~ Restoration and Education ~
Restoration
The restoration of the Seashore Trolley Museum's 1906 Atlantic Shore Line electric locomotive No. 100 will allow it to be returned to limited operating status for public demonstration and educational purposes at the Seashore Trolley Museum. It is projected the restoration will take two to three years to complete.
Educational Exhibits
Research and development of exhibits and interpretive materials will be displayed at area museums, historical societies and schools. These exhibits will help educate community members and visitors about the significant role electric rail transportation played in York County's economic, social, and cultural development from the 1890s to the 1940s.
Development of Curriculum
Using information and materials from the research conducted will be used to produce educational exhibits, to develop and integrate Learning Results-based curriculum of streetcars and the electric age into activities and materials for use in the classrooms of southern Maine and for school field trips to participating museums and historical societies. The curriculum and materials will be for use in the primary, elementary and middle school grades and will focus on the content areas of Social Studies, Science and Technology, and Visual Arts.
Securing funding to restore ASL-100 for operation so that the public can experience local history “in motion” is a wonderful incentive for the Museum and the Southern Maine communities that had ASL-100 in their neighborhoods. However, the Museum is also seeking funding for materials to “tell the story” of the impact electric railway transportation had on the people living in Southern Maine during the time ASL-100 serviced the local communities.
In many ways, the mobility that this “new” form of transportation gave the average person revolutionized the fabric of society. Cities grew remarkably as the distance from home to workplace could stretch. The first suburbs developed as railway tracks were built into unpopulated areas on the fringes of towns and cities. Street railway companies built many amusement parks to increase ridership.
Department stores developed once trolleys could bring hundreds of shoppers to a single location. Generations of workers rode trolleys to manufacturing plants, offices, and factories.
Offering students of all ages the opportunity to really experience and learn about “life during the trolley era” through funding educational programs and exhibits is every bit as important as funding restoration of the locomotive itself.
With your help, this educational opportunity can become a reality.
|
