2010 Annual Report - the Seashore Trolley Museum

New England Electric Railway Historical Society
designed for the new building. A wetland
delineation will be undertaken to determine
the location of existing wetland
boundaries near the location of the new
building and any regulatory setbacks. A
survey for potential vernal pools was also
to be undertaken at this time.
Interim physical protection for the collection
was greatly enhanced. In January,
the NEERHS librarian met with the
building inspector and town planner in
Arundel and received permission to install
additional storage containers for the
library. By June the site had been cleared
and graded. Some delay was experienced
in locating suitable insulated containers
but refurbished insulated trailers were
ordered in October and installed on site
in November. At year-end, shelving was
being prepared and plans made for transferring
materials from the old building to
the new storage trailers along with the
installation of electricity and dehumidifying
equipment.
A major activity during the year involved
the selection of a professional firm expert
in capital fundraising to support the
Museum’s efforts to fund the new library
facility. During April, May, and June
interviews were undertaken with a number
of potential candidate firms. Initial
interviews were conducted by telephone
with initial face-to-face meetings with a
select number and finally presentations
by the two finalists before the Library
Committee in late summer. In November
the Library Committee selected JNB &
Associates (JNB) of Amesbury, MA as the
firm to be recommended to the Board
of Trustees. At the December 11, 2010
Trustees Meeting, upon the committee’s
recommendation, the Trustees approved
contracting with JNB for the conduct of a
capital fundraising feasibility study relative
to the new library facility. The study
was to begin in early 2011 and should be
completed by early 2012.
Above: An overhead view of the Boston Trolley Meet held at the Americal Civic Center in May in
Wakefield, MA. The well-attended event was jointly sponsored with three other organizations.
Boston Trolley Meet
Mike Prescott, Show Director
For the first time ever, the Seashore
Trolley Museum joined with the Boston
Street Railway Association, the Bay State
Society of Model Engineers, and the
Boston Chapter of the National Railway
Historical Society to present the 2010
Boston Trolley & Transit Meet, held May
21–23, 2010 in Wakefield and Roslindale,
Massachusetts.
After the NRHS was no longer able to
present the event on their own, the
other organizations stepped in to keep
the long-standing Boston traction tradition
alive. Representatives from all four
organizations, including Seashore’s Tom
Santarelli, formed a planning committee,
which worked a tight time frame of late
January to May to pull the meet together.
Finances were handled jointly by Seashore
and BSRA in a “50/50” split, managed
by their respective Treasurers, Jeffrey
Sisson and Charles Bahne, Jr., while
logistics were supported by the NRHS
and BSSME, who also opened their club
room in Roslindale for meet attendees at
an open house.
In the planning process, it was also decided
to expand the breadth of the meet
to include transit vehicles (therefore
becoming the “Boston Trolley and Transit
Meet”). To support the expansion, Seashore
Trolley Museum, the MBTA, and
private collectors sent vintage transit
Below: As an additional point of interest a number of historic buses were displayed outside the hall.
From left a 1957 GM bus restored by Boston MBTA employees; a more modern GM model from Seashore;
and a west coast Crown Coach tandem axle school bus owned by a Seashore member. JS
JS
Above: Another storage container for interim
secure storage of library material arrives. ER
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