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.
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 now available Click HERE to go to the Audible page. The eBook is available Here
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 car - passenger, freight, utility
Procedure #7: This assignment includes researching these various types.
This blog post delves into the subsets within the three main types of trolley cars expanding descriptions and examples.
This blog post delves into the subsets within 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 useful information on types of cars.
Here we go...
The Portland Railroad Company was initially a horsecar railroad starting in 1863. The system started to electrify in 1892 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. Images below are from several Maine railway systems, but many are from the Portland system.
Passenger Cars (Main Type #1)
Horse car (Subset #1) Subsets will all begin with text as described in Field Guide to Trolley Cars by Amber Tatnall
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, 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 petition in front of the driver is called a dasher. Open cars were used during months when the weather was warmer. The image is circa 1887. During 1890, the Portland Railroad Company operated a total of 11 miles of horsecar tracks for passenger operations. The company had 50 horsecars, both open bench cars, and closed cars, and owned 225 horses.
Here we go...
The Portland Railroad Company was initially a horsecar railroad starting in 1863. The system started to electrify in 1892 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. Images below are from several Maine railway systems, but many are from the Portland system.
Passenger Cars (Main Type #1)
Horse car (Subset #1) Subsets will all begin with text as described in Field Guide to Trolley Cars by Amber Tatnall
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, 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 petition in front of the driver is called a dasher. Open cars were used during months when the weather was warmer. The image is circa 1887. During 1890, the Portland Railroad Company operated a total of 11 miles of horsecar tracks for passenger operations. The company had 50 horsecars, both open bench cars, and closed cars, and 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 that received lots of snow, the wheels and axles of the cars were replaced with runners and 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 originally was bought for use by the Ocean Street Railroad in Portland.
Ocean Street horsecars operated only along Ocean Street, which is now Ocean Avenue in Portland. The Portland Railroad bought this company in 1895. Notice the style of the closed car and its roof is very different compared to the previous two images of horsecars. Like differences in automobiles depending on the manufacturer, trolley cars may have some variations 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, floors, end bulkheads, and sides with windows that could not be removed, although they 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 subset types of closed electric trolley cars. Once horsecars were electrified, manufacturers adapted to the growing needs of electric railway companies serving their communities, and the designs, capacity to carry passengers, the speed they could travel, and the materials used to construct the cars continued to evolve. 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 of the 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 horsecars. Over time, the weight of the motors and an increase in the number from one to two motors that each truck would hold dictated that 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 the early electric cars had a large brass trolley wheel attached to the end of the pole that was designed to connect with the energized overhead wire and conduct the electricity from the wire, through the pole, to the controls and motors in the car. The trolley wheel is meant to "troll" behind the trolley car as the car moves forward. If the car has a stop and needs to reverse its direction, the pole would need to be redirected first. While stopped, the conductor, using the rope attached to the end of the pole, would 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 is 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. Handling the trolley pole improperly while it is connected to the overhead wire was dangerous.
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 that is raised is making the connection to the wire with a more modern device than the trolley wheel. In the later "teens" of the 20th century, the new trolley shoe was released. A smaller device than the wheel, it 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
trolley event. PWM image
The platforms of horsecars became known as the 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 the 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 open to all elements and
temperatures for another ten years.
temperatures for another ten years.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_35_019
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
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. All new 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 = $30.79 2020)
Closed trolley cars for Portland started 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 that the car will be traveling forward from this end of the car. 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
During World War l, the closed cars serving Pond Cove (Cape Elizabeth), were converted to "one-man" cars. Following World War l, the other closed cars, over time, were converted to having an operating crew of one. The economic times following World War l would also lead to the gradual, but steady removal of open cars in the operating fleet.
No. 249 was built in 1911 with destination Pond Cove and was
converted to "one-man" crew operations during WWl. 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
This 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 lightweight, double-ended closed car, with an arch roof. The body of this car was constructed using a lot of lightweight steel. Double-ended means that the trolley car has controls to operate the car on both ends of the car. 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 that the car will move forward using the controls at this particular end of 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 a day would be transported to various recreation-related venues; including several trolley parks like Riverton Park, beaches, theaters, lakes, etc.
Another busy day at Riverton Park. Open trolley cars like
the ones in this image 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, 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 "2020" 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 did 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 the population in Maine 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 courtesy-PWM
Notice that many of the trolley cars in the above photo are different colors. For many years the trolley cars were painted different colors according to the line (or later the division) on which they were 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)
About 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 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 the car sides completely open between the window sills and the side plates.
The image below is an example of cross-seats in a semi-convertible closed car as mentioned in the description above. Notice the construction of the window frames, also called sashes, and the design allowing for opening or removal as mentioned in the description above. Advertising cards are displayed above the windows. Local businesses paid to display their advertisement cards in the cars was another source of revenue for the trolley company.
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 the car sides completely open between the window sills and the side plates.
The image below is an example of cross-seats in a semi-convertible closed car as mentioned in the description above. Notice the construction of the window frames, also called sashes, and the design allowing for opening or removal as mentioned in the description above. Advertising cards are displayed above the windows. Local businesses paid to display their advertisement cards in the cars was another source of revenue for the trolley company.
Cross seats in the interior of 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 horsecars 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 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 in 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. Singl-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 and were designed to be operated by only one person, saving 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. Interiors of the cars were generally fitted with reversible wooden seats that would generally carry no more than 30-32 passengers.
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 carbarn 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
Such success was had by the single-truck Birney cars, that other trolley car manufacturers went on 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), light-weight, safety
cars were built in 1921, that 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), light-weight, safety
cars were built in 1921, that 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 wires and other track-related work were being done. A Seashore Trolley Museum member bought 615 when the work was complete. 615 came to the Museum in 1941.
At Thornton Heights (Route One), South Portland,
No. 615 being loaded for delivery to Saco - 1926
615 is awaiting the funding to be restored. 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 often were 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 for 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, 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, 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; with four-90hp Westinghouse motors, which would reach speeds above 70 mph. The exteriors were painted a shiny dark Pullman green with each of them having their 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, arriving during Maine's Bicentennial year, 1920, was named Maine.
Arbutus, Gladiolus, Narcissus, Clematis, Azalea, Magnolia, and Maine.
Features 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
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 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 for the transportation of mail. Some cars carried mail in closed pouches, but some cars fitted out with racks and tables for sorting the mail en route.
The mail was transported from the post office to substations where it was collected and delivered 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
National Register of Historic Places.
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 is 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 were used for carrying freight and pulling 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
Portland Railroad No. 4 express motor car was built in 1909
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, box trailer,
( built 1906) serves 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 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
is 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 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 that 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 Seashore Trolley Museum
and has been listed in the National
Register of Historic Places since 1980.
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 railway 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 carbarn, 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
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 snow plows 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 StreetRailwayElec. 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 sweep snow off the street railway track, typically during light snowfalls.
The sweeper was a closed car, mounted high on a single truck. Beneath the floor of the car, at each end, rotating brooms made of flexible Ratten 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"
scraper (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 the electrical wires overhead.
Tower car stringing 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 an 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 carbarn
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 back to being the U.S.
Mail car (RPO- Railway Post Office)/Express car. It is
listed in the National Register of Historic Places. PWM
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 pilar crane used to handle rails and heavy construction material. Crane cars were useful in dealing with 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 Raod"
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
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 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