

Working Day At Trolley Museum

Didn't know that Connecticut has a trolley museum? Actually, the state has two: the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven and the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor. Between them, the museums house, repair and showcase more than 170 trolleys, some of which date from 1869.

The museums' staffs believe that Connecticut is an especially fitting place for a trolley museum, considering that the idea for electric public transportation was the brainchild of Frank Julian Sprague, a Milford native. A onetime employee of Thomas Edison, Sprague is credited with building or patenting the first citywide trolley system, subway and elevated train, as well as automatic train-safety controls, naval weaponry, electric toasters and signs, and highspeed electric elevators (which he later sold to Otis Elevator Co.).

The Shore Line Trolley Museum, at the end of a short road dominated by a large cemetery and a small park, is the oldest operating trolley museum in the country.

This weekend, the museum presents "Workin' on the Railroad," an annual event to showcase work trolleys, the "unsung heroes" of the Trolley Era, about 1900 to 1930.

Cars on display include a 1920 snow sweeper and a 1929 crane car. Most people never saw these trolleys, yet they were essential to keeping cities moving and expanding. Tour guides and technicians will demonstrate how railroad line is laid, how the 600-volt wire transfers power to the trolley, and more.

The museum itself uses the work cars year-round to keep its 102-year-old rail track in shape.

Copyright © 2014, Hartford Courant