Editor’s Note:

Frank Hicks is our contest winner.  Here is his winning submission:

Interesting post, and interesting contest!  I’ll take a stab at it…

1 – This is the Northampton Station off of the Boston elevated in downtown Boston.  It was built in 1901 and moved to Seashore in 1988 when this section of the elevated was torn down.
2 – Boston ticket booth in the Visitors Center
3 – Montreal #2, a sightseeing car built in the company shops in 1906 and nicknamed the “Golden Chariot.”  This car was acquired by Seashore in 1963 and was recently refurbished after a few  years out of service.
4 – Montreal #2
5 – Montreal #2
6 – Long Island Railroad #4137, an MP54A1 heavyweight commuter coach built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1930 and retired in 1972, which is when Seashore acquired it.  These cars ran on 600 volts but only operated off of third rail.
7 – Boston Elevated Railway #5821 is a “Type 5″ lightweight semi-convertible car built by Brill in 1924.  These cars were used all over Boston for many years.  This car was retired in 1954 and acquired by Seashore; it has been fully restored.
8 – BER #5821
9 – Connecticut Company #838, a 15-bench double-truck open car built by J.M. Jones & Sons in 1905.  Originally it was Consolidated Railway #838 and then ran for ConnCo until 1948, when it was acquired by Seashore.  Cars like this were famous in later years for use in taking huge crowds to the Yale Bowl in New Haven.
10 – BER #5821
11 – Connecticut Company #1160, a typical ConnCo double-truck wooden suburban car of which that company had a large fleet.  This car was built by Stephenson in 1906 as Consolidated Railway #542 (renumbered #1160 by ConnCo in 1915) and ran until 1948.  It was the focus of a recently-completed major restoration project.
12 – ConnCo #1160
13 – Manchester Street Railway #38, a gorgeous double-truck suburban car built in 1906 by the Laconia Car Company of New Hampshire. Originally this car ran on the Manchester & Nashua where it was car #4 and then car #32 before eventually being renumbered #38.  It was one of Seashore’s first three cars, acquired by the museum in 1940 prior to WWII.  It has been completely restored.
14 – MSR #38 interior
15 – BER #5821 on Visitors Center loop
16 – ConnCo #838
17 – ConnCo #838
18 – BER #5821
19 – BER #5821
20 – Tower C was built in 1901 on the Atlantic Avenue elevated structure in central Boston and was located at North Station where the Atlantic Avenue section joined with the Charlestown Elevated and the north end of the Main Line elevated.  The tower was moved to Seashore in 1976 following closure of this section of the elevated, by then part of the Orange Line.
21 – Visible in this photo are MBTA “Blue Line” cars #0622-0623 (built by Hawker-Siddeley in 1979 and acquired by Seashore in 2009) to the left, LIRR #4137 (described above) in the middle, and South Shore #32 (built by Standard Steel in 1929 and brought to Seashore in 1989) to the right of it.  Off to the right, beyond the caboose, are a couple of small rail grinders that were used by Boston Elevated Railway.
22 – Montreal #2
23 – MBTA #4006 is an E800 trolley bus built in 1976 by Flyer and retired in 2008.
24 – MBTA #4028 is an E800 trolley bus built in 1976 by Flyer and retired in 2008.  Note the trolley bus overhead; Seashore does have a short stretch of trolley bus line which they plan to extend at some point.
25 – Portsmouth Dover & York #108 is a very attractive double-truck RPO car built by Laconia in 1904.  It was later acquired by York Utilities and converted for use as a line car but has been restored to its earlier configuration by Seashore.  It has been at the museum since it was retired from service in 1949.
26 – ConnCo #1160
27 – MSR #38
28 – Boston MTA #8361 is a model 45OS-102-43CX trolley bus built by Pullman-Standard in 1948.  It was the first trolley bus acquired by Seashore, coming to the museum in 1963 following retirement.  It is currently operational.
29 – These are the “State of the Art Cars,” the SOAC pair, built in 1972 as testbed cars.  The bodies were built by St. Louis Car Company with electrical equipment provided by Boeing-Vertol.  They were built to Eastern subway clearances and were test-run in New York, Philadelphia and briefly operated on the Skokie Swift in Chicago, which was the only line that could easily be modified for their extra length and width.  They were acquired by Seashore in 1989.
30 – Consolidated Railway #303 is a typical 15-bench open car built by Brill in 1901.  Originally it was Winchester Avenue Railway #303, then Fair Haven & Westville #303 before becoming Consolidated #303 and eventually being renumbered Connecticut Company #615.  The car ran until 1948 in Yale Bowl service and has been at Seashore since then.
31 – Dunedin #105 is a cable car from New Zealand that was built in 1903 by Stansfield.  It was acquired by Seashore in 1957 after retirement from service.
32 – Dunedin cable car grip
33 – Wheeling Street Railway #639 is a rare Cincinnati curve-side suburban car built by Cincinnati in 1924.  Later it was owned by Co-Operative Transit and was retired in 1948.  Seashore acquired the body of this car in 1957 and during the 1990s and early 2000s it was completely restored to original condition, one of several “chicken coop” restorations Seashore has done.  It is currently the only operational Cincinnati curve-sider in existence.
34 – Consolidated #303 bench
35 – Consolidated #303
36 – Wheeling #639
37 – Sydney Tramways #1700 is a “compartment” streetcar built in 1925 by Meadowbank.  It ran in Sydney until 1960 and was acquired by Seashore the following year.
38 – Wheeling #639 emblem
39 – Twin City Rapid Transit #1267 is a standard single-end “gate car” from that city, built by the company shops in 1907 in class H-6.  It ran until 1953 and was acquired by Seashore that year.  It is one of two cars of this type currently preserved, the other being car #1239 which was restored from a body and is in operation Excelsior, MN.
40 – DC Transit #1304 is a prewar PCC built by St. Louis in 1941 for Capital Transit.  It ran until 1961, when it was retired and sold to General Electric for use as a test car.  It was later sold to the Trolleyville museum in North Olmsted, OH, which sold it to Seashore in 1985.  It has been restored to its late-1950s condition while in service in Washington DC.
41 – CNS&M #755 is one of five preserved cars from the Standard Steel order built for the North Shore in 1930.  It was acquired by Seashore in 1963 following abandonment of the North Shore and still wears its “Silverliner” color scheme.  This car is operational and is currently the focus of some restoration work.
42 – TCRT #1239 gate closeup showing the distinctive design used for the gates on the open back platforms of these cars
43 – Ottawa Transportation #B2 is a single-truck snow sweeper built by the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in 1926.  Though McGuire-Cummings was the company most closely associated with snow sweepers like these, several other companies including Brill, Ottawa, and Fowler built similar sweepers.  Ottawa #B2 was sold to Cornwall in 1959 and ran there until the wires came down in 1972, at which point it was acquired by Seashore.
44 – Atlantic Shore Line #100 is a unique cab-on-flat locomotive built by Laconia in 1906.  It ran in revenue service on the same right-of-way currently used by Seashore for its main line and was later sold to York Utilities, where it ran until 1949.  It was acquired at that time by Seashore and during the early 2000s was completely restored to original condition.
45 – Dallas Railway & Terminal #434 is the only pre-PCC city car from Dallas preserved intact.  Built by Stone & Webster in 1913, it ran until 1954 and was then acquired by Seashore.  It has operated at the museum regularly for years and is currently the focus of some rehabbing work.
45 – DR&T #434
46 – An overview of the Town House Restoration Shop with Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway lightweight car #7005 (built by Osgood-Bradley in 1927, later Boston Elevated Railway #4400, acquired by Seashore in 1950) in the foreground for heavy restoration and Blackpool #144 from England (homebuilt in 1925, acquired by Seashore in 1954) in the background.
47 – Town House Restoration shop with EMSR #7005 in the foreground; in the background are Bay State Street railway #4175 (built by Laconia in 1914, acquired by Seashore in 1976 and the subject of a long-term restoration), Middlesex & Boston #41 (a single-truck car built by Stephenson in 1901 and acquired as a body by Seashore in 1962), and Blackpool #144.
48 – Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority #01000 is an elevated car built by Wason in 1928 for use on the Main Line Elevated (later the Orange Line).  It was acquired by Seashore in 1980 and is operational.
49 – CA&E #434 is one of two Cincinnati-built cars from the CA&E in preservation, the other being car #431 at IRM.  Car #434 was bought by Seashore from the railroad in 1962 and during the 1990s was completely restored to its 1950s appearance.
50 – Chicago Surface Lines #225 was one of the cars regularly used on fan trips in Chicago during the mid-1950s and went to Seashore in 1957.  It is one of three preserved “Old Pullman” cars, the other two being #144 and #460, both at IRM.
51 – CSL #225 motorman’s position
52 – CSL #225 interior
53 – CSL #225 interior
54 – CSL #225 platform interior
55 – CSL #225 number
56 – CSL #225 emblem
57 – CSL #225 number
58 – CSL #225 lettering
59 – The double-deck car is Glasgow #1274 from Scotland, a “Coronation” tram built in the company shops in 1940 and retired in 1963, when it was donated to Seashore.  The single-level car is Rome #279, buitl by Tabanelli in 1914 and retired in 1960.  It was the first car from continental Europe acquired by Seashore.
60 – Union Street Railway #10 is a horsecar from New Bedford, MA that was built by Brill in 1885.  When service was electrified it was retained by the company as an historic relic and eventually made its way to Seashore in 1954.
61 – a Suffolk County (MA) sherriff’s wagon for transporting prisoners, acquired by Seashore in 1983.
62 – Union Street Railway #34 is a single-truck railway post office streetcar that was rebuilt in 1893 from a horsecar that had itself been built in 1880.  This car was retired in 1947 and acquired by Seashore at that time.
63 – Rome car #279
64 – Mousam River Railroad #8, a street railway freight trailer built by Portland in 1893.  It was in use until 1947, when it was acquired by Seashore.  It is thought to be the only street railway freight trailer preserved.
65 – California Street #48 is a typical double-end cable car from the California Street line in San Francisco that was built in 1907 by Holman.  It was sold to an individual in Montreal in 1955 and was later acquired by Seashore in 1970.
66 – California Street #48 number
67 – Brooklyn & Queens Transit #4547 is a double-truck, double-end semi-convertible car built in 1906 by Jewett.  It ran for fifty years in Brooklyn.  Cars of this type were common on B&QT and were built by a couple of different car builders.  Seashore acquired #4547 in 1956.
68 – Cleveland Street Railway #1227 is one of several preserved center-door cars from Cleveland but is the only one that has been backdated to original condition.  Built in 1914 by hometown car builder Kuhlman, it was sold for use on the suburban line to Shaker Heights in 1921 and was later renumbered Shaker Heights Rapid Transit #27.  During its time in suburban service it was rebuilt with Westinghouse MU control and other modifications.  Retired in 1960, it bounced around, from the National Capital Trolley Museum to Trolley Valhalla to Buckingham Valley Trolley Association to a private owner in Ohio.  Seashore acquired the car in 1984 by which time it was reduced to a badly deteriorated body.  During the early 2000s the car was completely restored to as-built condition.  In 2010 Seashore acquired Cleveland center-door trailer #2365 from Trolleyville and there are plans to restore that car to match #1227.
69 – Montreal & Southern Counties #504 is a large freight motor built in 1924 by Ottawa.  It was used in service out of Montreal until 1956, when it was acquired by Seashore
70 – Montreal & Southern Counties #610 is a heavy interurban car built by Ottawa in 1922, quite late for wood car construction.  It saw regular operation until 1956, when it was donated to Seashore.
71 – Rome #279 emblem
72 – CA&E #434
73 – Rome #279
74 – Brooklyn & Queens Transit #4547
75 – The “City of Manchester” is arguably the most opulent car preserved at Seashore.  It was built in 1898 by Briggs Carriage Company for the Manchester Street Railway.  Its precise retirement date is uncertain but in 1952 the car’s body was being used as a children’s playhouse when it was acquired by Seashore.  This was likely the first electric car body ever acquired by an American museum in derelict condition and the first full “chicken coop” restoration done by a U.S. trolley museum.  The car was restored during the early 1960s and has run at Seashore ever since.
76 – Cleveland #1227 interior; in later years Shaker Heights Rapid Transit replaced the bench seats on the left side of the car with standard lateral seats, but Seashore backdated the car to this condition.
77 – MSR “City of Manchester” lettering
78 – Claremont Railway #4 is a homebuilt line car built by this small New Hampshire system.  It was acquired by Seashore in 1955. At one point it was briefly loaned to the MBTA.
79 – Biddeford & Saco #31 was the first streetcar acquired by Seashore, in 1939, making it the first streetcar acquired by any U.S. trolley museum for preservation.  It is a 12-bench double-truck open car built by Brill in 1900 and was used until the B&S was abandoned in 1939.  It has been completely restored.
80 – Lehigh Valley Transit #1030 is one of two preserved ex-Indiana Railroad highspeeds.  It was built by AC&F in 1931 as Indiana Railroad #55 and in 1934 was converted into a full-length parlor car.  After the Indiana Railroad quit service in 1941 this car was sold to LVT, which rebuilt it with a left-side front door and a door at the rear of the car (for emergency egress on the Norristown trestle).  It operated for LVT until 1951, when it was acquired by Seashore.  The other ex-Indiana Railroad highspeed, car #65, went to the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City and in 1953 became the first car owned by the Illinois Railway Museum.
81 – LVT #1030 letterboard
82 – LVT #1030 letterboard
83 – LVT #1030 letterboard
84 – LVT #1030 motorman’s position; note the left-side door and trap installed by LVT.
85 – LVT #1030 interior
86 – LVT #1030 washroom
87 – LVT #1030 interior
88 – LVT #1030 motorman’s position
89 – LVT #1030 interior – old IRR number
90 – LVT #1030 interior
91 – LVT #1030 interior fan
92 – LVT #1030 interior
93 – LVT #1030 front
94 – LVT #1030 number
95 – LVT #1030 rear
96 – Overview of some of Seashore’s bus collection, with New Orleans #333 (Flxible 1967), Portland #504 (GMC 1950), Peninsula Transportation #195 (Mack 1959), Toronto #7521 (Flyer 1972), Omaha articulated #1312 (Twin Coach 1947) and others visible.
97 – Some of Seashore’s bus collection, with MBTA #9138 (Flyer 1982), MBTA #6169 (GMC 1967), New Orleans #333 (Flxible 1967), and Portland #504 (GMC 1950) visible
98 – Some of Seashore’s bus collection, with WMATA #6481 (GMC 1964), Manchester #107 (GMC 1974), Cape Ann #7804 (GMC 1979) and MBTA #9138 (Flyer 1982) visible
99 – MBTA motor bus #8400 (GMC 1985) and Swiss trolley bus #653 (FBW/EGGLI/BBC 1964) with an MBTA Red Line car in the background

Regards,

Frank Hicks

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine,the first time I’d been there in 35 years. Seashore (originally called the Seashore Electric Railway), founded in 1939, is the first and oldest trolley museum in the United States, and has a vast collection, truly international in scope.

We thought we would make a contest out of identifying the various cars, buses, and artifacts in the photos.First prize will be a copy of our new “Spirit of 76″ DVD collection, which includes the first 76 CERA Bulletins, issued between 1938 and 1947, plus bonus features.

To enter the contest, send us a list identifying what you see in these pictures. The best and most complete answer received at cerablog1@gmail.com by midnight Central Time on Thursday, September 4, 2014 will be the winner.

All photos were taken by me on August 16, 2014. There’s a lot to identify here, so I wish you good luck in figuring it all out. When referring to individual photos, please use the image numbers so that individual pictures can be matched to the descriptions. Once the contest ends, we will add captions to each picture.

Good luck!

-David Sadowski

The rest of the photos in next post