Postcard with the Parlor Car "Merrymeeting" carrying
a "Special Party" of passengers to Island Park on
Lake Cobbosseecontee in Winthrop, ME. c 1910
O. R. Cummings Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
2009_2_20_160
Incorporators of the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway included Amos F. Gerald and other associates of his who were involved with other electric railways in Maine. Amos Fitz Gerald was a fan of castles. This may be why he was known as The Electric Railway "King" of the Pine Tree State. Click on his name to read his biography, Amos Fitz Gerald. He was one of many Maine entrepreneurs and inventors who were involved with street railways in the early days. Amos included castle-like aspects to the trolley casino at Merrymeeting Trolley Park and at Casco Castle Trolley Park in South Freeport.
Click Here: to read the history of the Casco Castle Trolley Park
Click Here: to read the history of the Underwood Spring Trolley Park
Click Here: to read the history of Merrymeeting Park in Brunswick
Click Here: for more on Trolley Parks in the heart of Maine by Seashore Trolley Museum.
Click Here: to read the lengthy history of Riverton Park in Portland
Click Here for the post: Ninety Communities in Maine with Electric Railway Service
Click Here for the post: 57 Million Passengers Carried on Electric Railways in Maine in 1915
The following description of the Merrymeeting Parlor Car is from the 1959 O. R. Cummings publication, Trolley Parlor Cars of New England."
The "Merrymeeting" was a double-truck parlor car built by the Briggs Carriage Company of Amesbury, MA, for the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway, for a cost of $7,000.
Bath carhouse of the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath Street Railway
with parlor car, "Merrymeeting." c1899
O.R.Cummings Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
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Delivered in May 1899, the regal coach was 40 feet in overall length, with an enclosed section that was 20 feet long and two observation platforms, each 10 feet in length. These platforms were enclosed by ornamental iron grillwork. The enclosed section had five large windows, ornamented with stained glass trimmings on each side. Olive green plush draperies were at the windows and doors. Wicker chairs and four tables for card players were set about on the green carpet. All interior woodwork was of mahogany and the car was lighted by 42 incandescent lamps.
The interior view of the parlor car, "Lawrence" of the
Newport & Fall River Street Railway was built in 1898 by
the Newburyport Car Company. The wicker chairs and card table
are similar to those that were in the "Merrymeeting."
O. R. Cummings collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
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The car was painted green with straw trimmings and proudly bore its name in gold letters on the convex side panels of the enclosed section. The "Merrymeeting," incidentally, was the only car with air brakes on the Lewiston, Brunswick & Bath for several years, being equipped with an axle-driven compressor.
The "Merrymeeting" at Tacoma Inn near Lewiston c 1905
O. R. Cummings Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
The "Merrymeeting," which could be chartered for $10 a day, was taken over by the Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway in 1907 and remained on the active roster as late as 1917. It was then stored until about 1920 when its trucks were removed for use on a freight car and the body was scrapped.
The "Merrymeeting" parlor car with a special party of
passengers. c 1900-1917 O.R. Cummings Collection
at Seashore Trolley Museum 2009_2_49_007
The "Merrymeeting" at the New Meadows Inn station in Bath, ME.
c 1910 photo by Arthur Foster in the O.R. Cummings
Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum 2009_2_20_090
The "Merrymeeting" at the Tacoma Inn near Lewiston
O. R. Cummings Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
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The "Merrymeeting" at the Lewiston carhouse c 1900.
This carhouse was built in 1899 and burned down late in 1903.
O. R. Cummings Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum.
The Merrymeeting on the Brunswick flat, en route to
Freeport and Yarmouth (ME) when it was part of the
Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway c 1907-1917.
George E. Cantara photo in the 1959 O. R. Cummings
publication, Trolley Parlor Cars of New England"
The "Merrymeeting" parlor car in Sabattus (ME) at the interchange
with the Maine Central Railroad.
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_21_022
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library
The photo above of the Merrymeeting parlor car is also shown on page 28 of Central Maine Power Company's newsletter, The Exciter Magazine - 1960 - The Electric Railroad Edition. The caption has the date as August 18, 1914, and states: "Probably the most celebrated passenger to be carried on a Maine trolley was former President Theodore Roosevelt."
I like that statement. On that day, 8/18/1914, Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the luxury, high-speed car, Narcissus, as he used the Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI) to campaign for the Progressive Party candidates between Lewiston and Portland (ME). The caption for this photo misstates that the former POTUS is in this photo and had been a passenger on the Merrymeeting. To me, these passengers are press staff for various newspapers that used the Merrymeeting to follow TR during that day. FYI - on August 31, 1916, Theodore Roosevelt would again ride one of the luxury PLI coaches, Clematis, from Portland to Lewiston.
The "Merrymeeting" parlor car at Togus Station.
O. R. Cummings Collection at Seashore Trolley Museum
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We are still in need of funds for creating the interpretation programs that will tell this fascinating 110+-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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Restoration work continues on the Narcissus at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. The only surviving interurban of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban Railroad. 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
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-resolution 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
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