Manchester Street Railway

The Manchester Street Railway was a light interurban railway that ran from Manchester to Nashua, New Hampshire.[1]

Manchester Street Railway
1908 postcard entitled "Rapid transit in 1877 - First horsecar run in Manchester, New Hampshire"
Overview
LocaleManchester and Nashua, New Hampshire
Dates of operation1864–1941
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationElectrified interurban light rail

History
Wason plows from the Wason Manufacturing Company in Manchester, NH. (1909)[2] Note the sign advertising Cuban cigars.[2]
Manchester Street Railway Trestle between Manchester and Nashua. (1907)
Manchester Street Railway No. 1. (1906)

The Manchester Horse Railroad Company was incorporated in 1864.[3] The company changed its name to the Manchester Street Railway in 1889,[3] which in turn was renamed the Manchester Traction Light & Power Company in 1901.[2] In 1903 the Goff's Falls, Litchfield & Hudson Street Railway Company was incorporated.[4] In 1905 the Manchester Street Railway's main car barn burned down, so they ordered 11 Laconia cars numbered 94 - 116 in even numbers.[5] Many of the Manchester Street Railway's cars were manufactured by the Laconia Car Company in Laconia, New Hampshire. The Goff's Falls, Litchfield & Hudson Street Railway Company was renamed the Manchester and Nashua Street Railway in 1907.[4] Near the end, the railway couldn't afford to keep lines energized after hours, and scrappers would climb the poles and dismantle the lines.[6] The Manchester Street Railway ceased operations in 1939, and most of their equipment was scrapped by 1941.[4][6] The Seashore Trolley Museum's first preserved equipment was obtained from the Manchester Street Railway.[6]

Preservation

Preserved rolling stock

There are several Manchester Street Railway cars preserved and operational.[1][6][5]

  • No. 38 was built in 1906.[1] It is the last trolley to cross the Merrimack River and the second car in the Seashore Trolley Museum's collection in Kennebunkport, Maine.[1][7]
  • The Seashore Trolley Museum has a private Brill parlor car from 1898 fully restored and operational.[7]
  • The Connecticut Trolley Museum has Manchester Street Railway No. 94 stored, but unrestored.[5] In 1905 the Manchester Street Railway's main car barn burned down, so they ordered 11 Laconia cars numbered 94 - 116 in even numbers.[5]
  • The Seashore Trolley Museum has Brill No. 60 from 1895 in storage unrestored.[7]
  • Operational preserved cars
  • Manchester Street Railway 38
    Manchester Street Railway 38[1]

See also

References
  1. "Manchester & Nashua Street Railway 38". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  2. Lane Genealogy (2015-04-18), Wason snow plows of the Manchester (NH) Street Railroad - 1909, retrieved 2022-03-11
  3. "Manchester Street Railway". www.nashuacitystation.org. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  4. "Manchester and Nashua Street Railway". www.nashuacitystation.org. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  5. "Manchester Street Railway 94". www.ct-trolley.org. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  6. Acquiring Manchester & Nashua St Rwy No.38 - Seashore Trolley Museum, retrieved 2022-03-11
  7. "Manchester". Seashore Trolley Museum. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

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