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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Old Great Western #3 at the World Mining Museum Butte, MT


In its previous life this steam locomotive was one of several of the last steam locomotives to actually see service in the United States as part of a fleet of small steam locomotives operated by the Great Western Sugar Company. Great Western processed sugar from sugar beets until imported cane sugar became cheap and basically pull the rug out from under the sugar beet industry...
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Purchase cards and framed prints of this locomotive here

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Seabreeze Route

Back in 1905 the Shore Line Electric Railway received a charter from the State of Connecticut to build and operate a trolley line from Stony Creek to Ivoryton. Along its route it would connect the communities of Stony Creek, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook and follow the Connecticut River to Ivoryton. Five years later the Seabreeze Route was in operation.

At its peak the Shore Line Electric system boasted over one hundred cars and ran on 250 miles of track.

Power came from overhead feed lines which could run up to two connected cars at once. The cars used on the line used twice the amount of power as typical city trolleys so the cars of the Shore Line Electric Railway were capable of speeds up...

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