Portland Railroad's St. John Street Shop crew photo c 1919-1922
Courtesy of Theresa Cline. Theresa's grandfather, Chalmer Elam Cline, is in this photo.
Theresa also knows that Erland Liberty Jones is in the photo. Both lived in Yarmouth.
There are 39 of the shop crew in this photo. We would really like to identify as many of these
individuals as possible. If you or anyone you know, had a family member or family friend
who worked in the Portland Railroad shop during these years, please let me know.
I will conduct research too. Thank you - Phil Morse p.morse31@gmail.com
There is no date on when this crew photo was taken. I did some research on the trolley
cars in this photo and was able to narrow down the possible time frame. More on
that research later in this post :)
I was glad to be able to locate newspaper clippings online through the Portland Press Herald Archives. Google Books online to find the story on the PRR shop in the January 1917 issue of Street Railway Journal. In addition, much of the text and most of the photos were from O. R. Cummings' two Portland Railroad publications; the Portland Railroad; 1957, Part I - Historical Development and Operations, and 1959, Part II - ... Rolling Stock, Carhouses, Power Supply. I also looked through the O. R. Cummings Collection of photos at the Seashore Trolley Museum. Edwin "Bill" Robertson's 1982 publication, Remember The Portland, Maine Trolleys.
Click Here to find many posts on Maine Electric Railways history throughout Maine
On top of the ladder: Erland Liberty Jones.
A few weeks ago I read that the Amtrak Downeaster folks are looking at three different pieces of property along St. John Street in Portland, Maine as they consider perhaps relocating the current railroad passenger station to one of the St. John Street sites. That got me thinking of the various transportation stations, carhouses, car shops, and horse stables, that have been located along St. John Street over the years. So, I thought I'd put together a post that features some of those facilities.
The former Maine Central Railroad Union Station is probably the most well-known and remembered of the facilities.
Horsecar No. 57 at Union Station - still under construction c 1887.
This horsecar is at the intersection of St. John Street and
Congress Street. This intersection was known as Railroad Square.
Portland Railroad had many horsecars at the time. One of the stables
for the horses used by the railroad was on the opposite side of Congress
Street, on St. John Street. Union Station's official opening was June 25, 1888.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_32_004
Portland Railroad St. John Street stable c 1888
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_035
The financial report for the year ending of 1887, mentions that a new carhouse would be built.
During the fiscal year ending in 1887, the horsecars of the Portland Railroad carried 1,758,145 passengers!
From the Street Railway Journal
Ibid
In 1888, a 3-track wooden carhouse was built at
the southwest corner of Congress and St. John Streets,
just off Railroad Square.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_005
As seen from inside the archway of the main entrance to Union Station,
from left to right, are the stables, carhouse, and the brick MCRR
building for use by employees.
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_034
Arches of the main entrance to Union Station. The
details match with the photo above :)
Photo courtesy of Maine Central RR archives.
Later in 1895, the Portland Railroad began using electric trolleys to serve Congress Street down to St. John Street and Union Station.
Fire destroyed the carhouse on St. John Street - July 9, 1901 - Five trolleys burned in the blaze.
Three of the trolley cars burned in this fire;
107, 108, and 112 were purchased in 1895 from
the J. G. Brill Company. 107 and 108 were in an order
that included Nos. 100-108. More info on the other
trolleys in that order later in this post:)
Portland Evening Express - July 10, 1901
Debris from the fire being cleaned up - busy
time of the year at Union Station.
Portland Evening Express - July 12, 1901
Early postcard of Union Station before the 40-foot addition
extended from the clock tower - c 1901
One-third of the canopy that is seen over the tracks behind
the station was saved and in recent years has been a
fixture for concerts and for the ice rink at Thompson Point.
The Portland Railroad soon acquired a large plot of land on lower St. John Street, running through Valley Street, and constructed a modern 14-track brick and steel carhouse on the site in 1901/02.
A description of the work on the St. John Street carhouse is at the bottom
of the left column in the September 17, 1901, Portland newspaper article.
A few more details about the new carhouse, now being called a "carbarn" is
mentioned in this
Portland newspaper article November 16, 1901.
St. John Street carbarn.
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Ibid
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Ibid
Portland Railroad's new "Equipment and Repair Shop
Nos. 200, 198, 254, and 801 in the St. John Carbarn c1925
Ibid
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Ibid
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The first trolley entered the new St. John Street carbarn on Wednesday, April 23, 1902.
A Sanborn Insurance map detail of the St. John Street carbarn.
Photo of the St. John Street Carbarn with many trolleys - c 1910
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_037
The August 31,19012, Portland Sunday Telegram featured an article on the 39-year history of the Portland Railroad.
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
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Ibid
Click Here: Maine Bicentennial Series on the History of the Portland Railroad 1860-1941
The Portland Railroad Annual Report of its fiscal year July 1, 1901-June 30, 1902 was listed in the October 20, 1902, Portland Evening Express. The report listed that 10,839,006 passengers were carried that year on a total length of 77.57 trackage used for operations. The average number of employees during the year was 383 and the daily pay ranged from $1.50 - $2.60.
In 1904/1905, a large shop building was constructed at the rear of the carhouse on St. John Street.
March 3, 1904 - Evening Express
May 21, 1904 - Evening Express
The new shop is mentioned in the city report of major construction projects.
was nearing completion when mentioned in
the December 15, 1904, Portland Evening Express
article above.
A Sanborn Insurance map detail of the St. John Street shop.
Designed and engineered by the firm of Sheaff & Jaastad,
the shop contained a paint shop, an equipping shop,
a woodworking shop, a blacksmith shop, a machine shop,
a brass foundry, and an armature room.
Nos. 249 and 206 in the St. John Street Paint Shop. Both were new
and received in 1911. they were active until about 1940.
Both are "double-truck" cars. A "truck" is the wheel-axle, motor, etc.
assembly that the body of the car sets on. The smaller cars are
"single-truck" and larger cars generally are "double-trucks."
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_043
All types of machinery were installed so that the shops were equipped to handle any maintenance or repairs job - or to build new cars if need be.
Track layouts for the PRR Carbarn and for the Shop on
St. John Street. Drawing from O. R. Cummings' 1959 publication,
Part II...Rolling Stock, Carhouses, Power Supply -
Portland Railroad
Photo of the St. John Street carbarn with many trolleys c 1918
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_038
This map depicts PRR service after 1905. There are two "barns" shown
on St. John Street (below Union Station). One of those "barns" is
actually the "shop" which was completed early in 1905.
The communities served by the Portland Railroad once electric 1891-1941
Map drawn by Charles Heseltine. Map from the 2015 NEERHS book,
"The Illustrated Atlas of Maine's Street & Electric Railways 1863-1946"
A Sanborn Insurance map detail of the St. John Street carbarn and shop
Photo of the St. John Street carbarn with many trolleys c1918
Courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_30_042
In 1916, six, (20-foot, single-truck, closed trolleys), fourteen, (28-foot, double-truck, closed trolleys, and two (semi-convertible trolleys, Nos. 254 & 255) were rebuilt for prepayment service in the St. John Street shop. Bulkheads were removed, folding steps were installed and door control stands with brackets to hold fare boxes were provided for conductors (Nos. 254 & 255 had been built as prepayment cars and the conversion was simply a modification of their original design).
A three-page story on the process was published in the January 1917 issue of the Electric Railway Journal.
Ibid
Ibid
As I mentioned in the opening, this photo of the PRR Shop crew inside
the St. John Street shop from Theresa Cline has no date. I thought I might be able
to narrow the possible date to when the photo was taken by looking at the three
trolley cars in the photo.
The number of the trolley car on the far left is not visible. I looked at the body and roof type and at the windows of the vestibule (the enclosed end where the controls are for the motorman to operate the car.). I then looked through the inventory list and photos of the trolleys in the Portland Railroad over its electric years (1891-1941) that were in the O. R. Cummings two Portland Railroad publications of the Portland Railroad; 1957, Part I - Historical Development and Operations, and 1959, Part II - ... Rolling Stock, Carhouses, Power Supply. I also looked through the O. R. Cummings Collection of photos at the Seashore Trolley Museum.
The best match in what I found was an order of nine single-truck, 20-foot, closed cars received in 1895 from the J. G. Brill Company in Philadelphia, PA. Nos. 100-108. Research showed that Nos. 107 and 108 were destroyed in the 1901, St. John Street carhouse fire. The remaining cars had their open-ended platforms enclosed later during that decade (1905).
So, to start, I was thinking the car in the crew photo might be one of these - Nos 100-106.
Then I looked at the other cars in the photo.
No. 100 was a single-truck trolley that arrived in 1895. It was common
practice in the early years to have the motorman exposed to all the
elements of each and every day throughout the year as he operated the
trolley cars in an open-ended platform. Eventually, beginning in the
middle of the first decade of 1900, the platform areas were enclosed.
By the mid-teens, laws mandated that all closed cars have enclosed vestibules.
In the early years, No. 100 was painted blue for the Spring Street-Grand Trunk Station Route.
In those days PRR cars were "color-coded" and stayed on the same route.
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_018
No. 100 is on Pearl Street near the Customs House
after 1905, when its open platforms were rebuilt into enclosed vestibules.
The sign above the crew on the vestibule roof was added,
which meant the car could go on different routes (In the St. John shop
crew photo, the sign reads, Old Orchard).
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_019
The trolley car on the right in the St. John Street shop photo seemed to be one of the larger cars and on the front end exterior dasher of its vestibule, a portion of two numbers can be seen. Based on those numbers, and the car's body and roof type, I was able to look through the Portland Railroad's inventory list and photos and found that No. 244 was the best match.
No. 244 was a 28-foot, double truck, closed "box" car. It was built in 1911 by the Portland Railroad crew in the St. John Street shop and placed on Brill-made trucks. It was scrapped in 1940.
No. 244 is seen here and is noted as being at a PRR shop. I don't recognize
the neighborhood in the background, so, I'm not sure which shop this is?
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_38_112
Shortly after World War II, most railways, including the Portland Railroad, began rebuilding many of their trolley cars to operate with only one employee. Instead of having both a motorman and a conductor needed to operate a car, there would be only an "operator" with fare boxes that could hold the money for fares that passengers would drop the money into.
Trolley car manufacturers began building new trolley cars that were designed to be operated with one employee in the car. One of the most popular new one-man trolley cars was the "Birney" safety car. Initially, built as a single-truck car, it wasn't long before larger, double-truck, one-man cars were being built as well.
The last of the three trolley cars to try and identify in the St. John Street
shop crew photo is most likely one of what were called, single-truck,
"Birney" safety cars. Nos. 600 and 601 above are at the Deering carbarn.
Both were part of an order of 15 single-truck, Birney safety cars that arrived at
the Portland Railroad (PRR) early in 1919 (Nos 600-614).
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_39_037
Comparing the upper trim board of the vestibule windows of Nos. 600 and 601 in the above photo, led me to think that the car in the St. John Street crew photo was one of the group of Nos. 600-604.
I found a discrepancy between two publications on the manufacturers for some of the cars in the order of Nos. 600-614.
Edwin "Bill" Robertson's 1982 publication, Remember The Portland, Maine Trolleys, states that The American Car Company built Nos. 600-605 for the PRR, and that the Wason Company built Nos. 606-614. O. R Cummings' 1959 publication, Part II -... Rolling Stock, Carhouses, Power Supply, states that the complete order of Nos. 600-614 was built by the Wason Company.
Here is evidence that the Nos. 600-604 were built by the American Car Co.
This is the American Car Company "Builder's Photo" of PRR No. 600 before
being shipped with its four sister cars - Photo taken on April 17, 1919.
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_39_034
This article has me wondering if the Edwin "Bill" Robertson's
1982 publication, Remember The Portland, Maine Trolleys, states
correctly that The American Car Company built Nos. 600-605
for the PRR? The article states that five cars were in the order. If
No. 600 is the first, then Nos. 601-604 would make five cars.
That would mean No. 605 was in the Wason order of cars
numbered up to 614.
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has a slight variation from the American Car Company's Nos. 600-604.
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, has No. 615,
a sister car to No. 613 above. No. 615 is the only surviving trolley
car from the Portland Railroad that exists. It needs a sponsor to
work with the Museum to restore the car to operating condition.
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_39_038
Click Here: Former PRR No. 615 at Seashore Trolley Museum on the National Register of Historic Places
Process of elimination in determining a window of time that the St. John Street crew photo might have been taken.
If my research process is correct, the three cars in the photo are likely:
Left to Right: Let's start with the car in the back. If it is one of the Birney safety cars Nos. 600-614 that arrived early in 1919, or it's one of the Birney Safety cars Nos. 615-622 that arrived in 1920, that means the St. John Street shop crew photo was taken after that series of Birney safety cars arrived; 1919/1920 and because the car in the crew photo in front of the Safety car was either scrapped in 1921 or 1922, that means the photo was taken no later than 1922.
The window of the photo is most likely between 1919-1922
One of the 1895 cars: Nos. 100-108
- Nos. 100 and 101 were scrapped in 1922
- Nos. 102 and 103 were combined to make No. 700 in 1917
- Nos. 104, 105, and 106 were scrapped in 1921
- Nos. 107 and 108 burned in the 1901 fire
No. 70 was made in 1917 in the St. John Street shop by taking the 1895
single-truck cars, No. 102 and 103, and building the only center entrance
car that the Portland Railroad had in service.
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_39_049
No. 700 was scrapped in 1930, probably at the Deering carbarn on
Stevens Avenue near Morrill's Corner.
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_39_052
Portland Railroad St. John Street carbarn c 1924
Maine Historical Society image - item 76737
Photo courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum Library:
O. R. Cummings Collection 2009_2_39_032
After Portland Railroad trolley operations ended in the spring of 1941, the St. John Street carhouse was converted to a bus garage, and the shops were converted for bus maintenance. Later, the buses were owned by the Portland Coach Company., which leased a portion of the former carhouse building to mercantile interests.
St. John Street property continues...
Portland Railroad's parent company, Cumberland County Power & Light was taken over by Central Maine Power (CMP) in 1942. In 1944, CMP sold its (88) bus operations to Salzberg Industries of New York City which named its Portland, Maine bus system Portland Coach Company. Portland Coach acquired Portland Bus Company and continued bus operations with Portland Coach until 1966, then, the City of Portland acquired the transit system and formed the Greater Portland Transit District.
In 1969, the District purchased the land and buildings at St. John Street and leased them to the operator for $1 a year.
In 1984, the construction of a new facility was completed at St. John Street.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
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