Bay State St. Ry. 3256

The Lynn and Boston Railway started as a horsecar line in Lynn, MA in 1854. The company expanded to other towns and became the Boston and Northern Street Railway in 1901. The B&N merged with the Old Colony Street Railway in 1911 to form the Bay State Street Railway. With multiple divisions operating north and south of Boston, the Bay State Street Ry. served three states entering New Hampshire at Nashua and penetrating Rhode Island as far as Newport. The company was reorganized as the Eastern Massachusetts Street Ry. in 1919. The history of No. 3256 is largely unknown. O.R. Cummings found Bay State Street Ry. roster information showing that J.G. Brill built 8 bench open car No. 3255 in 1887 and that the Lynn & Boston’s own shops built 8 bench open car No. 3257 also in 1887. So, the builder of No. 3256 may have been either J.G. Brill or the Lynn & Boston’s own shops, probably about 1887. Both No. 3255 and No. 3257 were originally horsecars, later converted to electric. So, this is probably the case with No. 3256. This car apparently carried No. 3256 when it was retired, but it likely had a different number when it first operated on the Lynn & Boston. The car’s retirement date is uncertain, but it was probably retired before the creation of the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway. Sometime before 1930, the body of No. 3256 was placed near a pond in Lynn, MA, and a summer camp building was built around the car. The car served as the living room. The building later became the Fred Mungan’s family house. In 1995, the Mungans dismantled the portion of the house containing the streetcar, and Fred Mungan donated the body of the 8 bench open car to Seashore. The body was in fairly good condition with the lettering “3256” intact. The car body is missing its single truck and its electrical and mechanical components. Since no open car from any of the MBTA’s predecessor companies was known to exist, this was a monumental find. The body of this car has been preserved for future restoration.