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  • Be a Motorman program at Seashore?

  • General discussion related to all railroad clubs, museums, tourist and scenic lines. Generally this covers museums with static displays, museums that operate excursions, scenic lines that have museums, and so on. Check out the Tourist Railway Association (TRAIN) for more information.
General discussion related to all railroad clubs, museums, tourist and scenic lines. Generally this covers museums with static displays, museums that operate excursions, scenic lines that have museums, and so on. Check out the Tourist Railway Association (TRAIN) for more information.

Moderators: rob216, Miketherailfan

 #257403  by Zhanna
 
Does anyone have experience with the "Be a Motorman" program at Seashore Trolley Museum?

I've been dying to learn to operate a trolley at my local trolley museum, but I'm currently on a waiting list. Next spring is the absolute earliest I'll be able to get a license.

I am, however, traveling to Maine for a vacation and may have time to stop at Seashore on the way home. I thought it might be fun to "get my feet wet" with this program. What are your general thoughts on this program? Did you find it to be worth the $50? What kind of car do you run? Approximately how much time do you get with the instructor? And how far in advance do you have to call for a reservation?

Thanks very much in advance ... :-D

~Zhanna

 #257559  by StevieC48
 
I am an Instructor at Seashore and I do recomend a month in advence for reservations, so we can have the appropriate staff on when you arrive. You get a round trip on thatcar of your choice that is in the operating fleet for 2006. 10 min to get familuar how to operate. It last about an hour and let them know you are from another museum and mabe you can get some controller time while your up there.

 #257677  by citystation1848
 
Experience with the Be a Motorman program? You bet I do. I did it once on my birthday for four or five years, after that fifth year I became a qualified operator. It's been six years now, and its spread past just operating the streetcars. I've been charmain of a committee and now I'm webmaster of the Museum's website. You're right, it'll definately get your feet wet!

As a sample of cars which the progam uses, this year I can recall one person learning to operate Connecticut Company open car #838. Years past when I went through the program multiple times, I operated Dallas Railway & Terminal #434, Eastern Mass. #4387, and Boston Elevated #5821. Those last three cars are not in the 2006 fleet however.

To see photos of the cars I just rambled off, you can go here:
http://www.trolleymuseum.org/collection.html

Matt

 #257698  by StevieC48
 
GOD help us lol. But seriously Matt is one of our seasoned vetrans and does an awsome job with his dad on car crews. Keep up the good work Matt. Dispatch training this year ?

 #257729  by Zhanna
 
Great! Thanks for all the information. This sounds like a lot of fun. I'm only afraid I might not have found out about this early enough. The way it looks right now, the only day I could visit the museum would be June 27, which is less than 2 weeks away. I'll see what happens, though.

~Zhanna

 #257795  by citystation1848
 
Don't be afraid to give the Museum a call to make a reservation for the program. It's not "one month call or you can't do it," the volunteers at the Museum will help you out as long as you call ahead.

Matt

 #257874  by Zhanna
 
Sounds good, Stevie and Matt. I'll give the museum a call tomorrow. Thanks!!!

~Zhanna

 #263903  by Zhanna
 
Just an update ... I did the Be a Motorman program on Tuesday afternoon, on my way home to PA from downeast Maine. It was so much fun and is one of the best memories from my entire trip! I also feel like I learned a lot. I operated 838, an open car from 1905, and kept it going pretty well with the exception of an emergency stop necessary when my sunglasses flew out of the car! :-D My two closest friends were with me and they had smiles on their faces the entire time, as did I.

Thanks to everybody in this thread who gave me the information I needed to make the trip a success, and to everybody I encountered at the museum (especially Lee Johnson, who was a very patient instructor!).

Zhanna

 #264000  by StevieC48
 
Glad you had a memorable time. Hoped you also saw our collection too. :-D

 #264044  by Zhanna
 
I didn't have as much time to explore as I'd have liked, because we still had a long drive ahead of us, and wanted to get home in case we had damage to deal with from the major flooding in our area. (It turns out we had no problems, though our neighbors did).

There's always next year! I plan on coming back.

I did have one question about the car 838. According to an information sheet I saw at the museum, this is a J. G. Brill car, but according to the chart on the Seashore site (http://www.trolleymuseum.org/collection/newengland.html), this car was built by J. M. Jones. Can you clarify?

Thanks again!

Zhanna

 #264546  by citystation1848
 
All the roster information I have of the car says J.M. Jones. A sister car, 840, in Connecticut is also a J.M. Jones built car. The only Connecticut J.G.Brill car we have is 303 as you see in the roster. Either you were reading something on 303 or it was a typo on 838's information.

Glad you enjoyed your visit to the museum!

Matt

 #265191  by jogden
 
lately they have been using the information card from 303 but covering the "303" with tape that says "838" so it is likelt you read the info for 303.