blue with gold striping - Spring Street-Grand Trunk Station
* Red - Union Station - Grand Truck Station
* Red (different shade) - Stroudwater (and later South Portland)
* Yellow - Deering (later Yarmouth was also yellow and then changed to green)
* Brown (later dark green) - Westbrook (same as Saco Div. later)
Around 1920, the company settled on one paint scheme for all divisions. Red body with white and blue trimming and gold leaf numerals. Roofs gray. The company name was omitted when standard colors were applied.
Semi-convertible cars (Subset #4)
Semi-convertible cars (Subset #4)
Semi-convertible cars were closed cars with cross-seats and with entrance and exit platforms at the ends.
The windows were constructed so that both the upper and lower sashes of the side windows could be removed or raised in warm weather. Making car sides completely open between the window sills and the side plates.
The image below of the 1902 semi-convertible interior shows cross-seats, as mentioned in the description above. Notice the construction of the window frames, also called sashes, and the design for opening or removal as mentioned in the description above. Advertising cards are displayed above the windows. Local businesses paid to display their advertisements inside the cars. This was another source of revenue for the trolley company.
The windows were constructed so that both the upper and lower sashes of the side windows could be removed or raised in warm weather. Making car sides completely open between the window sills and the side plates.
The image below of the 1902 semi-convertible interior shows cross-seats, as mentioned in the description above. Notice the construction of the window frames, also called sashes, and the design for opening or removal as mentioned in the description above. Advertising cards are displayed above the windows. Local businesses paid to display their advertisements inside the cars. This was another source of revenue for the trolley company.
Cross seats in the interior of the semi-convertible car No. 196
of the Portland Railroad Company. No. 196 was built in 1902.
These particular seats are also reversible. By grasping the
handle on the top corner and moving the seat-back towards
The opposite side of the seat-bottom, the seat direction is
then reversed. Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_079
The image below has an example of longitudinal seating, the more common seating arrangement in horse-drawn cars, and then closed cars, before cross-seating became the more popular option for newer cars being manufactured.
The interior of Nos. 194 & 195, standard closed cars.
Built in 1902 for the Portland Railroad.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_074
Common Street, near City Hall, in Waterville. Standing on the
open platform is Arthur L. Foster of Augusta. Eight single-end,
semi-convertible observation cars were purchased
in 1908 for the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville St. Rwy.
Originally, these cars only had a controller and brake valve
in the enclosed vestibule end. A short time after arriving,
however, a controller and brake valve were installed in the
observation platform end, as seen here in this image.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_21_175
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The image below is of No. 173. One of 18 semi-convertible cars was purchased in 1902 by Portland Road. The Portland Railroad cars serving the Saco Division either traveled from Monument Square, Maine Street, Saco (15.45 miles one way) or traveled to Old Orchard Beach (14.43 miles one way). The distance, frequency of daily trips, and large numbers of passengers, particularly in the summer months, required heavy, suburban-type semi-convertible cars and larger open cars. 173 was one of the eight larger, 34-foot, semi-convertibles with railroad roofs, each containing a smoking compartment.
PRR No. 173, waiting on Main Street, Saco, on the Biddeford &
Saco RR trackage, circa 1903, was destroyed by fire at Oak Hill,
Scarborough, January 22, 1915. Trucks and electrical equipment
salvaged were installed on No. 502, which operated until 1941.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_33_022
No. 760 is one of eight center-entrance trailers used in Portland.
As a trailer, they had no motors and would be attached to a motorized
car. In this image, the motorized car is a 1902 semi-convertible
car No. 191. The trailers were used primarily on the Westbrook
line. The trolley pole was used to provide current for the heat
and lights in the trailer. The semi-convertibles were very versatile,
dependable, heavy cars with the power needed to properly
handle hauling the extra weight of pulling these large trailers.
O. R. Cummings Collection
No. 502 in front of the Grand Trunk Railroad Depot. No. 502
was the largest (35-ft.) and fastest car on the Portland system.
A semi-convertible car was built in 1915. It was used
occasionally over the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_35_073
Birney Safety Car (Subset #5)
Birney Safety Cars were small, single-truck cars made of lightweight steel.
The word "truck" refers to the set of wheels under the car. Single-truck cars had one set of four wheels. Double-truck cars had two sets. The Birney cars were popular with street railways between 1910 and 1930. They were designed to have only one operator and no conductor. This saved labor costs during wartime.
Charles O. Birney was an engineer on the staff of a firm named Stone & Webster in the second decade of the 20th century. He was assigned to design a lightweight, single-truck trolley car. He did, and from that design, in 1916, he introduced what would become his famous "Birney Safety Car."
Tens of thousands of these single-truck, lightweight cars with arch roofs would be manufactured for electric railway companies. The car would be operated by a single motorman with no need for a conductor. The interiors of the cars were generally fitted with reversible wooden seats. The single-truck Birney cars generally carried no more than 30-32 passengers. The double-truck Birney cars could carry more.
No. 20 was Bangor's first single-truck axle, Birney Safety Car,
arriving in the fall of 1918. Here it is on Main Street, opposite
the car barn in Bangor, in 1935.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Interior of Bangor's Birney Car No 20 - the clean lines and the
wooden seats were a feature of most of the cars of this type.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Success by the single-truck Birney cars led other trolley car manufacturers to make similar lightweight safety cars and expanded the type to provide larger, double-truck versions.
Bangor Railway & Electric Company's No. 14 in Hampden.
One of seven 8-wheel (double-truck), lightweight, safety
cars built in 1921, arrived in Bangor from the Wason
Company, in Springfield, MA, in 1922. Primarily used for the
Hampden and Brewer line. Numbered 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16,
and 18, all were sold in 1942 to the Johnstown (PA)
Traction Company (JTC), where they were renumbered
from 305 through 311. All but No. 311 were scrapped in
1947. No. 311 stayed in service until 1961. No. 311 was
saved and sold to the Rockhill Trolley Museum (PA)
See more about Bangor's only surviving trolley, and
it has a happy home in Rockhill Furnace, PA.
Photo courtesy of Joel Salomon
One of seven 8-wheel (double-truck), lightweight, safety
cars built in 1921, arrived in Bangor from the Wason
Company, in Springfield, MA, in 1922. Primarily used for the
Hampden and Brewer line. Numbered 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16,
and 18, all were sold in 1942 to the Johnstown (PA)
Traction Company (JTC), where they were renumbered
from 305 through 311. All but No. 311 were scrapped in
1947. No. 311 stayed in service until 1961. No. 311 was
saved and sold to the Rockhill Trolley Museum (PA)
See more about Bangor's only surviving trolley, and
it has a happy home in Rockhill Furnace, PA.
Photo courtesy of Joel Salomon
Wason Car Company's builder's photo from 1921 of the interior
of Bangor Railway & Electric Company's No. 16, the sister
car to No. 14, now restored as Johnstown Traction Company
No. 311 at Rockhill Trolley Museum.
Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
One surviving Portland Railroad trolley is a Birney Safety Car - of the hundreds of trolley cars that operated on the Portland Railroad, they are all gone but one...
No. 615 was built for the PRR in 1920 by the Wason Manufacturing Company, Springfield, MA. In 1936, it was sold to the Biddeford & Saco Railroad and operated in the Biddeford, Saco, and Old Orchard Beach area until 1939. The body of 615 survived being scrapped when the buses took over by becoming the track department's shanty while overhead wire was being removed and other track-related work was being done. A Seashore Trolley Museum member bought 615 when the work transitioning the B&SRR was complete. 615 came to the Museum in 1941. It was the third vehicle acquired in the Museum's collection. 615, along with eight other Maine railway vehicles, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980
No. 615 being loaded for delivery to Saco - 1926.
Today, 615 is awaiting funds to cover its restoration. It is
listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection
Parlor car (Subset #6)
Parlor cars were luxurious interurban cars or special chartered cars for city service. They were often fitted out with individual seats or armchairs, carpeting, draperies, mirrors, stained glass windows, and fine wood paneling.
Observation platforms at the ends of the cars had ornamental wrought iron railings. These cars were hired for special events or excursions and were often employed by the railroad commissioners during rail inspections.
There were only ever two parlor cars in Maine. The Merrymeeting ran for the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway, and the Bramhall ran for the Portland Railroad Company.
Parlor Car - Bramhall - arrives in 1896
The double-truck parlor car trolley, "Bramhall", was built in 1896 by the J. G. Brill Company, Philadelphia, PA, and is said to have been given free to the Portland Railroad in appreciation of past and anticipated future business. As seen below, it was primarily for use by PRR officials, but it was available for charter by special parties - at an extra rate, of course. It was a handsome one, painted in shiny black with gold-leaf trim and lettering, and had ornamental iron grillwork on the ends. The interior was fitted with 20 wicker chairs with plush seats, tasseled curtains at the windows, and two cupboards (for spirits) at each end. In 1916, it was rebuilt as an experimental pre-payment car and became No. 500. It was scrapped in the 1920s.
The parlor car, the Bramhall, at Fort Allen, shortly after arriving
in Portland in 1896.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_034
The Portland Railroad parlor car, the Bramhall.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_033
The interior of the parlor car, Bramhall.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_49_003
The "Merrymeeting" parlor car at Togus station. A double-truck
for $10 a day and traveled all over the LA&W line.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_21_130
The "Merrymeeting" at the Tacoma Inn near Lewiston.
Photo courtesy of Seashore Trolley Museum's Library.
Interurban car (Subset #7)
Interurban cars were used in long-distance service, as distinguished from city or suburban cars.
Interurban passenger cars were large - up to 65 feet of very sturdy construction - and were capable of traveling at high speeds. They looked very similar to steam railroad coaches.
Many electric railways in Maine operated long-distance services. Generally, they used larger semi-convertibles, perhaps larger combination cars, and other large standard double-truck cars to provide the service. In Maine, the only true Interurban system that used interurban coaches was the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad Company.
The seven interurban coaches that operated on the line were 46 feet in length. Each with four 90-hp Westinghouse motors. Each would reach speeds above 70 mph. The exteriors were painted a shiny dark Pullman green, each with its name in gold leaf on the side of the car. Six of these magnificent interurban coaches were named after a flower that is commonly known in Maine. And the seventh, arrived during Maine's Bicentennial year, 1920, was named Maine.
Arbutus, Gladiolus, Narcissus, Clematis, Azalea, Magnolia, and Maine.
Click here to view the post explaining what happened to each once the interurban company closed.
Only one still exists today. The elegant ride, Narcissus. It is currently being restored at the Seashore Trolley Museum. Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by donating today!
Click Here: Donation Options for Helping the Narcissus
The seven interurbans' features included forty, ornate, leaded stained glass windows; after passing through the smoking compartment with two, six-foot-long, leather-covered bench seats, you enter the passenger compartment, containing reversible seats upholstered in green mohair plush; encircled with walls and trim boards of Santo Domingo mahogany panels, each with decorative bands of holly and ebony inlay. Overhead, arching ceiling panels, painted Nile green with their corners adorned with gold leaf fleur-de-lis, connected to handsome brass-plated luggage racks.
Portland-Lewiston Interurban luxury coach, No. 10 Arbutus, with
Lewiston terminal personnel, l-r, two unidentified men, then,
Lewiston terminal personnel, l-r, two unidentified men, then,
R G Weeks, master mechanic; Guy W. Mitchell, barn foreman;
H. L. Wright, Mrs. Lucy Card Matthews, E J Chateauvert,
Milan H Spinney, Charles E Kennison, L R Penny. June 29, 1914
Collection of Barney Neuburger from O. R. Cummings
Interior of the Arbutus. You can see the fleur-de-lis in the corners
of the center ceiling panels and the interlocking rubber tile flooring.
Sister Portland-Lewiston Interurban coach, No. 14, Narcissus, is
now being restored at Seashore Trolley Museum. The Narcissus
is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Circa 1914 O. R. Cummings Collection
The short video below has the audio of Clyde Walker Pierce, Jr., talking about his experience with trolleys in southern Maine and his recollection of "racing" the PLI interurbans with his automobile in the early 1930s.
Freight cars (Main Type #2)
Combination car (Subset #8)
Combination cars were cars that had one or more compartments for passengers and a separate compartment for baggage, mail, and luggage.
Combination car No. 3 was built in 1897 for the Portland
& Yarmouth Elec. Rwy. and in 1900 became part of the
Portland Railroad was later converted to a box motor
express car. A combine or combination car was designed
to handle express or light freight and also carry passengers.
One portion of the car has a separate compartment for freight,
usually with a sliding door on one or both sides of the body,
with the remaining car compartment with seats for carrying
passengers. Combines were commonly used on rural lines.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_26_016
Combination Car No. 51 of the Atlantic Shore Railway as
seen on Bickford Island at the end of the line in
Cape Porpoise, circa the summer of 1915.
Image Harold Jellison among O. R. Cummings collection
Granville "Granny" Allen, seen here in the vestibule of 1912
combination car of the Aroostook Valley Railroad No. 71.
No photo credit is given in the publication.
Granville "Granny" Allen at work inside No. 71.
R. L. Day photo in the
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_3_046
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum
Seen here is 1912 Aroostook Valley Railroad Company No. 70,
the sister combination car to No. 71 in the above images.
No. 70 is at the Seashore Trolley Museum.
Image September 26, 2009. No. 70 is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places PWM photo
Mail car (Subset #9)
Mail cars, or post office cars, were closed cars used exclusively to transport U.S. mail. Some cars carried mail in closed pouches, others were fitted out with racks and tables for sorting the mail en route.
The mail was transported from the post office to substations, where the car would collect and deliver mail by postal carriers.
Not all Maine electric railways had mail cars in service.
Built for the Portsmouth, Dover &York Street Railway in
1904, U. S. Mail car No. 108 also carried Express. No. 108
is among the collection of Maine railway vehicles at
Seashore Trolley Museum is listed in the
O. R. Cummings Collection
Railway Mail Service clerk Charles Preston sorts letters in
the postal compartment of No. 108 somewhere between
Badger's Island and York Beach. circa 1910
O. R. Cummings Collection
Loading mail on No. 71 at Washburn, July 1945.
1912 Aroostook Valley Railroad passenger & freight
interurban, No. 71, used to be at Seashore Trolley Museum.
R. L. Day photo in the
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_3_031
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Original mail car "A" of the Portsmouth, Kittery & York
Street Railway at York Beach, circa 1899.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Box freight (Subset #10)
Box freight cars were closed, and self-propelled cars. They were used to carry freight and to pull trains of cars.
Auburn & Turner Railroad No. 4 Box freight rail
car on September 10, 1905.
Staples Spur was near the end of the line in Turner
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_10_035
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Unnumbered steel flat car with No. 108 Box Express car on
State Street in Bangor, handling/installing wooden poles. 1925
Image from the Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
The Portland Railroad No. 4 express motor car was built in 1909 and
was converted to a wrecker car in its later years. Seen here at
the Deering Carbarn in June 1938. Express cars carried freight.
Image Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Motor cars (Subset #11)
Motor cars were self-propelled flat cars as opposed to non-motorized rail cars.
Unlike locomotives, motor cars had space to carry freight.
Atlantic Shore Line Railway flat motor car on the left,
with an enclosed cab on each end of the car. It's
coupled up, attached to No. 106, a box trailer
(built 1906), served as a line car during some construction
on the Kennebunk-York Beach line. Image circa 1908
O. R. Cummings Collection
At York Beach, an Atlantic Express Company delivery wagon
and the Atlantic Shore Railway box motor car exchange
goods. Circa 1912. O. R. Cummings Collection
Switching freight at East Corinth on the Charleston line
in the early days of the Bangor Railway & Electric in 1897.
The box-express motor was built in 1897 for Bangor,
The box-express motor was built in 1897 for Bangor,
Hampden & Winterport Railway.
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Gondola car (Subset #12)
Gondola cars had sides and ends, but no roof. They were used to haul coal, ballast, and other rough bulk freight.
Freight and Express were important sources of revenue. Here,
gondola motor No. 652 of the Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway
in Lewiston was at the Bates College heating
plant in Lewiston in 1935. Photo by Roger Borrup in
O. R. Cummings Collection
Locomotive (Subset #13)
Locomotives were tractors that did not carry freight or passengers.
Electric locomotives were used by interurban roads for hauling trains of freight cars.
No. 90, an electric locomotive, steeple cab type, of the
Portland-Lewiston interurban, hauling two flatcars, loaded
with railroad ties at the Deering Junction register
station in Portland. Image circa 1920.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Electric locomotive No. 100 hauling a train of railroad boxcars
passing the Goodall Mills in Sanford. Probably en route to the
railroad station in Springvale. Image circa 1935. No. 100,
a steeple cab-type locomotive that was built in 1906.
Seashore Tolley Museum acquired it in 1949, and it has been
fully restored. O. R. Cummings Collection
No. 100 at the Seashore Trolley Museum, and is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places Image 2009 PWM
Baggage car (Subset #14)
Baggage cars were closed cars. They were used to carry the passengers' luggage.
Aroostook Valley Railroad baggage-express box motor
No 52. The caption reads: This picture was taken by the
General Electric engineers, and was used for many years
in advertising in trade magazines. It shows the frame and
mounting for the air-controlled "Nose Plow".
No 52. The caption reads: This picture was taken by the
General Electric engineers, and was used for many years
in advertising in trade magazines. It shows the frame and
mounting for the air-controlled "Nose Plow".
Photo from the book, "Aroostook Valley Railroad:
History of the Potaoland Interurban in Northern
Maine" by Charles D. Heseltine & Edwin B. Robertson.
1909 AVR No. 52 is at the Seashore Trolley Museum
and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Utility cars (Main Type #3)
Wedge plow (Subset #15)
A wedge plow was a snowplow with a large wedge-shaped plow mounted to the front of the car.
They were also equipped with side wings.
Snowplows were very important to keeping the railways operating consistently through the Maine winters. As an example, Portland Railroad had more than 20 plows in the fleet, plus 4 rotary plows, sweepers, and other equipment that could move snow away from the tracks.
Early snow-fighting equipment for the Old Town line
Image from Charles D. Heseltine Collection
At the remnants of the Fairfield car barn, Waterville, Fairfield
& Oakland Street Railway No. 6 is a single-truck, double-pole
shear snowplow. 1936 - Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
February 1939, on the Westbrook line, No. 15, a single-truck
shear snowplow of the Portland Railroad.
Image Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Portland Railroad's No. 2 is a single-truck shear snowplow car
Affectionately called a nose plow, No. 2 was built in 1898 for
the Portland & Yarmouth Electric Railway and became part
of the Portland Railroad in 1900. Image September 1939 at
St. John Street shops. Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Portland Railroad's No. 17 double-truck, double-pole, arch roof,
with shear snowplow in October 1939 at the St. John Street shop.
Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Portland Railroad's No. M-1, 1903, single-truck, single-pole,
shear snowplow was purchased used from Eastern Mass. St. Rwy.
Image October 1938 - Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Rotary plow (Subset #16)
A rotary plow was a snowplow with a large revolving screw cutter mounted in front that bored through deep snowdrifts, discharging the snow to one side through a chute.
Street railways used rotary snowplows in regions with extreme winter weather to clear drifts of snow that were too deep for wedge snowplows to handle.
No. M-6, a 1901 Ruggles Co., 8-wheel, double-truck,
rotary snowblower, used on the Old Town line.
Image from the Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
No. 1, four-wheel rotary snowplow built for the Portland &
Yarmouth Street Railway Elec. Rwy in 1899.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library;
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_26_005
Snow sweeper (Subset #17)
Snow sweepers were designed to remove snow from the street railway track, typically during light snowfalls.
The sweeper was a closed car, mounted high on a single truck. Beneath its floor, at each end, rotating brooms made of flexible rattan sticks were set at an angle of about 45 degrees to the centerline to throw the snow to one side of the track.
Portland Railroad's No. 03 on Congress Street is a "Root" scrapper
(sweeper car) that would be used to clear snow from
the tracks. Originally, No. 03 was an express car for the
Portland & Yarmouth Rwy. It was built in 1897.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_32_073
Portland Railroad's single-truck sweeper car, No. 02, at the
Deering Carbarn in a new coat of paint and with new "brooms!"
received in the St. John Street shops. September 1935
Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Portland Railroad's single-truck sweeper car, No. 02,
was built in 1920. Seen here in Congress Square, Portland,
in December 1927. Edwin "Bill" Robertson Coll. PWM
Tower car (Subset #18)
Tower cars - or line cars - were cars that strung up and maintained the trolley wires that powered the cars.
Tower cars were equipped with a tower or elevating platform that allowed linemen to reach overhead electrical wires.
The tower trolley car strings up the first overhead wire in
Central Square, Gorham, ME - June 1901
J. A. Waterman Glass Plate Negative Collection
No. 28 was a passenger car on the Lewiston, Brunswick &
Bath line. It was converted to overhead maintenance
work car. Seen here at the corner of Elm and
Lewiston Streets in Mechanic Falls
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_10_020
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
Work car (Subset #19)
A work car was a trolley assigned to maintain and support the track and overhead electric wires.
Work cars came in a variety of forms, some built specifically as work cars, and others converted from retired passenger trolleys.
Line car no. 702 is shown in front of the Lewiston car barn
on Lisbon Street while the lineman makes some minor repairs on
the overhead trolley wire. Photo by Roger Borrup on
June 30, 1937, in the O. R. Cummings Collection
Former U. S. Mail and Express car No. 108 was purchased in
1904 for use by the Portsmouth, Dover & York Street Railway.
It served as an overhead line maintenance work car for YUCo.
No. 108 was acquired by the Seashore Trolley Museum in 1949
for historic preservation. No. 108 underwent exterior restoration
work in the early 1980s, returning it to its U. S. Mail service
look. No. 108 needs additional major restoration.
O. R. Cummings Collection
Here is No. 108 in use at a special event at Seashore
Trolley Museum after it was restored to being the U.S.
Mail car (RPO- Railway Post Office)/Express car. It is
listed in the National Register of Historic Places. PWM
Click here to view the post on the Vice-President, George Bush, attending the public release of four U.S trolley stamps at the Seashore Trolley Museum with U. S. Postal Car 108 present on October 8, 1983
Service Car M-8 was an electric railway street sprinkler car
for the Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Image circa 1935
Charles D. Heseltine Collection
Crane car (Subset #20)
A crane car was a flat car equipped with a pillar crane used to handle rails and heavy construction material. Crane cars were useful for handling derailments and wrecks of trolley cars.
Crane Car No. 1000 of the Portland Railroad is shown as
a wing plow clearing snow from Route 1 along the tracks
between South Portland and Saco. Image circa 1925
O R Cummings Collection
Sources
Images credited accordingly
Cummings, O. R. publications:
1950 Re-issued January 1957 - "Atlantic Shore Line Railway"
1955 - "Toonervilles of Maine: The Pine Tree State"
1956 - "The Biddeford and Saco Railroad"
1956 - "The Portland-Lewiston Interurban"
Part 1, 1957, and Part 2, 1959 - "Portland Road"
1959 - "Trolley Parlor Cars of New England"
1964 - "Trolleys To York Beach: The Portsmouth Dover & York Street Railway"
1966 - "Atlantic Shore Trolleys"
1966 - "Trolleys to Brunswick, Maine 1896-1937"
1967 - "Portland-Lewiston Interurban"
1969 - "Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway"
1969 - "Trolleys to Augusta, Maine"
1983 - Insert for the newsletter of The 470 Club
1989 - "Street Cars to Old Orchard Beach"
Cummings, O. R., Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum Library, Kennebunkport, Maine
Day, Ralph - 1946 - "Aroostook Valley Railroad Company history"
Heseltine, Charles D. - 1974 - "Bangor Street Railway"
Hitt, Rodney. Electric Railway Dictionary. New York: McGraw Publishing Company, 1911.
2012 - "The Trolley Parks of Maine" - by New England Electric Railway Historical Society
2015 - "The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946" - by New England Electric Railway Historical Society
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Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View
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 first captivate, fascinate, then generate 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 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
Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive
