Narcissus Side Sill Work Begins

First of two vintage southern yellow pine

timbers to have mortises cut and to be 

prepared to receive its steel channel.

     The above image is of the first of two vintage southern yellow pine timbers that were prepared for installation as the side sills to the passenger compartment of the National Register of Historic Places member, No. 14, 1912, Portland-Lewiston Interurban luxury coach, Narcissus. The Narcissus is currently being restored at the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.

     The two vintage timbers that will be used to replace the original side sills were sawn from a single timber that started out as an 11.5" x 13" x 39-foot-long beam. The beam was originally installed in a building that housed a brass foundry in Connecticut, circa 1880. You will see in the following images that the quality of this timber is a historic preservation woodworker's dream.

Nine-minute video of Seth Reed talking about

preparations made to one of the two "new"

vintage side sills for the Narcissus.

Click Here to see the video on YouTube

A similar pattern of tight growth rings on the original

sill (left) and a new vintage timber sill on the right.

  

For the restoration of a historic railway vehicle like the

Narcissus, using vintage reclaimed lumber, timber, does make

a difference. "Farmed" southern yellow pine on the left. 

Compare the number of growth rings per inch to the 

vintage southern yellow pine timber on the right. 

Seth Reed shows how the original side sill was used as

a guide for aligning measurements on the new

vintage sill.

Printouts from the SolidWorks files of the sills showing

all the various locations of components, mortise, and

measurements.

Before being removed from the storage trailer to be relocated

to the woodworking shop, Seth Reed confirms measurements

and placements of the mortise on the first vintage southern

yellow pine side sill for the Narcissus. Ernie Eaton Photo

A short video of Seth Reed explaining the

proposed accommodations of the 37-foot side sill

in the woodworking shop for conducting the mortise work on the sill.

Click Here to see the video on YouTube

The Museum's workhorse, a Pettibone, is seen backing

away in the background. It is the first of two vintage southern yellow

pine side sill timbers resting safely on stacks of blocks in the

woodworking shop. Ernie Eaton Photo

With the sill in place, now prep work to set up the rollers and

equipment before making the mortises.

Ernie Eaton Photo

The grain in this timber is beautiful.

Mortise is being drilled in the sill timber by Ernie Eaton.

Ernie Eaton Photo

Very clean cuts

The video above is of one of the vintage southern

yellow pine sill beams for the Narcissus being

mortised (video at high speed) by Ernie Eaton.

Click Here to see the video on YouTube

The video above is of one of the vintage southern

yellow pine sill beams for the Narcissus being

mortised (video at normal speed) by Seth Reed.

Seth is cutting a middle window post mortise

(1 1/4" x 2 1/2") using a mortiser that is likely

almost as old as Narcissus. This beam was milled

from a larger beam reclaimed from a brass foundry building in Connecticut that was constructed

circa 1880.

Click Here to see the video on YouTube

Looking towards the machine shop with mortises done.

Ernie Eaton Photo

Looking towards the north end of the woodworking shop.

Ernie Eaton Photo

Following the mortises being cut, the tapered cut along the

complete length of the top and bottom edge of the

inside-facing side of the sill was made. This will

allow for a tight fit of the steel channel. The steel channel

will be attached and secured to the sill. The set will then be

returned to the storage trailer until the set is needed for

installation to the Narcissus.

 

 The new vintage sill on the left awaits the installation of its steel

channel. On the right is the original left side sill shortly after removal.

Its steel channel has been separated from the sill.

     Other work on the Narcissus continues as well. Throughout the interior of the passenger and smoking compartments, the craftsmanship and attention to artistic detail are simply brilliant.  An example is the ornate gold leaf fleur-de-lis and striping in the ceiling panels of the Narcissus.

The ornate gold leaf work can be seen in the corners of the ceiling

panels in this image of the PLI, Arbutus.

The ornate gold leaf fleur-de-lis can be seen in a corner of an

original center ceiling panel from the Narcissus.

Gold leaf is seen in this virtual 3-D model of

the interior of the Narcissus. Ernie Eaton Photo

     As components of the Narcissus have their specifications/dimensions, etc. confirmed, the digital files of these components are added to the virtual 3-D files of the Narcissus within the SolidWorks program.  The image above shows the addition of the file that includes the ornate gold leaf fleur-de-lis and striping in the ceiling panels of the Narcissus. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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 first 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

Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive

Narcissus Side Sills Have Arrived! 12-27-2019

Difficult to grasp the magnitude of just how massive these two 37-foot, vintage timbers are unless you are up close and personal with them, as a few of us fortunate souls were this morning, at the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration

Shop at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME.

  The timbers were delivered. They will be used in the

restoration of the Narcissus. The sole surviving majestic

interurban coach from the finest and fastest electric railroad

in all of New England, the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.

Image by Winter Wind Photography

     Click Here for the post on how these vintage sills were located, sawn, milled, and prepared for delivery to the Seashore Trolley Museum.

     Here is a series of images and a couple of videos on the delivery of the sills this morning.

The company SelectWood's delivery truck from Portsmouth, NH,

arriving at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME,

on the morning of Friday, December 27, 2019, with the 

vintage, 37-foot-long, southern yellow pine side sills

for the National Register of Historic Places member, 

Narcissus.

Image by Winter Wind Photography

L-R, Narcissus sponsor, Phil Morse, with 

Steve King, of SelectWood in Portsmouth, NH, and Narcissus

restoration manager, Ernie Eaton. All are watching as the side sills are unloaded from the Selectwood delivery truck.

Image by Winter Wind Photography

A 53-foot trailer was acquired for storing components

for use in active restoration projects. Currently, and for the

next couple of years, it will be used exclusively for the

storage of Narcissus components.

Image by Winter Wind Photography

A job well done!

The original side sills are seen here on the left. They will be used

for templates to align holes and mortises on their replacements.

Image by Winter Wind Photography

The mortising equipment  in the restoration shop will be

temporarily relocated from its current position

to a more centrally located spot so that each of the 37-foot-long side sill mortises can be cut.

The temporary location for the mortising equipment seen here at the far

end of the workbench will be where the chop-saw is now

located. As seen above, about halfway down the workbench.

This temporary placement for the mortiser will allow

it to be pulled out away from the inner location in the

workbench to allow for easier access for use in the

mortise work on the 37-foot sills, and then it can be moved

back into the workbench when not in use.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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 first 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

 Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive

Narcissus Restoration Update - Truck Work & Sills - November 26, 2019

These four sixty-five hp motors are for the Narcissus. They
are waiting to be picked up, placed in a truck, and then, will
be delivered to A-C Electric in Auburn, ME. That is where they

will each be rebuilt. The armatures will be
vacuum/pressure-impregnated and epoxied, the

bearings sleeved, the cases line-bored and trued, and the

fields rewound and epoxied as well.

     The Narcissus was built in 1912 in Laconia, NH, and operated on the Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI) between the two cities from 1914 to 1933. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus from Lewiston to Portland on August 18, 1914. 

     The blog posts include updates on the restoration of the National Register of Historic Places, Narcissus, which is currently taking place at Seashore Trolley Museum's Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop in Kennebunkport, Maine. Posts also include topics; on the connections that Theodore Roosevelt has here in Maine, the PLI and its connections to the communities it served (Portland, Falmouth, Cumberland, Gray, New Gloucester, Auburn, and Lewiston), the builder of the PLI, W. S. Libbey, other electric railway systems in Maine, and people of Maine that had an impact on the electric railway development here in Maine.

     Starting in 1965, the Museum has been seeking and acquiring trucks and all the other various mechanical and electrical components that would be needed to make the Narcissus look, operate, and stop appropriately and safely. The body of Narcissus arrived on the Museum campus on October 31, 1969. The original rare Baldwin trucks, each with two 90-hp motors, were scrapped in the mid-1930s shortly following the end of operations of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. Over the ensuing years, the Museum acquired four sets of trucks that each had attributes that were considered strong candidates for use in creating a pair of trucks for the Narcissus. This winter, the task of building the trucks for the Narcissus begins. Various components of the four sets of trucks acquired for the Narcissus will be removed and utilized in building the two trucks for the Narcissus. In addition, other components for the two trucks will need to be fabricated for installation on the trucks. We will be using 65-hp motors (GE 263-A) that will be placed in Baldwin trucks. These Baldwin trucks will be base trucks, as there will be many modifications required to have the truck(s) look correct and fit/operate correctly with the Narcissus.

ID plate on one of the 65-hp motors. 

The first Baldwin "base truck" just before entering the shop,

where it will start its complicated transition to becoming one

of the two trucks used to propel the Narcissus. Components

from three other sets of trucks will be used in building the two trucks for the Narcissus, using these Baldwin base trucks.

A side view of the first Baldwin base truck that will

be renovated for use by the Narcissus.

In the "box", the first Baldwin base truck will

be sharing the heated workspace with the

Denver, Birney car, during the cold winter months.

This is what we will call the second pair of Baldwin trucks.

This set of trucks had four 65-hp motors and four axle

sets removed for use in building the Narcissus trucks.

Today, the axle sets were removed from the "second set of

trucks" and brought to the doorway of the restoration shop.

We will not be using the wheels or journal boxes from

these axle sets, but the remaining components from these

will be used in building the Narcissus trucks.

This is what we will call the third set of Baldwin trucks

 acquired for use in building the Narcissus trucks. The

angled-down, "tail" seen here to the left of the wheelset, will

be removed from both of these trucks and used in

building the Narcissus trucks.

This is what we will call the fourth different Baldwin truck

set acquired (this set was acquired in 1965 from Ontario,

Canada) for use in building the Narcissus trucks.

One truck has the correct journal boxes for the Narcissus.

These will be used in building the Narcissus trucks,

but will also be used to cast the remaining boxes needed.

The fourth set of trucks also has some of the correct

brake pieces needed to build the Narcissus trucks. 

     Another major step forward with the Narcissus restoration has been taken this month as the forty-foot, vintage southern yellow pine timbers have been located, inspected, then a purchase order was executed to acquire them for use as the side sills for the Narcissus. 

     

The left side of the Narcissus is ready to

receive its new thirty-seven-foot-long vintage

southern yellow pine side sill.

 Click here to see the original sills being removed.

    

The right side of the Narcissus. You can clearly see the

tenon at the base of several of the vertical wall/window posts.

These tenons fit into the mortise (holes) cut into the top

37-foot-long vintage southern yellow pine side sill.

Click here for the post on removing the original right sill and steel channel.

     Once the two forty-foot timbers are cut, sawn, and milled to the ready-to-go specs of 5" x 8" x 37', they will be delivered to STM (perhaps mid-December?), and the arduous effort of handling the sills to properly prepare them for installation will begin.

     Just moving the 37-foot sills to and from the various work "stations" for them to be positioned properly and safely will be a challenging, time-consuming endeavor. Each sill weighs approximately 300-400 pounds and will need to be positioned next to the removed original sill to mark the exact placement for the holes to be drilled. These holes will match the holes in the channel steel that will encase the interior side and a portion of the top and bottom edges of the sills. The flat back of the channel steel with the encased sill will be bolted to the 37-foot-long passenger compartment floor sill/joist.

The two original 37-foot-long side sills

from the Narcissus are stored in the

parts storage trailer that is currently dedicated

to store parts for the Narcissus. 

A mortiser is a specialized woodworking machine

used for cutting square or rectangular holes

in a piece of lumber. This mortiser will be

used by the shop staff to cut the mortises in the

37-foot-long side sills for the Narcissus.

The mortiser (see above definition) is seen here at the end

of the long woodworking bench in the shop. The safe setup

to handle the 37-foot-long

side sill timber, while the mortise cuts are made, will

be challenging. 

     Ernie Eaton is the restoration shop project manager for Narcissus. Ernie is interested in technology, and on his own, during his spare time, he has been working on a 3-D version of the Narcissus. This hobby has proven handy on several occasions recently, most notably when dealing with the wood vendor for the side sills. The virtual model of the sills shows the accurate placement of bolt holes and mortise locations so that when inspecting prospective salvaged, vintage, 40-foot timbers, it is easier to determine whether a timber's condition will be acceptable.

In this 3-D image, you see the placement of the mortise

locations on the top of the side sill for the vertical 

wall/window post tenons.

A screenshot of a portion of the 3-D version of the Narcissus

seen here "virtually" on the mainline tracks at Morrison

Hill Station at Seashore Trolley Museum. 1915 

Morrison Hill Station is the original waiting station of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban line from West Cumberland, and will be the site where the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completed Narcissus will take place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

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 first 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

 Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive