Louisville Railway Company Nos. 1085 & 377
Louisville, Kentucky - September 8, 1939
Foster Leavitt, Sr. Collection - Album No. 6
Foster Leavitt, Sr. and his brother, Edward "Eddie" Leavitt, like their father, Charles "Bob" Leavitt, worked as motormen and conductors for the Biddeford and Saco Railroad Company (B&SRR) in York County, Maine. The B&SRR began as a horsecar railroad, then transitioned to become an electric railroad. Foster and Eddie also were early members of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. Foster, Sr's love of trolleys was also passed down to his son Foster Leavitt, Jr. Between the father and son, they collected hundreds and hundreds of photos of electric railways and railroads from all over the State of Maine and many cities in the U.S. This post includes the 63 photos of cars from various electric railways in 13 different states outside of New England; including; Arkansas (1), Arizona (1), Florida (4), Indiana (13), Kansas (12), Louisiana (4), Maryland (5), New York (1), Pennsylvania (7), South Dakota (1), Texas (1), and Virginia (1)
Foster, Jr's son, Mike Leavitt was very kind and shared the many photo albums with me. Mike allowed me to copy photos and gave me permission to share the photos. In sharing, I always credit Mike's grandfather/father and individuals who may be credited on the backs of the photos.
This post is of photos from Album No. 6 of the Foster Leavitt, Sr. Collection that his grandson, Mike now has in his possession.
I did not remove these photos from the album pages and take photos of the back of each photo...some have dates associated with them (early teens - 1970), but many do not have dates...fyi
To show my appreciation to the Leavitt family, I'll share a few photos of them before beginning the pictorial.
Foster Leavitt, Sr. (left) is the motorman. His brother,
Edward "Eddie" (right) was the conductor of Car 31 in 1938.
Like their father, Charles"Bob" Leavitt, both brothers
worked for the Biddeford and Saco Railroad for many years.
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Charles "Bob" Leavitt at the Saco carbarn 1921.
Mr. Leavitt worked as a motorman at the
Biddeford and Saco Railroad for 39 years,
beginning in 1896. Seashore's Car 31 arrived
in Saco in June 1900 and Mr. Leavitt was one
of the motormen operating Car 31 from day 1.
Eddie Leavitt (left) was the conductor
and his brother, Foster Leavitt, Sr. (right) was the motorman
on Car 31 at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport
in 1977. Both operated cars at the Museum throughout
the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s.
Click Here: for the post on the ten Maine railway-related cars in the Seashore Trolley Museum's collection that have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1980, including Car 31.
June 23, 1999 - In 1999, as one of the activities to celebrate
the 60th anniversary of the SeashoreTrolley Museum and
the saving of Car 31, I organized a "Home Tour" for Car 31.
Car 31 returned to Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach.
I did not know Mike Leavitt at the time, however, he, his wife,
and their two daughters attended the Saco celebration. Here they
are on Car 31 with Mike's grandfather, Foster, Sr's, motorman hat
on the bumper, that he wore while working for the B&SRR.
Mike's wife and daughters with Mike on
Car 31 on August 12, 2023, reenacting
their Car 31 photoshoot from 1999.
I just happened to take this photo of Mike's daughters
gifting their great grandfather's B&SRR motorman hat to
the Dyer Library with Car 31 in the background on June 23, 1999
Mike and his whole family are on Car 31. They represent
six generations connected with Car 31 over 123 years!
August 12, 2023
Foster Leavitt, Sr.'s Collection - Album No. 6.
In the possession of his grandson, Mike Leavitt.
Here we go...enjoy!
Arkansas
Arizona
Florida
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Hagerstown and Fredericksburgh Street Railway
Nos. 172 and 5 on Catoctin line - May 24, 1953
New York
Pennsylvania
Fairmount Park Street Railway (PA)
No. 18 at carbarn - 1946
South Dakota
Texas
Dallas Street Railway (Texas) No. 721
State
Virginia
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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!
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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
