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Shore Line Trolley Museum

Branford Electric Railway

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btm_inset A visit to the museum is a multi-sensory voyage into the past, from the moanful growl of the motors, to the smell of the electric arc, to the feel of rattan seats and varnished hardwood detailing. The Shore Line Trolley Museum operates the Branford Electric Railway, a National Historic Site. The railway is the oldest continuously operating suburban trolley line in the United States.

Shore Line Trolly Museum

sltm_state egyptian ocated in East Haven, Connecticut, the Shore Line Trolley Museum has been a staple in trolley preservation since its incorporation in 1945 as the Branford Electric Railway Association. Today the site boasts nearly 100 trolley vehicles in its collection, including trolley and conventional buses. In addition, the museum archives contain nearly 65,000 photographic images, over 4,000 books and documents, and about 1,000 small artifacts such as tokens, hat badges and ticket punches. The Shore Line museum also operates the Branford Electric Railway, a National Historic Site. The 1.5 mile long railway is the oldest continuously operating suburban trolley line in the United States.

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Click to see the Shore Line Trolley Museum plotted on a Google Maps page

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1970 museum map / collection

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Connecticut Company #1414

Osgood Bradley (1911) / East Haven, Ct / museum photo

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Connecticut Company #1425

Osgood Bradley (1911) / East Haven, Ct / Aug 1971 / JCH

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East Haven, Ct / Aug 1971 / JCH

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Brooklyn Rapid Transit NYC #4573

Laconia (1906) / East Haven, Ct / Aug 1971 / JCH

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East Haven, Ct / Aug 1971 / JCH

tag_closeup New Orleans #850

NOPSI #850 went immediately from service on Canal Street to the Shore Line Trolley Museum. The car was held in storage for many years until museum volunteers and National Railway Historical Society members spent a decade restoring it in the museum's shop. The car is now in operation at the museum, and in 2007 it travelled to New York City and Chicago on a post-Katrina goodwill tour to promote the Crescent City.

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New Orleans Public Service #850

East Haven, Ct / Jul 2008 / Earl Hampton

New Orleans Public Service #850

  • builder:Pearly Thomas Car Works
  • type:double-truck, steel
  • built:1922
  • series:1 of 25 produced 1922
  • motors:two Westinghouse 306-CV4
  • capacity:52 (36 cross, 16 long)
  • notes:
  • blt New Orleans Public Service #850
    retired from service, 1964
    to Shore Line Trolley Museum, c 1965
    restored to operation, 2007
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    this streetcar also posted in New Orleans Streetcars away from home

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    East Haven, Ct / Jul 2008 / Earl Hampton

    New Orleans Public Service #850

    East Haven, Ct / museum photo

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    Car 850 to Promote New Orleans Tourism

    April 2007

    nopsi850_inset The Streetcar Named Desire, Car 850 in the collection of the Shore Line Trolley Museum, is about to roll out of the restoration shop, and into the national spotlight!

    When this streetcar first arrived at the museum in the mid-1960s, few would have imagined that it would one day be featured on nation-wide television to promote tourism in the city which it had served since 1922. Indeed, the car lay idle for many years until it received its turn in the museum's car restoration workshop. Now, after nearly ten years of painstaking work by the museum's staff and volunteers, and through the contributions made by the museum's members and by the National Railway Historical Society, car 850 is ready for its grand debut.

    Car 850 was featured on the Good Morning America show on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, and was displayed right in the heart of Times Square for two days.

    Car 850 is part of a nationwide campaign to revitalize New Orleans as a tourist destination, spearheaded by the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. The theme of this campaign is Forever New Orleans.

    Car 850 was displayed in Chicago, at the corner of Michigan and Illinois Avenue on May 17, then returned to its home at the Shore Line Trolley Museum. The grand roll-out ceremony was on Saturday, June 2, at 1 PM, and featured the Galvanized Jazz Band and East Haven Mayor Joe Maturo.

    Branford Electric Railway Association

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    East Haven, Ct / museum photo

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    See also our complete New Orleans Streetcar premier collection in Streetcars

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    1970 collection roster / collection

    Publications

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    1966 tourist train guide ad / collection

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    1971 tourist train guide ad / collection

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    1980 tourist train guide ad / collection

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    1989 tourist train guide ad / collection

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    1992 tourist train guide ad / collection

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    2001 tourist train guide ad / collection

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    from TRAINS magazine - 2021 / collection

    tag_snapSnapshots

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    East Haven, Ct / Aug 1971 / JCH

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    East Haven, Ct / Aug 1971 / JCH

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    This page was updated on 2022-12-23
    © 2007-2024 Ralph Hawkins / HawkinsRails