Trolleys At Night

D.C. Transit 1304, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

The Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, boasts one of the largest (if not the largest) vintage streetcar collections in the country. Originally concentrating on New England, the collection has expanded to cover most of the U.S., and there are even some international cars in the collection. Each year the museum hosts a night photo event, coordinated by Joey Kelly, and because of the scope of the collection, seldom are the same cars used two years in a row. This year's event was on November 7, and a whole new set of cars from last year was used for the set-ups.

The scenes began with D.C. Transit No. 1304, the most modern of the cars we would photograph on the evening. The car was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1941 for operation in Washington, D.C. We started with a scene of passengers boarding the car (above), then moved inside for interior shots (below).

D.C. Transit No. 1304, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

From Washington, we next moved on to Philadelphia with Lehigh Valley Transit car No. 1030. This car was built by American Car & Foundry for the Indiana Railroad. Converted to a parlor car with plush seating, it eventually found its way to LVT, where it was dubbed the Liberty Bell Limited for express service between Allentown and Norristown, Pa. The illuminated drumhead on the back is a nice touch.

Lehigh Valley Transit No. 1030, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

We also photographed the front of the car as it posed by the museum's section house. Arundel is the name of the township where the museum resides.

Lehigh Valley Transit No. 1030, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

Next up for the night was a stop at the museum's Tower C. This tower, built in 1901, served the Boston Elevated until 1938. When it was slated for demolition in 1975, the museum purchased the tower and moved it by barge from Boston to Kennebunkport. For a scene of the tower, a car that passed it many times in regular service was recruited for the shot -- Boston Elevated 01000, built by Wason Manufacturing in 1928.

Boston Elevated 01000, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

From here we hopped on one of the vintage streetcars and rode to about the midpoint of the museum's trackage to Meserve's Crossing. We paused here to photograph car No. 639 of the Wheeling (W.Va.) Traction Co. No. 639 is a curve-side car built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1924.

Wheeling Traction Co. No. 639, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

Moving further west (equipment-wise), our next subject was Twin Cities Rapid Transit Co. No. 1267 from Minnesota. This car was home-built by TCRT in 1907. The Twin Cities streetcar lines met a rapid demise in the early 1950s -- 400 miles of streetcar trackage was abandoned in only 22 months.

Twin Cities Rapid Transit Co. No 1267, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

The next target of our cameras hailed from Chicagoland. Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee No. 755 was built by Standard Steel Car Co. in 1930 and was capable of speeds up to 80 miles per hour.

Twin Cities Rapid Transit Co. No 1267, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

It was back to New England for the next piece of equipment, an electric locomotive used in freight service. Atlantic Shore Line steeple cab No. 100 was built by Laconia Car Company in 1906. Interestingly, the museum's railroad is located on the old Atlantic Shore Line right-of-way, so this car is actually operating where it historically did in service.

Atlantic Shore Line Railway No. 100, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

We didn't get a chance to show off Wheeling Traction Co. No. 639 as well as we would have liked at Meserve's Crossing, so we posed it on a grade crossing for a proper portrait.

Wheeling Traction Co. No. 639, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

Finally, we were back at the museum's visitor's center. For the finale on the evening, we posed two cars together at the trolley loop. Car No. 4387 is a semi-convertible built for the Bay State Street Railway by Laconia Car Co. in 1918; it eventually went to the Boston Elevated. Car No. 5821 is also a semi-convertible (Boston "Type 5"), built by Brill in 1924 for the Boston Elevated. The two Boston Elevated veterans capped off our evening at the museum.

Boston Elevated Nos. 4387 and 5821, Seashore Trolley Museum; Kennebunkport, Maine; November 7, 2015

Thanks to all the museum volunteers who moved equipment and posed for photos. Thanks to Joey Kelly for all his coordinating efforts. And thanks to Michael T. Burkhart for his assistance with the lighting.

You can purchase prints of the photos in this post here.