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
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