The Branford Electric Railway Association, Inc., of East Haven, Connecticut, better known as the Shore Line Trolley Museum, is the recipient of the 2014 H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award, administered by the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts. The $10,000 grant associated with the award will support rehabilitation of four traction motors in Union Street Railway RPO Car 302, which was undergoing a complete restoration prior to August 2011, when the storm surge from Hurricane Irene left the car's trucks partially submerged in muddy salt water, rendering the traction motors nonfunctional. The Award funds will leverage additional funding from FEMA necessary to complete the project, an essential part of BERA's larger Hurricane Motor Repair Program. Number 302 is a Railway Post Office trolley car that was operated by the Union Street Railway from the railroad station in Fall River to the New Bedford post office and on to Wareham, with a connection to the Railway Mail Service network at Providence, RI. It is one of only a small handful of trolley-RPO cars which have survived in preservation.

The winter of 2014 has been one to remember. For 45+ days in most of February and March, there was so much snow on the ground in East Haven that we couldn’t move any equipment except on the mainline and out of one operating carbarn. The trackway doors on each building swing out, and there was just too much snow to be able to open them.

Fortunately, the spring thaw began in mid-March, which finally allowed us access to all of the buildings. On March 23, a weekend crew switched car 302 out from its winter storage and restoration spot on track 72 in Barn 7 and rearranged cars in the shop to move the mail car into position for the work to begin. The first stop was on the pit track, where motor repair contractor and BERA member Joey M. tagged and disconnected the motor leads on all 4 Westinghouse 101 traction motors, and disconnected the brake rigging. Another switching move was performed and the car was moved from the pit to the east end of the shop on the floor track, where the car would be lifted.

Later that day, with the 4 electric car jacks in position, car 302 was lifted off its trucks for the first time in we’re-not-sure-how-many-years. The two trucks were rolled out from under the car to a spot near the shop crane. Axle caps were removed and the gears were lubricated. The position and mounting of each motor was marked in the shop journal and the position stamped on each motor so all will return to their original location upon overhaul.

Please see the following photos of recent progress:

On April 5, Joey returned to lift the traction motors from the trucks. The trucks were then rolled back under the car, the car was lowered, and the car was returned to Barn 7 on April 14. While the motors are being overhauled this summer, 302 will receive its final coat of exterior paint and lettering, one end pilot will be replaced, and the trucks will be bead blasted, cleaned, and painted.

Schulz Electric (New Haven, CT) is our motor repair contractor. On April 11, the four motors from 302 were loaded aboard the deck of our Montreal crane W-3 for the journey to the end of the line at Sprague Station. Here, they were transferred to a Schulz truck which took them to the shop for the overhaul work to begin. In the same delivery, Schulz returned to the museum two freshly overhauled WH510 motors and a motor generator unit from other equipment which was flood-damaged. We expect 302’s motors to require several months at Schulz and will provide another update at that time.