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Fred Maloney photo, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Thousands of Birney cars were built by various car companies, most of them constructed between 1917 and 1923. But, because of the tendency of Birneys to gallop on anything but the smoothest track, they were not popular with the public. Their limited seating capacity of 30-32 passengers was also a disadvantage - but they did demonstrate the practicability of one man operation.
Birney car No. 1 was built in 1919 by American Car for the Denver & South Platte Railway, which ran from Littleton, Colorado, to a connection with the Denver Tramway at Englewood. Nos. 1 and 2 (preseved by the Museum as York Utilities #82) were the only cars ever owned by the road, with the result that the Museum owns the entire fleet of a streetcar company. These cars were purchased second hand from the Colorado system by the York Utilities Company of Sanford, Maine, in 1927 and were converted from their original 3 ft. 6 in. gauge to standard gauge and renumbered 80 and 82. York Utilities was the residual operation of the Atlantic Shore Line, which ran a system of country trolley lines in the Museum's local area, including the route now used by Seashore's demonstration railway. The refurbishment of the Birneys for use on the company's small system in Sanford and Springvale was the last work performed at the Town House Shops in Kennebunkport. Shortly thereafter, all of the trolley system except the Sanford area operation was abandoned. Stored out of service in 1946, both Nos. 80 and 82 were then bought by the Museum. No. 80 has been restored as Denver & South Platte No. 1.
History from Historic Cars: The National Collection at the Seashore Trolley Museum by Ben Minnich
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