Shore Line Trolley Museum, Branford (East Haven), CT

I was there that day standing in the middle of the road in uniform as the car approached.
Was a glorious day.

Will the museum operate the PATH cars from the WTC or will they be just for display?

Here is video I shot of the unloading of Car 745:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-nnd0zi8IU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The official plan is to exhibit the car as-is (although the missing windows will likely be replaced, a set of windows and gaskets were on a pallet inside the car when it arrived) .

Nevertheless, there are those (with technical know-how) who believe 745 can be made operable again.

---PCJ

http://www.bera.org/etc-photos.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As of the most recent update (late Oct 2015), tracks have been laid up to both barns, one has all four tracks installed, the other has tracks up to two of the four bays, and the rickety runaround track was pulled up, re-graded and re-laid with new crossties and (what appears to be) heavier rail. No trolley wire yet, there should be a separate fundraiser for that task.

Looking forward to the next update.

---PCJ

December 16 update, same link as above post:

Building 9 has been connected via the rebuilt runaround track, and work is progressing toward connecting the yard leads to the storage tracks within.

Reported elsewhere (i.e. the museum's newsletter "The Tripper") is the return of Montreal Tramways 2001 to service, and Brooklyn 1792. The latter was formerly known as the car that contained the Lionel layout. It has had its interior restored with passenger amenities (it had been converted into a sand carrier when the museum acquired it), and with its motors repaired through the FEMA matching grant, its trucks have been rebuilt to allow the car to travel on the mainline with passengers. How BERA's shop forces solved the problem of its maximum-traction trucks disagreeing with the museum's spring-frog turnouts has been left unreported so far.

---PCJ

April 2016 update (since nobody else seems to be doing it)

New photos at the above link show all buildings now connected to the yard ladder. Construction is now proceeding on the two tracks that lie between the new barns, with a crossover being laid out between the two.

Also, from a conversation with a SLTM staffer at the Amherst show, car 1792 was made able to traverse the mainline by reducing the spring tension holding the line's spring switches (and frogs) closed, enabling the pony wheelsets of 1792's maximum-traction trucks to operate through them normally.

---PCJ

This is a double feature. These two videos were taken at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in April 2008. They are both videos of the same ride on New Orleans Trolley car 850 except in two parts. The first video is a the beginning of the ride by the trolley barns. The second video is of the rest of the ride to Short Beach. I got another video from the same visit but I'll post it in a couple of weeks. I apologize for the blurriness near the end of the second video. It's always fun going to the SLTM.

Ride on a New Orleans trolley car 850 at the Shore Line Trolley Museum to Short Beach Part 1
https://youtu.be/YGIE8gj6r4w

Ride on a New Orleans trolley car 850 at the Shore Line Trolley Museum to Short Beach Part 2
https://youtu.be/3Zs2niFcZHA

Enjoy!

Here's another video from the same April 2008 trip. It is of a ride to Short Beach on former BMT Gate car 1349 at the Shore Line Trolley Museum. This car used to run on the Myrtle Ave elevated. 1349 is not completely restored and still needs some work. Its sister car 1362 is at the museum but it hasn't ran in years. This is my last video taken with my first camera. Taken in April 2008.

Ride to Short Beach on a BU El car 1349 at the Shore Line Trolley Museum
https://youtu.be/eWGuq2yWxjQ

Enjoy!

Same link as above, 9/3/16.

While not a real status update, some more photos were posted of equipment moved to the new barns in advance of the approach of Tropical Storm Hermine.

It is mentioned that construction of the pit track in Building 9 is "underway" but no photos were provided of its WIP condition. Without any actual info (haven't been up there since the PATH car arrived), I suspect any photos of the work will surface either when it's well underway or near completion.

There will be a pair of tracks linked by a crossover switch positioned between the two new barns. As of this writing only one has track been laid, with enough of one switch built to allow movement beyond it, but as of the above photo update no spikes have been driven past the switch--just rails on tie-plates atop crossties for now.

And in other matters, Google Maps aerial view now shows the two carbarns with three of four tracks connected to Bldg. 8.

---PCJ

9/18/16, same link as above:

One additional photo has been added showing work beginning on the inspection pit in Bldg (barn) 9.
The first steel support columns for the pit track are being attached to the footings cast into the concrete structure.

One of these weekends I'm going to get up there to take some photos to post here.

---PCJ

Not an update from their site, but I paid a visit during the Annual Meeting on 11/12.

Poles are being set in the new yard area, and I'm told the wire is on hand to string trolley wire once all the poles are set.

The one distinctive photo I have for RRnet, is this shot of the in-progress pit track in Building 9: I'm told that this gave IRM "pit envy" :D

(On the next track over is Union Street Ry. 302, our recently restored trolley RPO, one of the few surviving examples.)

Steel beams are due to arrive early this week for installation atop these supports, followed by rail. Provisions are made for removing a short section for use with a drop table.

---PCJ

Did Sat & Sun of Santa week-end ... Ho Ho Ho

Last update for 2016: http://www.bera.org/etc-photos.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Golden spike driving by the governor of Connecticut, setting of line poles in the yard (supposedly wire is on hand, but the onset of winter will set back stringing trolley wire till spring), and construction of the support structure for the pit tracks.

There's more to that last item than I first thought. Turns out there are I-beams with C-beams laid on top, flange-up. Instant guard-rail--something I've never seen on a pit track before. Also shown is the lift-out section that can be used to work on components that hang over the railhead, and allow use of a drop-table.

---PCJ

Took a while to add another entry here. Use the same URL as above.

New photos depict:
--a ceremony with the Governor of Connecticut driving the 'golden spike' of the project
--setting of line poles in the new yard area
--completion of the pit track structural work
--completion of pit track trackwork
--and the beginning of overhead line installation (cross spans)

---PCJ

Construction photos updated Oct.9
Same address as before: http://www.bera.org/etc-photos.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Older photos have moved to an archive linked at the bottom of the page. In this update:

--Loop track construction
--installing back-guy anchors for the new poles
--Installation of trolley wire on the new yard lead
--and photos of the first fully electrified track in one of the new barns.

There may be other tracks done by the time of the annual meeting next weekend (one of the highlights is supposed to be riding a car direct from the beginning of the line to the interior of one of the new barns). I hope to have some more photos to add here and maybe a video to link since the official updates are somewhat irregular.

---PCJ