The Start of the Collection

Biddeford & Saco Railroad Co. 31 (ME) at Seashore Trolley MuseumTgh

On the 4th of July in 1939, fifteen college students got together for a last ride on the open trolley cars that operated between Biddeford, Saco, and Old Orchard Beach, as they were told that the motor buses would take over the service the very next day. They were told that the bodies would be tipped off the trucks and burned, leaving all of the metal parts to be collected and sold to the scrap dealer. Each of the group of fifteen contributed $10 to purchase the car intact, and the offer was accepted on the condition that the car had to be moved out of town. It finally landed on a tiny scrap of land as the first acquisition of what would become the Seashore Trolley Museum. That scrap of land is now part of the pront entrance to the Museum.