EAST HAVEN >> In 1945, when buses were replacing trolleys as the main mode of public transportation in Greater New Haven, members of the local trolley-loving community worked together to create the Shoreline Trolley Museum.
Today, more than 300 volunteers continue to keep the museum’s precious historic collection of nearly 100 vintage vehicles, artifacts and documents from the trolley era from being forgotten. One volunteer, George Papaga, has been doing it for 63 years.
“The original generation of members at the museum, they got out after the Second World War. I was 10 and they were about 20 years old. Looking back I’m surprised they even let me hang out with them, being just a kid.”
Decades later, for about four days a week, Papaga says he visits the old track and helps in any way he can. He and other volunteers restore the old trolley cars by painting, fixing mechanics, and other damaged parts. They also lend a helping hand at museum events like the Haunted Isle, Pumpkin Patch, the Fire Truck Show, and Santa’s Trolley Winter Wonderland, among others.
Most volunteers, according to Pagaga, just like trains. They like being a part of the history of the trolleys, as some even date back to the 1800s.
“It’s a funny thing when railroading gets under your skin,” he said. “It’s just so fascinating to see the craftsmanship of the cars, knowing the stories behind them. They mean a lot to people.”
Papaga, who is also the former station master of New York City’s Grand Central Station, said working on trains was always an interest of his and he was able to learn about them at an early age by volunteering at the museum. By the time he was a student at East Haven High School he knew so much, it was made part of his curriculum.
“My last two years of high school I took metal shop and wood shop. The teachers saw how much I liked it, they let me go down to the trolleys for school and graded me for my work at the museum,” he said.
After returning from the service in 1963, he got a job working for the New York, New Haven, Hartford Railroad line and even then, continued to volunteer at the museum.
“It’s one of the few places you can get away from the noise of the city and highways. It’s just you riding along the Farm River, and Beacon Hill and the tall grass.”
Located at 17 River St., the museum is a National Historic District, preserving the oldest continuously operating suburban trolley line in the United States, and is run by the Branford Electric Railway Association, according to John R. Soehnlein, volunteer trolley conductor and marketing manager of the Shoreline Trolley Museum.
“It’s great to have people like George who really have so much passion for what we do here. It amazes me how we are able to attract interest even after all this time.”
Soehnlein said there are about 1,100 members today; the youngest is a boy approximately 12 years old who comes in with his mother, according to Soehnlein.
Soehnlein, also a long-time volunteer, said keeping the history of the trains alive is important to him and the rest of the passionate volunteers from East Haven, Branford, and other surrounding towns.
For Papaga, the tracks have been a part of his life for so many years, now that he is 72, he says it’s going to be that way until the end.
“I’m going to be there for the rest of my life,” he said, “and when that comes to the end they’re going to sprinkle me along that tracks.”
But before that, Papaga hopes he can pass his stories and knowledge of trains along.
“I want to make sure the kids know all about it. They are going to have to take over and keep the history going.”
Reach the author at jortiz@newhavenregister.com .
I was there last Sunday. First time , they have a beautiful collection.
Randy Stahl
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