SEASHORE TROLLEY

Kennebunkport,

idfpuotal R'eitelt ‘01 /962

New Electric Railway Historical Society 1962 ANNUAL REPORT purchase power. Negotiations with the power company continued as well as fur- ther preparation of the substation, acquisi- SEASHORE TROLLEY MUSEUM tion of switch gear and power line con- Owned and operated by the New England Electric Railway Historical Society, Inc. (Founded in 1939 as the Seashore Electric Railway and incorporated in Maine as a non- profit educational foundation). Contributions are tax deductible. SHOPS AND MUSEUM KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE GENERAL OFFICE 4 EAST UNION ST., GOFFSTOWN, N. H. BOARD OF TRUSTEES* JOHN B. BARR EDWARD DANA FOSTER M. PALMER EDWARD J. BARRY ARTHUR G. DUNCAN THEODORE SANTARELLI DE BRASCH HENRY B. BRAINERD JOHN H. GANNETT CLAYTON D. SARGENT THOMAS M. BRIGHAM PETER A. GARLAND JOHN G. SMITH PATRICK BUTLER, JR. TOLBERT M. McKAY LESTER H. STEPHENSON, JR. FRANCIS J. CHENEY E. SPENCER MILLER LESTER H. STEPHENSON, SR. JOHN W. COUGHLIN JOSEPH E. McLAUGHLIN ELIOT M. STERLING No. 108, ex-P. D. & Y. mail car pounds the rail in what was once familiar territory —the Atlantic Shore Line OFFICERS* right of way. A restoration job completed after eight OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES years. (Munro Photo) Chairman of the Board JOHN G. SMITH struction. Likewise the fund raising for Vice Chairman of the Board EDWARD J. BARRY the Montreal collection forged ahead suc- cessfully with the target date set for both CORPORATE OFFICERS projects for late spring of 1963. High- President THEODORE SANTARELLI DE BRASCH lights of the year in other respects included Executive Vice President HENRY BoWEN BRAINERD the acquisition of an Aurora and Elgin Vice President - Traffic CHARLES A. DUNCAN steel motor car and the donation of a com- Vice President - Car Restoration ARTHUR G. DUNCAN pletely refurbished Glasgow Coronation Treasurer ELIOT M. STERLING . Other significant acquisitions there Assistant Treasurer and Recording Secretary CECILIA B. CLAPP were, too, to be described in detail later in General Counsel RICHARD D. HEWES this report. Miss Rheingold's visit to the Clerk of the Corporation RICHARD D. HEWES Museum certainly helped put Seashore in ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS Comptroller CLAYTON D. SARGENT General Manager LESTER H. STEPHENSON, JR. Assistant General Manager FREDERICK J. PERRY Mechanical Superintendent ERNEST B. BRIGHAM Safety Officer MICHAEL J. LENNON Chief Clerk LOWELOR H. SARGENT Historian 0. R. CUMMINGS Electrical Engineer THOMAS M. BRIGHAM Gift Shop Manager C. DAVID PERRY Superintendent of Passenger Operation JOSEPH E. MCLAUGHLIN Superintendent of Car Maintenance DONALD G. CURRY Paint Shop Foreman RUSSELL F. MONROE Superintendent of Communications and Signalling LYMAN HURTER Seashore crew readies C. A. & E. 434 for its cross-country Chief Dispatcher JOSEPH B. DOHERTY trip to Kennebunk at Wheaton, III. (E. Barstow Photo) Public Affairs Coordinator GEORGE M. SANBORN the public eye and 396's role in the mo- HONORARY tion picture, The Cardinal, will do much to keep it there. Chairman of the Board (Emeritus) ALEXANDER VAN C. HAMILTON Financially, 1962 was a year of solidifica- Treasurer (Emeritus) JOHN E. AMLAW * Up to Annual Meeting. tion rather than of pacesetting. Income from passengers and visitors remained PRINTED BY THE CONCORD PRESS, WEST CONCORD, MASS. practically on a par with last year's, show- ing but a scant 10% improvement. Despite head, the consolidation program was gradu- adverse weather conditions again Gift Shop 74 1962 Reiuprt ally phased out by the increased activity in gross was 40% ahead of 1961 which had car restoration work and an accelerated been a record year in itself. A significant 1962 was the long awaited year of transi- car housing program. The former was reduction could be made in long term debt tion for our Society. Two years of major spurred on by the forthcoming Open House as a result of this. Capital contributions effort had been directed at unifying our Day which served as a deadline, while the reflecting response to special appeals and operating and museum functions at one latter was intensified not only because of availability of various items, rolling stock location. This step had been indicated by the obvious need for providing more pro- and other, fell somewhat from the previous the recognition of our inability to effect a tection for our cars but also because of the rail connection between the two locations obligation felt by all concerned to those COVER PHOTOS who had contributed so generously the year within the foreseeable future. The time- Boston Elevated Railway No. 396 on location for the film- consuming effort and accompanying strain before in the fund raising drives for both ing of THE CARDINAL. Otto Preminger nods his ap- on our financial budget put a momentary the Quonset and the extension of River- proval in the background. (Photograph courtesy of halt to further gains such as had been side. By late fall six passenger cars had Josh Weiner, Gamma Productions) noted for 1959 in the direction of reha- been brought back to exhibitable standards, Kathy Kersh, Miss Rheingold, 1962 clears the track during her June 15th visit. (Photograph courtesy of bilitation of our rolling stock. and by the end of winter indoor storage C. E. H. & L. Advertising) With the more difficult projects at last space had been increased by nearly 40%. No. 1030, on first trip over Seashore's main line, passes completed by mid-summer including the in- Considerable progress was made toward by an old friend, LVT block signal No. 521, also recov- stallation of the loop trackwork and over- the day when Seashore would be able to ered from the Philadelphia-Allentown line. (Kostka Photo) year. 1961 had been unusually high, how- removal of many large stumps involved the the main and rip track wires from double ever, with two building fund drives and a use of the crane car in conjunction with the bracket to span construction. To date, three car shipped from . The continued dump truck. Walkways were constructed, of the four center poles have been replaced, support being given the current Montreal lined with ties, and surfaced with gravel easing clearance restrictions, making for campaign is indicative of the long range especially suited to this purpose. The load- safer operating conditions, and generally viewpoint adopted by our members toward ing platform was lengthened, new connect- improving the station area from the stand- our society's future. We can hopefully look ing paths installed at strategic points and point of photographers. Balance for the forward to a good year in 1963 and an the area in front of the South Boston Barn new layout, as well as additional conven- even better one if the weather becomes graded up to the top of the rails, making it ience, called for the stringing of trolley more favorable during our short summer readily accessible for the visitors soon to wire over the last lead track into the South season. come. Before completion of the loop was Boston building. With the return of cold undertaken, a last few days of work com- weather, and the necessity of transferring Late Winter and Early Spring —1962 pleted the center track in the new Quonset line work to the Quonset area, activity fin- Last year's carefully planned construc- Yard permitting the storage of four cars ally came to a halt on this six-month proj- tion year shortly found itself thrown off there during the summer season. ect. Installation of an electric trolley frog schedule chiefly by the unexpected avail- recently purchased from Milwaukee will ability of many items of so much potential Loop Trackwork Completed complete the connection at M. & S. C. Junc- value to the Society's future, that top pri- Unquestionably, the most difficult part of tion at the end of the loop. Worthy of note ority had to be given them. Before the the trackwork in this area had been saved is the fact that the greater part of this series of interruptions occurred the Quon- to the last. It had been decided to con- work was done during the operating season set Hut reassembly program had gotten off struct the inner rail first and gauge the between passenger trips, and that all three to a good start in January and February outer one to it as the last step. According- of Seashore's line cars eventually partici- with the fastening of the wood sills to the ly, the 85 lb. running rails were connected, pated in this project. foundation walls and the successful erec- the 95 lb. guard rail secured to it with the tion of the first twenty feet of framework. chairs and shims being bolted up and all Car Shop Activity Track work slowly but surely progressed finally fastened down to the ties with screw It was decided to shift car restoration with the complete rebuilding of the Cogs- spikes. The outer rail was then gauged and work from the center track of the South well switch where tracks two and three fastened down on conventional tieplates Boston Barn to the original car shop. The divide. with standard cut spikes. All new bolts first logical step called for completion of As the next section of the Quonset was were used and the entire loop was then York Utilities No. 108 which had been in preassembled on the ground and all ready ballasted with crushed stone, the latter the process of almost complete rebuilding to go up, the small winter work force had project being carried out with our piggy- over a period of years. to be diverted from this project to the back system throughout the summer. In a little over two weeks the platform problem of rigging — first the GE motor With the final cutting in of the double knees, crown piece and flooring of the vesti- generator set and then the various com- point throw street type switch, all was in bule on the north end were rebuilt with ponents of the Columbus and Southern Ohio readiness for a trial run on June 10. As new material. Repiping of air brakes, re- rectifier unit into position on the recently movie cameras cranked, and stills clicked, connection of the controller and the addi- poured concrete floor of the new substation. No. 504, powered by one of the longest tion of draw-bar assemblies on both ends The generator set had proven itself to be "bugs" in Seashore history, groaned around in place of the heavy knuckle couplers re- too heavy to be lifted directly into place by the Arlington Heights Loop. Subsequent stored the car to operating condition. A crane car No. 3246. Heavy snow accumu- tests revealed that all of our cars except few days' more work on the roof canvas lation and inadequate highway plowing with long wheel base trucks and doors plus a complete paint job re- service within our own property further and railroad wheels can negotiate the loop. turned No. 108 to the active roster again. hampered operations. With the equipment Even the M. & S. C. train, No. 504 coupled As soon as the west track of the shop finally installed, work forces could then be to No. 610 with their short wheel base was emptied the gravel flooring was re- divided to complete the assembly of the Taylor "Empire" trucks and radial Tomlin- moved and piggybacked out to the main Butler Building substation and return to son couplers, had no difficulty operating line for ballast. A new concrete floor was making further repairs to the Sterling through the 50-foot-radius loop. Minimum poured with cement from a ready - mix engine. Shortly thereafter, the plow was operating curves on the M. & S. C. had truck and floated with a rented gasoline- reinstalled on Q. R. L & P. been no less than a 75-foot radius. powered screeding machine. The results No. 454 and the main line was reopened. were quite professional, adding greatly to With winter officially over, the Quonset Loop Wire Construction the cleanliness and efficiency of the main Hut reassembly operation was deferred Overhead wire construction on the loop working track. still further for the many other operations was delayed until the last in order to per- Manchester " Line" car that had to be resumed with the snow off mit clearance runs with the larger cars to No. 38 had been selected as the next pass- the ground. First of these was the removal select optimum pole locations. enger car for general overhaul and restora- of the former Sanford & Eastern siding at Pole setting was slow and tedious as the tion. The results achieved in the one re- the Wasco plant. Several weekends were surrounding fields were low and conse- maining month of the summer season that devoted to the disassembly of the switch quently too wet to permit the use of our could be devoted to this car demonstrated and some 400 feet of track. Before this truck-mounted pole digging equipment un- the improvement in skills and techniques of project could be completed, however, the til the very last of the operation. Bracket our shop force. Basic areas requiring al- Town of Sanford began to remove the construction was selected with the poles set most complete rebuilding seemed confined former York Utilities track work on River on the outside of the loop, not only to to the vestibules at either end of the car. Street. It soon became a case of now or simplify back guying but also to provide The major tearing down and rebuilding of never and the greater part of the 70 lb. rail an unrestricted area for picture taking. the north end of the car was completed by and switches were purchased by one of our Thirteen foot, six inch galvanized arms Labor Day. Much of the additional stock trustees for Seashore's future needs. were made up into standard flexible pipe for the other end was also milled and par- With much of the rail in 60 foot lengths, brackets with long threaded rods as upper tially assembled. the use of our long trailer became essen- supports. Six poles were spaced on 45-foot In need of complete replacement were tial. Transportation was very tight indeed centers with five pull-offs between brackets the steel platform knees and wooden fillers. for the next few weeks with the trailer also to provide a smooth wire curve. Regal- A mixture of salt as well as sand in the needed for hauling the remaining parts of vanized pull-offs from Leeds in England sand boxes had caused early deterioration the Quonset from Lynnfield. Many man- were employed to permit the occasional in these, resulting in the vestibules sag- hours of work went into the organization use of a bow collector. ging. In addition, the front posts had new of several new rail piles to make it possible Before each end of the loop overhead sections spliced in where needed, the crown to select proper rails and parts as required. could be tied into the existing main line pieces, flooring, bumper fillers, roof sheath- A second project getting underway with overhead wire, a considerable amount of ing and vestibule carlines were replaced the advent of spring was that of conduct- redesign was necessary. Four additional along with the wooden exterior sections ing the annual spring clean-up drive. The poles were set to transfer the support of above the windows and below the roof. The vestibule is level once again. Reinstallation way Association. The car was completely car body itself was lettered and trim paint of control equipment and a similar rebuild- resprayed and the large plastic sign re- applied. ing of the other vestibule must follow. The paired. No. 1700 emerged on Open House Other highlights of the summer's paint- work required on the main part of the body day with one of the most professional paint ing program included nearly complete ex- can be confined mainly to roof canvas and jobs turned out to date, far better looking terior repainting of the Chicago Surface window sash work. Mechanical and elec- than on its arrival from "down under" a Lines' Pullman by a Chicago member on trical work needed won't have to go much year and a half before. weekends while here in the service and the beyond rebuilding of the grid resistors and further advancement of LVT No. 1030's replacement of a few truck springs. The exterior and interior painting and repair- foresight of two of our officers in providing ing sparked by several trips to Seashore spare body parts from ex-Manchester No. by an Allentown member. Nagasaki No. 40 has been of great help. One looks for- 134 and the Goldschmidt grinder were both ward to the day when the Society's second completely repainted inside and out. car acquired and New Hampshire's only A long-range project is being tackled on surviving interurban will come out of Q. R. L & P. interurban No. 454. So much virtual retirement. physical damage had been inflicted on the car's interior while the car was stored in Other Car Restoration and Repairs Canada, in addition to rather severe weath- Early in the summer rebuilding of Leeds ering while waiting to be moved, that it No. 526 (ex-London 2085) started in earn- was deemed advisable to refinish the in- est. While damage sustained in ocean tran- No. 5821. posed at Riverside Barn, joins the growing terior of the car with replacement seats sit was severe enough per se, tearing down number of restored Boston cars. Paint scheme utilized from B. & M. 4500-class coaches. One of this area of the car revealed the need of is that of the early 1930's. (Coughlin Photo) the greatest problems to be solved was the complete renewal of many small angle that of finding adequate replacement for iron framing members and stiffeners as the window sash as all of the original brass well as wood fillers. We were fortunate in sash and slides had been stolen. Fortunate- having the help of a professional auto body ly along with the acquisition of C. A. & E. man at our service in carrying out the bas- car No. 434 came the opportunity to pur- ic repairs. The central side panel had to be chase four crates of brand new aluminum replaced completely as were all window sash and slides of suitable size. Prepara- post covers in the damaged area. Other tory work to date has consisted of remov- panels were removed, straightened, built ing old seat frames, rusted metal anti-skid up by welding and reinstalled with new floor stripping, and relocating all air and felt cushioning. No traces of the pushed-in electrical fittings to clear newer seating. side now remain. Final body work consists Interior Masonite wainscot panels and post of reglazing of the five windows with heavy covers have been removed to facilitate sand plate glass and then the Feltham will be blasting and priming. Many additional re- ready for painting. It is planned to restore placement items were secured at Wheaton, the tram to London Transport red with Standard gauged and repainted Philadelphia No. 6618 Ill. from the C. A. & E. cars, including operating on Open House Day. Last survivor of the trolley poles replacing the Fischer bow for Mitten Management's Nearside fleet, once numbering doors, light fixtures, door hardware, etc. current collection. over 1,000. (Munro Photo) Many equipment repair jobs were made during the summer. Open car No. 838 re- General Repainting and Restoration Similarly many other cars, including ceived a new brake lever in one truck. Great strides were made in this direc- Nagasaki 134, Dallas 434, MTA 5821, fol- Crane car No. 3246 was converted from tion. The overall program was greatly lowed the same tedious pattern that is train air to straight air and completely re- delayed at the outset by the damage in- noted where work proceeds only on week- piped with copper tubing. Defective brush flicted to the paint jobs of certain cars by ends — and in the case of painting — only holders were replaced on open car No. the extreme cold of the previous winter, on good weekends at that. There is a long, 303. Regenerative braking was restored to causing paint to snap on cars not other- drawn-out period when old paint is being Blackpool double-decker No. 144. Braking wise needing immediate attention. Austral- stripped and the car being camouflaged in and PC-5 control alike benefitted from a ian "P" class No. 1700 suffered the most, nondescript primers. Somewhat of an ex- brake cylinder replacement on Eastern and by spring, even though under cover, ception to this, however, was No. 5821. Mass. 4387. Power was finally applied to was far from being an exhibitable car. Pre- During the weekend the above described Feltham No. 526 for its move to the South liminary work in June consisted of discing, pattern was followed, but because of the Boston building. All of this work and other diligence of the member doing the work, light repairs performed are all a credit to spare sash were trundled down to Boston Seashore's volunteer work force in the weekly, refinished in the evenings during light of relatively primitive facilities and the week and returned to the car on the tools available for these tasks. weekend. This permitted greater continu- The fitting climax to much of the sea- ity in the repainting operation and per- son's work came on Open House Day when mitted more thorough work to be done on it was possible to operate a wide selection the sash. Thus they were refinished inside of presentable cars for our many guests. and out at the rate of several a week, all All told, thirteen different cars, ranging receiving a three-coat paint job with glaz- from M. & S. C. Nos. 610 and 504 running ing compound applied where needed. With MU to Blackpool No. 144 were seen on the the window sash of the first car thus com- line, the open cars taking a back seat for pleted, the same procedure is now being the day. Paint shop crews literally burned applied to the other Type 5 (semi), 5734. the midnight oil to get Sydney No. 1700 and Once the painstaking painting has been Dallas No. 434 in readiness for the day. No. 144, Blackpool, England, crosses Quonset Road on completed from the roof down to the belt October 13th. One of the many brought out for mem- Signalling Department Makes Progress bers and guests during Open House. (Munro Photo) rail as was the case with No. 5821, then mass production methods can be employed Initial efforts of the 1962 season were scraping and chipping all metal areas af- to complete the large areas very quickly concentrated on relocating the Nachod fected, and applying a spray coat of and professionally. The sides and dashers grade crossing signal to protect the road Rustoleum as the work progressed. It of the car were sand-blasted, primed, knifed crossing leading to the Quonset area. It wasn't until the early fall that general re- and enamel coats sprayed in a matter of will be recalled that this unit was salvaged painting got under way. Paint "chips" two weeks — at least one water sanding in 1951 from a crossing in Coopersburg, Pa. were sent from Sydney by the General operation was employed. While the win- on the famed Liberty Bell Route. Major Manager of the South Pacific Electric Rail- dow guards were similarly refinished, the work involved was complete replacement of many units on the control panel, repainting under the snow, was to call in professional motors, it will be a worthy representative of the signal and installation of three con- help. Fortunately a local contractor, Still- of the long-to-be-remembered Great Third tactors in the trolley wire to control opera- man Gilbert, who had built the foundations Rail interurban. tion of the unit. The warning bell proved and walls for the building the year before, Three trips to the Midwest were re- very helpful in cautioning visitors and was able to estimate his costs at a figure quired to get the car to Maine. Nearly a work gangs alike of the approach of a car. acceptable to several of the Society's of- week's work was required to qualify No. Initial steps in providing block signal ficers. Thanks to their generosity and the 434 for shipment in a freight train. Tom- protection came with the relocation of the contractor's diligence, the building was linson couplers had to be replaced with first LVT semaphore from its original loca- erected in its entirety in three working ARA knuckle type, glass areas were cov- tion at Clough's Crossing to M. & S. C. weeks in the late fall. Claremont No. 4 line ered over with Masonite, and the roof was Junction. A second concrete base was cast car, fitted with a staging, and operating on given another coat of paint. Trolley poles and the other semaphore, after sand blast- the hastily-completed center track, contrib- and third rail shoe beams were removed, ing and priming, was erected at a point uted materially toward the success of the essential parts obtained and all made se- north of Doherty's switch. By late fall both project. With the ground frozen hard and cure within the car. A second trip was re- signal heads were made operative again, snow already there, it was no simple task quired to supply spare parts to the Indiana a satisfactory source of AC being found. to build a second lead and barn track, move Harbor Belt for replacement of a coupler Many additional units, dwarf signals and six cars into the building and then under- damaged in a hump yard move. Still a G. R. S. signal heads and blades were ac- take the construction of the last switch third was required when our Electrical En- quired through the cooperation of the Bos- and 200 feet of track. Much of the work gineer went to Michigan City to work out ton & Albany RR. Yet to be done before could be done indoors so that a balance was final details for the greater part of the haul the first block can function is the installa- effected between the good and bad working and to accompany the car back as messen- tion of impedance coils, insulated joints and days and the entire job sufficiently com- ger. The courtesy and assistance rendered the stringing of additional wires on the pleted to get all nine cars in before the us by the Chicago, South Shore & South cross-arms. spring rains. It will be a great challenge Bend Railroad in this move is gratefully another year to equal this past winter's acknowledged. Less than a week was re- Building Department achievement of providing undercover space quired for the trip from the Michigan City It was without doubt that the greatest for an additional thirteen cars. shops of the South Shore via the Grand gains of all were made during the last year Trunk and Canadian National through Can- in this area, first on Riverside and then on Projects Away From Seashore ada and the last few miles by Boston & the Quonset. With the sharp increase al- Maine to Kennebunk. ready outlined in car restoration work, the Two non-scheduled projects that arose With the end of Glasgow's famed tram- challenge had become all the greater to during 1962 requiring many man-hours of way operation in sight a request was made hold on to all gains made and to encourage work in distant areas involved securing several years ago that one of their Coro- more of such work in the future. Even the items that will one day enrich Seashore's nation double deck be made available simplest of shelters had begun to prove representation of the interurban field. The to Seashore. Not only was our request ac- their worth in protecting cars and preserv- first of these involved the acquisition, load- ceded to, but No. 1274, the car selected for ing the members' investment in time and ing and shipping of sixteen Rochester, this purpose, was thoroughly overhauled materials. Syracuse & Eastern catenary towers. Built and repainted inside and out. It operated Accordingly top priority was given with in 1908 by Archibald Brady of Syracuse just once more on the evening of Septem• the return of good weather in getting the they had served as the trademark of the ber 4th in a procession marking the end Riverside extension under way. The project R. S. & E. Placed on 300-foot centers, they not only of Glasgow's "caurs" but the last seemed unduly ambitious to lengthen this had stretched out for the last eighteen in all and to all intents and pur- 60-foot building to a size two and one-half miles of the interurban as it approached poses the last heavy city operation in the times its original length. Yet with practice Syracuse. With the abandonment of the British Isles. Extensive coverage of this the skill had been developed so that a truss electric railroad they had continued to serve significant tram's arrival will be reserved a day could be turned out. In a few weeks their new owner, the New York State Gas for a later date. the required number were stockpiled. and Electric Company, until finally reach- Shortly thereafter, with all poles set, ing obsolescence this year. Mindful of our The 396 Story topped, aligned and vertical plates fastened request of several years ago, the power Another car receiving a tremendous face- and all in readiness, all six trusses were company made them available to us late in lifting both inside and out away from our put up in one very long working day. Such May. Two very difficult weekends of work property in Maine was our ex-Boston 25- a project, of course, required the coopera- were spent by our crew partially disman- foot box car built by St. Louis in 1900 and tion of other working forces — many cars tling the towers, moving the sections into acquired from the MTA when retired by had to be shifted to bring in the crane, a Warners, N. Y. and loading them onto a them from rail bond testing service. section of trolley wire removed, and steady NYC gondola. The 112 separate pieces had Advance agents for Gamma Productions, operation of the power plant throughout to be scientifically loaded into the car as about to shoot movie sequences in and the whole procedure to insure uninterrupted there could be no left-overs for another around Boston for The Cardinal, were look- performance of the crane car. The limiting trip. We are grateful to the utility com- ing for an old Boston trolley of the 1915 factor in the setting of trusses was the pany for their cooperation and to our Syra- era. Nothing like this being available on time required to secure each one by purlins cuse members who lent their enthusiastic the MTA, they were referred to us. No. before proceeding to the next. With this support. It is planned that these towers 396, among others, was looked at and fin- operation complete, the project could then will one day span the 4,300-foot tangent ally decided upon. As the project became return to routine work of two or three from Meserve's to Gregoire's. more expensive in scope, we agreed to weekenders. Riverside is now Seashore's C. A. & E. car No. 434 was the second forego the rental fee if the studio would most impressive building. such project. With the final sale of the pay for the reconditioning. Although judging by hindsight the pole Aurora and Elgin to a salvage company The work was carried out by the MTA building has become the most ideally suited consummated, tentative five-year planning at Everett Shops and included electrical type of building for Seashore because it was resolved into the purchase of a steel work, reinstallation of grids under the car, makes use of readily available creosoted car in preference to one of wood. This de- new seat frames and plush seat cushions poles, the crane car and the pole digger, cision was helped along by the relatively and new main flooring and steps. The car nonetheless the officers of the Society were poor condition of the wooden cars still was completely repainted and striped on under a deep obligation to resume work on available and the potential savings in the exterior, the interior painstakingly re- the Quonset and secure the sought-after freight rates, since the steel car could be stored to natural finish and metal work return on the investment, the protection of shipped on its own wheels. The 55-ton car, buffed. Missing signs, brackets, fenders nine cars. To carry on work on Riverside No. 434, outshopped by Cincinnati in 1927, and other hardware were sought out, both and the Quonset simultaneously was un- represents one of the handsomest of the by ourselves and the MTA, and, in eight workable. The only solution to meet the Insull era cars in the Chicago area. days, all was in readiness. deadline before all of the Quonset mater- Mounted on Baldwin trucks of the classic In the meantime, Boston had been ials would have been lost for the winter design and powered by four 140-horsepower searched for the proper neighborhood with respect to scenery, available trolley tracks and usable trolley wire. Such a location was found in Belmont, the car equipped with a trolley bus pole and shoe and a Sun- day selected for the shooting. While none of our own members were actually in the picture, some, including public trustee Ed- ward Dana, former MTA head, were on hand for what will probably be Belmont's last streetcar ride. Although the motion picture company employed the services of regular movers for the six moves involved, loading and unloading help was rendered by our members and a special ramp, very useful on several of these occasions, was designed and built by our Electrical En- gineer who served as coordinator for the entire operation. Not only will we look forward to the release of the movie this coming December, but we have a wonder- Our newest major building addition to the Seashore scene—the Quonset Hut, providing storage and protection fully well-restored car to show for it— to nine streetcars. (Munro Photo) living proof of Director Otto Preminger's appreciation of authentic detail. vation of our irreplaceable exhibits, our 3. Riverside and Quonset Buildings: As Safety Officer and Safety Committee con- soon as ground conditions permit work will Power Department Readies Substation tinued their efforts during the year to cor- begin lengthening our Riverside Barn two When it became apparent that extensive rect hazards existing on the property and or three trusses more. The Quonset will repairs would be needed on the Columbus to instill in the active membership a respect need additional work — probably in the and Southern Ohio rectifier equipment, it for safe practices while working on the form of setting additional poles between was decided to defer this installation until property or operating cars. Several basic center tracks — both to alleviate outward some time in the future in favor of making safety rules and regulations suggested by thrust on foundation walls and to provide the M-G set operational first. It was not the Safety Committee were incorporated support for trolley troughs. until fall, however, that the General Elec- into official timetables Nos. 1 and 2 which 4. Overhead Line Work: Major new work tric Company could release as a donation were published during the year. These will be the erection of overhead wire lead- the slate switch panel and controls to com- timetables continued the half-hourly pass- ing to the Quonset and installation of uni- plete the installation. It contained the enger schedules which had been success- versal spacer bar in troughwork within the necessary instruments, relays, hand-oper- fully inaugurated during the 1961 season. building. It is also planned to complete ated oil circuit breakers and auto trans- Car clearance cards were made up and in- catenary construction on the main line out formers to start and control the 435-horse- stalled in each of the cars. At the end of to the end and to install the first R. S. & E. power 2300 V synchronous motor driving the year an operating rule book, based on tower to dead-end the present wire. the 300 KW generator (the M-G set itself standard railroad rules, was in the process was donated by General Electric Company 5. New Car Barn: The major financial of preparation, and should be ready in time campaign and construction project for the in 1961). Internal wiring of the substation for the 1963 season. Since good mainte- then began in earnest. AC breakers for year will be that of a new pole type car nance is also a prerequisite of safe opera- barn. The Project Committee has adopted the station were acquired through the co- tion, our Superintendent of Car Mainte- operation of the New England Electric a design similar to Riverside but with the nance has published an excellent manual addition of a third track in a lean-to sec- System. which has been well received. Poles were set between the substation tion. The location is to be fixed shortly. and probable connection with the CMP line. Plans For 1963 The timetable calls for grading and track We are indeed fortunate that the land to 1. Montreal Cars: Final payment will be laying to the building site in the summer the west of us at this point became the made shortly on cars 957, 1177, 2052 and and fall, pole setting by our own crew, and property of public trustee Patrick Butler 2652. Salt car No. 1176 is also being pur- possible framing by an outside contractor who immediately granted us permission to chased to provide Brill 27F trucks for use with the sheathing of the building and have the Central Maine's pole line con- on Baltimore semi No. 5748. Official notice track laying inside the structure to be structed on the edge of his land, thus sim- has been received by us from the Montreal completed in the winter. plifying the problem of pole locations. Ex- Transportation Commission that their You- 6. Track Work: In addition to that out- ternal disconnect switches for our juncture ville Shops must be vacated by this com- lined above, trackwork will encompass com- with the CMP were acquired by our Elec- ing May 31, after a much appreciated three pletion of track removal at the Wasco plant trical Engineer from surplus stores in and a half year period during which the in Sanford. Negotiations are currently be- New Jersey. cars were stored there. Last minute nego- ing made for two additional sidings. It is also projected to construct an additional Other Acquisitions and tiations are being made for the shipment of cars. All indications point to the cars storage track alongside the Quonset and Accomplishments arriving at Seashore late in May or early complete the laying of the last 200 feet of Included in this category is No. 478, a in June. All hands will be put to work to main line as provided for in the Consoli- model H-9 ACF bus donated by the East- spruce up ex - Springfield No. 2052 for dation Grant. ern Massachusetts Street Railway, which passenger service in 1963 as it is the only 7. Rolling Stock Rehabilitation: As soon was driven to Maine under its own power double end car of the group. as Manchester No. 38 is complete it is and a box car (MC 35038), in excellent con- 2. Power Supply: Negotiations are now planned to resume work on our first car, dition, donated by the Maine Central RR. complete with the Central Maine Power Biddeford & Saco No. 31 to insure its Donated by members were other items in- Company and the formal request has been readiness for our 25th anniversary, July 4, cluding No. 41, a Middlesex and Boston made to supply power for our motor gen- 1964. It is hoped to complete Q. R. L. & P. Street Railway single truck box car body, erator set by May 30. As soon as this No. 454 exterior refinishing by fall. Anoth- and a Jackson multiple tamper from the equipment has been placed in operation a er six cars are similarly scheduled for re- B. & M. (No. MT 2), together with extra study will be made of the Columbus and painting by the members with mid-October electric tamping heads. The latter equip- Southern Ohio ignitron rectifier unit which the usual target date for completion. ment should be a big boost to track mainte- would be put in service as soon as re- 8. Signalling: The first LVT block will nance, especially with our gravel ballast. sources permit. Having two independent operate initially as trolley contact signals. Realizing the importance of safety at power conversion units operatable will As soon as possible track circuit operation Seashore, both for the protection of our give Seashore's power department reli- will take over and then a second block will members and visitors and for the preser- ability heretofore not possible. be added.