Manchester St. Ry. City of Manchester

The Manchester Street Railway (successor to the Manchester Horse Railway) converted from horse to electric operation in 1895 as well as converting from 3-foot gauge to standard gauge track. The company served Manchester and other nearby New Hampshire cities. An affiliate, the Manchester & Nashua Street Railway, ran to Nashua. The Manchester Street Railway came under the control of Public Service Company of New Hampshire in 1926. PSNH absorbed the street railway in 1937. Streetcar service in Manchester ended in 1940. The City of Manchester, custom built by the small Briggs Carriage Co. of Amesbury, MA in 1898, was the private car for the management of the Manchester Street Railway Co. It was used for official inspection trips and was also made available for charter to the public for $5 a day. The car has a small body with beveled plate glass windows and unusually large platforms with wrought iron railings. The original furnishings were light wicker chairs that could be moved from the closed section to the open platforms. The car rode on a rare, ornate truck made by the Peckham Co. of Kingston, NY. The main exterior panels were painted in royal blue with gold decorations. In the 1920s, the car fell into disuse and was placed in storage. In 1935 or 1936, Alcide Jolin of Pinardville, NH purchased the car’s body for use as a children’s playhouse. Museum member Malcolm Bustin found and acquired the City of Manchester in 1952 and sold it to the museum for $1 in 1956. It was restored and reequipped in the 1960s. The Brill 21E Truck and G. E. 80 motors currently under the car are not correct, but make the car operational. In 1973, the Municipal Transport Department of Amsterdam, Holland, donated a correct, Peckham truck to the museum. The Peckham truck was set aside for the City of Manchester, but is presently being used to make another carbody mobile. In 1977, the Manchester Transit Authority borrowed the City of Manchester for a display marking the 100th anniversary of transit in Manchester, NH. In 1984, the car went to Manchester again for display at Riverfest “84.” In 1940 and 1941, Seashore had acquired two other Manchester trolleys – Manchester Street Railway No. 60 and Manchester & Nashua No. 38. The City of Manchester was the first car acquired by a trolley museum from a source other than a streetcar company. Subsequently, Seashore and other museums saved other trolleys that had been converted to secondary uses. The museum was recently hired to build a replica of the City of Manchester for a couple to carry visitors at their Florida estate.