Trolley museum invites visitors to come aboard to see intricate RR model

It’s a small world after all. At least it is at the Seashore Trolley Museum.

Walking into the building that houses a new model railroad is like entering a miniature landscape frozen in time, where several dozen Maine towns and cities can be visited, York’s Wild Kingdom beckons, Stephen King’s house looms – and the train runs on time.

Donated by the Beals family of Jonesport, a layout of the Maine Central Railroad, which ran throughout the state from 1940-60, winds through the display, chugging past houses and businesses and navigating tunnels and bridges along the way.

Most of the intricate set-up was assembled in November 2022 at the Kennebunkport museum at 195 Log Cabin Road; the campus is also partly in Arundel and Biddeford. A dedication ceremony to celebrate the new addition was held June 15.

Staff and volunteers are “still doing the final touches,” said Katie Orlando, executive director of the museum, during a recent visit. “We have a lot of goals.”

Not surprisingly, adding models of trolleys from 1920-60 to the display is one of them.

Labor of love

According to a history displayed at the museum, Harold “Buz” Beal Jr. was a Jonesport native whose grandfather was a Canadian Pacific engineer. Beal settled with his wife, Helen, in Jonesport in 1983, and, not long after, the couple and their nephew, Harry Fish Jr., began to build the Maine Central Model Railroad, an HO-scale layout that grew to fill a 900-square-foot building next to their home. It took 35 years and thousands of hours to complete.

Everything was done by hand using tweezers, glue and plaster of Paris. Helen built the smaller houses and cut windows using an X-Acto knife. She made 5,000 trees from sea heather, glue and moss and painted all the small pieces and people. Buz painted the houses, built the larger structures, painted the landscape and did the wiring. Some cars and structures were constructed from scratch, some made from kits, and others were purchased. The granite cliffs and wooded mountains were created with layers of plaster-soaked paper towels.

“That’s all they did in the winter,” Orlando said.

The Beals opened their layout to the public in 1998 to thousands of visitors from all over the world.

Unfortunately, the couple did not live long enough to see their work showcased at the museum. After 25 years of marriage to “the love of his life,” Buz died in 2012. Helen’s final wish was to travel to Kennebunkport and see the layout at its new home. But she passed away in September 2023, just weeks from the day the museum began moving the layout from temporary storage into the new building. She had never traveled farther south than Brunswick.

Donors step up

The donation by the Beals family of Jonesport on behalf of the late couple was made possible through a $3.4 million grant from the WYSS foundation.

A second donation from Emmalyn Bentley of Cape Neddick made the display of York’s Wild Kingdom a reality; it’s landmarked by the Ferris wheel, which will eventually turn. Nubble Light rises near the amusement park.

Local artist Diane Lent of Kennebunk painted the backdrops. 

Fish helped determine where buildings go and get the trains running again.

“He’s been a huge asset,” Orlando said.

The museum was first contacted about the gift in January 2021 during the pandemic, but “it took us quite a while to accept the donation. It’s huge,” said Orlando.

She added that the family had asked at least 40 model clubs and others if they would like the gift, but all declined, saying it was too big.

A world in miniature

As it stands, just over 25 municipalities are currently included in the model.

“I think 30 towns will be represented and will be labeled,” Orlando said. “We're adding Kennebunkport, York, Cape Neddick, and others as we develop the new sections.”

King sent a photo of his house in Bangor so it would be accurately represented; volunteers plan to construct the iconic arched gate.

Other features include a fishing village, miniature people playing a game of tennis on a tiny court – plus a brewery for post-game refreshments – and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Over 500 rail cars came with the layout and several trains operate at the same time.

There is still work to be done and could take “several years to get it the way we want it,” Orlando said. “The plan is to get a lot done by Nov 2025.”

While a workroom allows volunteers to repair and build components, the upstairs is unfinished for now, but there are plans for displays and potentially for youth programs.

Orlando said Quoddy Lighthouse is her favorite, but when it’s done she thinks York’s Wild Kingdom “will be the best.”

By the Numbers

• 3,000 feet of track

• Over 500 rail cars

• Size of the building: 42x54

• 200 track switches

• 11 bridges and trestles

 

The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile is one of the quirky touches in the Maine Central Model Railroad. Dinosaurs also roam the streets in a nod to a recent dinosaur-themed event. PHOTO BY ANN FISHER

Onward and upward

As the 85th year in operation is marked this year, the museum is seeing a significant increase in admission in recent years, according to Orlando, with statistics showing a 75% jump in attendance from 17,000-18,000 in 2018 to 36,000 in 2023.

“We’re already doing better than 2023,” Orlando said, and have seen a 25% increase so far this year.

Come Labor Day, Orlando will have been at the helm for six years. With a degree in history and a background in nonprofits and higher education, Orlando said working at the Seashore Trolley Museum is “definitely the most fun I’ve ever had.”

Ann Fisher is a freelance journalist based in Saco. She can be reached at 432-7483.