2007 Annual Report - the Seashore Trolley Museum

New England Electric Railway Historical Society
Above: The goal of the restoration of Atlantic Shore Line locomotive 100 is to return it to its appearance
in 1940 as shown in this photo taken in Sanford, Maine in 1940 when it was 34 years old. SL
ASL 100 – The Beginning of
the Second Hundred Years
Philip W. Morse, Project Manager
ASL 100 is the 1906 wooden electric
locomotive from Maine’s Atlantic Shore
Line Railway (ASL) now being restored in
Seashore’s Town House Shop under a
first-of-its-kind (for Seashore) collaborative
project involving federal funding,
state oversight, and active participation of
other area museums and educational
institutions. The project is especially
significant as Seashore owns and operates
its cars on a segment of the old ASL
right-of-way where 100 once pulled
freight trains.
The program is funded in large part with
$132,400 made available through the
Maine Department of Transportation via
the Federal Transportation Enhancement
Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21). Matching
funds were raised from a variety of
sources, including a large number of
generous museum members. Significant
donations came from Kennebunk Savings
Bank, Amherst Railway Society,
Kennebunkport Business Association, and
Ocean National Bank. The major local
sponsor for the project is the H. Albert
Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation
Award granted by the Massachusetts Bay
Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc.
Looking back a century, 1907 was an
important year for the ASL Railway. In
June that year, a sixteen mile stretch of
track between Kennebunk and York was
first opened for interurban operation.
That year, nearly 5 million passengers
rode ASL cars in southern Maine! Freight
services, like those provided by locomotive
100, were also an important revenue
producer for the railway. At one point,
nearly 50,000 tons of coal were hauled
annually on the ASL by 100 and sister
locomotives. ASL 100’s days of public
freight service continued until 1949
when it was acquired by the Seashore
Trolley Museum in June of that year.
Today, a century after ASL 100 first traveled
the rails and hauled freight around
the southern Maine area, many museum
volunteers and staff are devoting their
efforts to restore the icon to operating
status. Led by Restoration Shop Manager,
Donald Curry, much was accomplished in
2007 as highlighted in the Conservation
Report beginning on page 8. On
Above: Locomotive ASL 100’s trucks shown in
the process of disassembly to allow corrosion
mitigation, rebuilding, and refinishing. DC
Above: Dating from the era before widespread use of structural steel, the locomotive derived its
strength from massive longitudinal wooden frame members, which have been replaced with salvaged
lumber. Here Donald Curry, aided by Brandon Barlow, bores bolt holes with an extra long drill. DC
6