The Shore Line Trolley Museum is a
trolley museum located in
East Haven, Connecticut
East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 27,923. Located east of New Haven, it is part of the Greater New Haven area. East Haven is from Hartford, from New Yor ...
. Incorporated in 1945, it is the oldest continuously operating trolley museum in the United States. The museum includes exhibits on trolley history in the visitors' center and offers rides on restored trolleys along its track as the Branford Electric Railway. In addition to trolleys, the museum also operates a small number of both
trolleybuses
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
and conventional buses.
The museum encompasses the Branford Electric Railway Historic District, which was added to the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1983.
History
The museum was incorporated in August 1945 as the Branford Electric Railway Association (BERA), a non-profit historical and educational institution. The
Connecticut Company
The Connecticut Company was the primary electric street railway company in the U.S. state of Connecticut, operating both city and rural trolleys and freight service. It was controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven), ...
(or ConnCo), which operated most of the streetcar lines in the state of Connecticut, had been making plans since the early 1930s to abandon its "F" route, cutting it back in stages from its long-time terminus of
Stony Creek until by April 1946 it ended in front of the post office in
Short Beach
Short Beach is a beach neighborhood situated in Branford, Connecticut. It is the westernmost of Branford's seven neighborhoods, the others being: The Hill, The Center, Pine Orchard, Stony Creek, Indian Neck, and Brushy Hill. Short Beach's po ...
, its original terminus when the line was opened for service on 31 July 1900. The last revenue car to operate under ConnCo auspices left Short Beach shortly after midnight on March 8, 1947, at which time BERA took possession of the remaining portion of the line on private right-of-way between
East Haven and Short Beach. Over the following year the museum moved virtually its entire collection at the time, including a number of just-retired ConnCo streetcars, onto its property via the existing and still-electrified track connection with Connecticut Company.
After ConnCo severed the track connection in 1948, BERA was on its own. The line started out as
double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
but one of the tracks was torn up and sold for
scrap
Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
to raise money. Eventually 20-year bonds were issued by the museum and its fortunes improved. In 1957 a new visitor's center, named for traction pioneer
Frank Julian Sprague
Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in Milford, Connecticut – October 25, 1934) was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially ...
and known as Sprague Station, was built out of brick at the East Haven end of the line with help from funds donated by his widow.
Over the intervening years, BERA's collection has grown to become the third largest collection of electric railway equipment in North America, with a focus on equipment from
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It operates a variety of streetcars, rapid transit cars and work cars throughout the year. BERA currently does business as the Shore Line Trolley Museum which is run almost entirely by volunteers. Antique equipment is repaired and restored at the museum.
The collection also includes a small number of
"trackless trolleys" (trolley buses) and
motor bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es (diesel- or gasoline-powered buses). In fall 2008, construction was started on a short trolley bus line, to allow the museum's trolley buses to operate. The planned line is a loop about long, with a branch into the maintenance and storage building.
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 295 (January–February 2011), p. 11. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.] The first section was tested under power in April 2009 by 1947-built
ACF-Brill
The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almos ...
trolley bus 205, which the museum acquired from the
Philadelphia trolley bus system when it was retired from service by
SEPTA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
in 1981. Construction of the line was about half completed as of September 2010 and due to continue in 2011. Regular operation – proposed to take place about once a month – is not expected to begin before 2012. The Shore Line Museum also owns two other trolley buses, ex-Philadelphia 210, identical to No. 205 (and acquired at the same time) and being used only as a source of parts, and ex-
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(
Boston-area) 4037, a 1976
Flyer E800 which the museum acquired in 2009 and which is also able to operate on the line.
Highlights of the collection
* Horsecar 76, thought to be the oldest preserved horse-drawn tram in the world.
* New Orleans St. Charles Avenue Street car 850. It is one of the last three 800-series cars in existence. It was built by
Perley Thomas in 1922.
* Connecticut Company 500, the luxurious business/parlor car used by ConnCo
* Manhattan Railway "G", the oldest preserved rapid transit car in the United States (built in 1878)
*
Interborough Rapid Transit
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...
3344 "Mineola," the personal private car of
August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont Jr. (February 18, 1853 – December 10, 1924) was an American financier. He financed the construction of the early history of the IRT subway, original New York City subway (1900–1904) and for many years headed the Interborough R ...
(president of the IRT, which operated New York's first subway)
* Ansonia Derby & Birmingham "Derby," the oldest surviving electric locomotive and the only
Van De Poele motor preserved
*
Brooklyn and Queens Transit
The Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation (B&QT) was a subsidiary of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation that operated streetcars in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States (as well as into Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge a ...
1001, the first production
PCC streetcar
The PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the ...
built
* Third Avenue Railway System 220, the oldest operating streetcar in the United States (built in 1892)
*
Hudson and Manhattan 503, the only restored H&M "black car"
*
PATH
A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail.
Path or PATH may also refer to:
Physical paths of different types
* Bicycle path
* Bridle path, used by people on horseback
* Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle
* Desire p ...
PA3 745, Survived the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11
*
NYCTA
The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
R17 6688, Used in filming for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie
*
IND
Ind or IND may refer to:
General
* Independent (politician), a politician not affiliated to any political party
* Independent station, used within television program listings and the television industry for a station that is not affiliated with ...
R9 1689, one of the original R1-9 subway cars used by the Independent Subway System
See also
*
Footnotes
References
*
*
*
External links
Shore Line Trolley Museum
{{authority control
East Haven, Connecticut
Railroad museums in Connecticut
Museums in New Haven County, Connecticut
Heritage railroads in Connecticut
Streetcars in Connecticut
Street railway museums in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut
Historic districts in New Haven County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut