Byline by Kirsten Dudley,
It was a treat to hear the two key speakers at the Trolleys and Trails series event on Saturday. The Shore Line Trolley Museum’s own Tom Laurenson kicked off the adventure inside the museum with stories of the trolley era. He explained that trolleys were the first form of mass transit and. Most cars were packed with sitters, standees, and hangers to a total of 200 people in a car. Tom also spoke about the man who is credited as the inventor of the modern trolley line, engineer Frank Sprague, born in Milford Ct.
We took a walk up to the green to enjoy the cool breeze and hear the wisdom of David Campbell from the East Haven Historical Society. Mr. Campbell brought a photo collection from the trolley museum that he discussed in detail while we stood on the green where over 100 years ago the trolley lines could have been seen moving toward the beach, New Haven, and Lake Saltonstall. Amazing to think trolleys were present here for 53 years!
Thank you very much to our speakers, and we hope the group enjoyed our time together.
Final Trolleys & Trails stop is September 9th on the Hammonasset section in Madison.
(photo credits: Kirsten Dudley)