Friday, January 28, 2022

Testing the Westinghouse Multi-Unit System for the Portland-Lewiston Interurban 1912 Narcissus

Brian Tenaglia, Assistant Restoration Shop Director at
Seashore Tolley Museum's Donald G. Curry Town House
Restoration Shop is featured in a short video describing
the test set up for the Westinghouse Multi-Unit for
use in 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban No. 14,
Narcissus.  Image screenshot from video by Ernie Eaton

The body of the Narcissus arrived at Seashore Trolley Museum
on Halloween (October 31) 1969. The photo is from
John Coughlin in the Kevin Farrell Collection

The Portland-Lewiston Interurban ceased operations late in June of 1933. The rolling stock was offered up for sale as complete operating equipment. Only a couple of pieces of complete equipment were sold. The next step was to scrap the electrical and mechanical equipment from each piece of remaining rolling stock and offer each of the "bodies" for sale. Several bodies were sold with the unsold bodies being scrapped. The Narcissus body was sold for $100 and was delivered to Sabattus, Maine. 

In the 1960s, the members of the Seashore Trolley Museum began negotiating with the owner of the Narcissus to acquire the body. With a verbal commitment having been made, members at the Museum began the search for mechanical and electrical equipment needed for restoring the Narcissus to being a fully operable interurban. 

The components acquired over the previous sixty years, that are related to the Westinghouse Multi-Unit controller system, were temporarily assembled in the restoration shop, to determine the system components' conditions and assess restoration needs.

This post includes a short video at the end that explains the testing procedures while operating the equipment. This is a very interesting and educational video explaining the operations through all the notches of the Mater Control Unit. Thank you to Brian Tenaglia and Ernie Eaton for producing this terrific video. Ernie is the restoration shop project manager overseeing all aspects of the restoration of the Narcissus. The Narcissus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Unless otherwise captioned, all images are screenshots from the testing video made by Ernie Eaton

Brian points to the air system intake (70 psi) utilized
in the testing setup.

The light bulbs represent the motors that will be utilized.

Brian points to the small bank of simulated resistor grids that
will be utilized in the test setup.

The overlay image on the lower left is of the top of the controller.

Westinghouse Master Controller model 15-B.
The overlay image on the left is of the 15-B controller schematic.

The image of the "reverser" overlay is on the left.

Wiring diagram of the electrical system

In several of the images below, The overlay image was taken from period Westinghouse documents.  Highlighted in red is the path available for electricity to flow as switches open or close at each "point." The careful observer with an understanding of electrical circuits will note that they configured the resistors at times, all in series and then in parallel. This reduced the number of resister grids required and helped to spread the waste heat more evenly across the entire grid assembly. 

As Brian works through the various "notches," series
and parallel, he points out the changes in voltage
reaching the "motors" as seen in the amount of light
emanating from the lightbulbs. An overlay image of
the wiring schematic in the lower right shows the voltage feed.









Brian explains the "trip" mechanism when there is an overload
of current. 

A safety feature is the overload trip mechanism.





Contacts that open and close during operations.

Click Here is the link to the instructional video

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!

Click Here: Donation Options

The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
 the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Portsmouth, Kittery & York Street Railway Carhouse and Steam Plant

The Kittery Point Carhouse shortly after the opening of
the Portsmouth, Kittery, & York Street Railway 1897
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_102

Though the Narcissus1912 Blog features the historical background and restoration work of the National Register of Historic Places member, the high-speed, luxury, 1912 Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 14, Narcissus, the blog does release other posts that relate to Maine electric railways, Theodore Roosevelt-related connections with Maine, and posts about Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.

This blog post features the Portsmouth, Kittery & York Street Railway's carhouse and power plant at Kittery Point, Maine. Summary/images from the book, "Atlantic Shore Line Railway" by O. R. Cummings, presented as Transportation Volume 4 by the Connecticut Electric Railway and the National Railway Historical Society-Connecticut Chapter - June 1950 Re-issued January 1957. And text/images are also taken from an O. R. Cummings book, "Trolleys To York Beach: The Portsmouth Dover & York Street Railway", Bulletin No. 1, New England Electric Historical Society, December 30, 1964.  Additional images will be credited. Details on how the local community members felt about the introduction and approved construction of the new electric railway, find a copy of John D. Bardwell's compilation of news events published in the local newspaper; "The Diary of the Portsmouth, Kittery, and York Electric Railroad," released in 1986 through the Portsmouth Marine Society in Portsmouth, NH.

Additional blog posts on related electric railways can be found through the links below:
  • 2.23.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Portsmouth, Kittery & York St. Rwy 1897-1903
  • 3.11.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Portsmouth, Dover & York St Rwy 1903-1906
  • 3.12.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Atlantic Shore Line Railway 1900-1910
  • 3.14.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - Atlantic Shore Railway 1911-1923
  • 3.15.2020 - Maine Bicentennial Series - York Utilities Company 1923-1949

The first carhouse erected for the Portsmouth, Kittery, & York Street Railway in 1897, was located near Hutchins' Corner (at the intersection of Pepperall and Chauncey Creek Roads) in Kittery Point. The facility was a building 45 feet by 175 feet, wood-frame, erected on piles over a tidewater swamp. Two lead-in tracks were connected through a transfer table to the four tracks inside the rambling structure, which had a capacity of twelve cars. Some repair facilities were provided inside as well. 

The brick power station of the Portsmouth, Kittery, & York Street Railway was located directly behind the Kittery Point carhouse. This power plant would generate the direct-current electricity that the various electric railway vehicles would utilize for operating the fleet in the early years. The original equipment included three Dillon 125-hp vertical boilers and two Ball and Wood tandem compound engines, one of 250-hp and one of 150-hp, belted to General Electric 550-volt direct-current generators of 225 and 110 kilowatts, respectively.

Enlargement of the Kittery point power station was undertaken between 1901 and 1902, with two Hodge 200-hp boilers, an Erie City 400-hp, four-valve, 21-inch x 21-inch engine, and a General Electric 225 kilowatt 550-volt direct-current generator being installed. 

The building was an active operating center until trolley service in Kittery and Kittery Point ended; it was then razed. As early as 1909 fears were expressed that the wood-frame structure would be blown down in any severe windstorm but such a calamity did not occur. An attempt to burn the building on August 16, 1908, did not succeed. The carhouse was razed in 1926, while the powerplant remained several years thereafter.

The power station was situated directly behind the carhouse.
Coal for the boilers was hauled from Cutts Wharf near Kittery
Point bridge. Original equipment for the plant in 1897 included
three boilers, two engines, and two generators; two more boilers,
another engine, and a third generator were added in 1900. 
The by-then-obsolete station was placed on reserve status
in 1915 after arrangements were made to purchase power from
the Rockingham County Light and Power of Portsmouth.
Image from the collection of H. T. Moulton within 
the O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_104 circa 1910

Coal for the power station reportedly was first landed from barges at the rear of the building but later was received at the wharf adjacent to the Kittery Point bridge and carted to the plant. There was a coal pocket at the wharf and later a siding was provided so that the fuel could be hauled to the power plant via rail.

Outside storage of soft coal can be seen as a pile on
the right in this photo above. Soft coal was the fuel for the
steam boilers. This pile of coal is on the east side
of the power plant. 
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_107

February 1904 insurance company drawing of the steam
power station plant and the carhouse is seen off of
Pepperell Road in Kittery Point. Thanks to Ralph Littlefield
for pinpointing the current address to the entrance of the
former carhouse/power plant. 150 Pepperell Road;
the current site of the Kittery Point Citgo Gas Station.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_108

Rail that provided access to the power plant for
delivery of coal circa 1915
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_105

circa 1906
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_106

Kittery Point bridges across Spruce Creek, York Harbor
& Beach Railroad trestle and coal wharf where the Portsmouth,
Kittery, & York Street Railway received fuel for its
power plant appears in this 1898 view.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_8_50

Work car "B" of the Portsmouth, Kittery, & York Street
Railway was photographed at the Kittery Point
carhouse with many employees c 1897.  These two tracks
led to a transfer table that accessed four tracks inside.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_7_105

The interior of the Kittery Point carhouse where
the two entrance tracks led to the transfer table, seen here,
allowed access to four tracks inside the carhouse.
 c 1905 O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_9_103
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!

Click Here: Donation Options

The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
 the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive

Saturday, January 15, 2022

Portland-Lewiston Interurban Employees Reunion Scrapbook to be Conserved and Digitized

One side of the 82 pages that make up
the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Employees
Reunion Scrapbook.

How Seashore Trolley Museum acquired the incredible scrapbook of the PLI Empoyees' reunions:

O. R. Cummings was a passenger in one of the interurbans of the PLI only once - in 1932 when he accompanied his mother to her 20-year reunion at Bates College. They traveled from Newburyport, MA to Portland, ME by train and continued on to Lewiston over the PLI. He so very much wanted to see the day the Narcissus was fully restored to operating condition. He even signed over his royalties to the Narcissus restoration fund from his 1967 book, "Maine's Fast Electric Railroad: Portland-Lewiston Interurban". 
O. R. was given the PLI Employee Scrapbook by its maker and fellow electric railway historian, Charles Heseltine. O. R., in turn, gifted the scrapbook to the NEERHS Library in 2013. 

Title Page of the scrapbook

     The PLI Employee Scrapbook has 112 pages (82 have content) of incredible memories from the construction & operating years (1910-1933) of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and of the four reunions (1938-1941) of former PLI employees. In looking through the scrapbook the first time, one of my first reactions was to say that these photos and other attachments in the scrapbook need to be professionally conserved and, if possible, digitized the contents so that they would be available for use in creating exhibits, displays, and educational offerings.

     Knowing we had this one-of-a-kind precious PLI employee scrapbook as a potential resource for creating interpretation materials - if quality digital images of the items held in the scrapbook were made available. The next step became clear. To find where the scrapbook contents could be professionally conserved and while doing so, have the contents professionally digitized.

Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, MA was referred to us and they provided us with an estimate for conserving our first two PLI treasures. The original, 1910 surveyor's map of the 30-mile-long, PLI right-of-way and the reunion scrapbook. Beginning early in 2018, we began fundraising for having the map and the scrapbook, and other PLI-related ephemera acquired conservation, and digitization work done. 

The first item to be conserved was the original PLI surveyor's map at a cost of a little more than $11K

Click Here for the post: Conserved! January 1910 Original 28-foot-long PGLRR Map
Click Here for the post: 1910 Surveyors' Map of the PLI Interpreted 2020 by Thomas P. Blake, PLS

We are so very happy to report, that we now have raised the funds necessary to have the contents of the PLI reunion scrapbook work done at a cost of more than $16K. The scrapbook will be dropped off at NEDCC later this month (January 2022).

Here are a few photos and words about the four reunions (1938-1941) of the former PLI employees. 

The first annual reunion of the former Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI) employers and employees was held in Gray, Maine, on June 29, 1938; five years to the day that the electric railroad ended service.

The initial page in the scrapbook with
contents from the first reunion in 1938.

The first reunion was held at Newbegin Hall in Gray. Construction having been completed, followed by its dedication, in November 1937, the Newbegin Hall was the new Gym at Pennell Institute.

A portion of November 25, 1937, clipping
from the Lewiston Journal describing the 
newly constructed/dedicated Newbegin Hall.
PLI Employees Scrapbook 

For the first reunion, O. S. Adkins, of  Center Street, Auburn (ME), led the reunion committee arrangements, along with George Davis and Dana Russell. The musical entertainment was provided by the Liberty Brothers of North Yarmouth (ME).

A baked bean supper was served by the members of the Gray Grange. Miss Mildred Yeaton was chair of the supper committee. She was assisted by the following committee members: Dining Room - Mrs. Marguerete Duplisea, Mrs. Phyllis Dolloff, Earle Sawyer, Gerald Kimball, Warren Cole, Lee Duplisea, and William Duplisea; kitchen - Mrs. Lois Dolloff, Mrs. Jennie Cole, Mrs. Jessie Barrows, Mrs. Emma Sawyer, Mrs. Inez Yeaton, Mrs. Carrie Loring, Mrs. Nancy Wallace, Mrs. Bertha Bubler, Mrs. Alice Caswell, Mrs. Eva Wilson, and Mrs. Alice Hitchcock.

Approximately 150 attended the supper, with about 300 in total attending the entertainment portion of the first reunion. Speakers during the reunion included Mrs. Gertrude Libbey Anthony of Saco, whose father, W. Scott Libbey, Sr., was the intrepid builder of the electric railroad, Fred Gordon of Portland, Percy Weymouth of Lewiston, and S. B. Cobb of Augusta.

A photo from the scrapbook shows a sign 
with a list of former PLI employees who were
being sought by the reunion committee.

More than 120 former employees attended the second reunion on June 29, 1939. This reunion took place at the Pennell Institute gymnasium (Newbegin Hall) in Gray. As was the case during the 1938 reunion, members of the Gray Grange served the food for the dinner banquet at the 1939 reunion.

Among those present at the 1939 reunion were; Fred D. Gordon, former general manager of the company and at the time, vice president and general manager of the Cumberland County Light and Power Company, and Elden A. Way, who attended from Canterbury, New Brunswick (Canada). Mrs. Gertrude Libbey Anthony, daughter of the builder of the PLI, was unable to attend.

Following the banquet, there was an exhibition of pictures of the rolling stock, line, and personnel of the company when it was in operation. The reunion concluded with a dance. O. S. Adkins of Auburn was the chair of the reunion committee that arranged the gathering.

The initial page in the scrapbook with
contents from the second reunion that
took place in 1939.

The sign from 1938 was effective in finding 
a few former employees. The search for 
others still not found continued in 1939.

The third reunion took place on June 30, 1940, at the Pennell Institute gymnasium (Newbegin Hall) in Gray. 105 attended, including 40 former employees and their families. Featured was a memorial service for members who had passed away during the previous year. Dinner was served by the Pythian Sisters of Gray with Mrs. Guy Prince in the lead role.

Following the dinner, many of the former employees were called upon to speak to the attendees. A ball game followed. The Casco League teams of New Gloucester and Gray played with Gray winning, 15-9.

Special mention was made at the dinner of Orrin Jenkins of Cumberland, RI, and Alden A. Way of Canterbury, NB (Canada), who had traveled the furthest to attend the reunion. Others mentioned were Charles Frost of North Wood, NH, and Peter Sanderson of Cooper's Mills, who were attending their first reunion.

During the day, a special scrapbook of old photographs of the railroad was passed around! 
(Text from Newspaper paper clippings on the scrapbook pages from the Lewiston Journal and Lewiston Sun was used in this post...)

Mrs. Gertrude Libbey Anthony was unable to attend.

The reunion committee included Oscar S. Adkins, Auburn, chair of the committee, Marvin L. Shackford, A. C. Clement, R. H. Shaw, and J. Fred Pollock, all of Portland.; George F. Davis, Dana M. Russell, both of Gray; John E. Cummings, New Gloucester; and A. P. Buchanan, Norman H. Merrill, Auburn.

The initial page in the scrapbook with
contents from the third reunion that 
took place in 1940.

The final reunion was the fourth reunion. It took place on June 28, 1941, at the Newbegin Memorial Hall in Gray. The first event of the reunion was a ball game at 3:30 played by teams in the Casco Bay League. The game was followed by a casual gathering. A supper, which was served by the Congregational Church, was followed by musical entertainment provided by Al Ricker & Company. 

The initial page with contents on the fourth
and the final reunion that took place in 1941.



One of many notes of appreciation in the scrapbook
from family members of former PLI employees who
had passed away. 

The pages of the scrapbook are full of photos, newspaper clippings, original poems, and so many other items that will all be resources to help tell the amazing story of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.

Another of the many pages from the
PLI employee reunion scrapbook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!

Click Here: Donation Options

The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
 the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive