“Our Town” by James W. Tucker
Hampton Union
Thursday, November 8, 1951
PART 7
This is the seventh and last of a series of articles which have appeared consecutively and which have related to the colorful era of electric railways in Hampton. During this period, which began on July 9, 1897 and ended during the latter part of May in 1926, transportation facilities were twice revolutionized. The horse and buggy gave way to the electric car at the outset and at the end, the trolley was supplanted by the automobile. In less than three short decades, our town’s beach became a summer mecca for many thousands.
Previous to the advent of the trolleys only a few hundred came by stage and by private horse-drawn vehicles. When facilities for cheap mass transportation were afforded and people became acquainted with Hampton’s beautiful coastline, there began a period of growth and development which has continued to this day. For the early transition from a rather desolate stretch of sand dunes, known only to the gulls and a few fishermen, to a beach which would soon attain national recognition, the trolley car was chiefly responsible. It is little to be wondered that a majority of the townspeople were in favor of buying the electric railway, which had meant so much to them, when the owners threatened to abandon it altogether.
A Third Railway Committee
And that brings us to February 1, 1921, when after recorded negotiations which had covered a period of nearly two years, our town purchased the Exeter, Hampton & Amesbury Street Railway for $76,000.00. Five years of municipal ownership followed and the fact is that it was no more successful than the private operation which had preceded it. The first report of the railway directors appeared in the Town Report for the year ending January 31, 1922.
It covered the first eleven months of municipal operation, beginning February 1, 1921 and ending December 31 of the same year. The report was signed by Charles R. Greenman, President of the Board of Directors. From the records at our disposal it has been impossible to determine whether or not the “Railway Committee,” so called, was synonymous with the “Board of Directors.” In any event, at the annual Town Meeting on March 14, 1922, a third new “Railway Committee” was elected as follows: Howard G. Lane, Irvin E. Leavitt, Harry D. Munsey, George Ashworth, Charles E. Greenman and Herbert L. Tobey. Messrs. Leavitt and Tobey were the only two members to have served on all three railway committees.
Yearly Reports Indicate Problems
The president of the Board of Directors reported to the citizens of Hampton as “stockholders” in annual town reports for the years ending January 31, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926. These yearly reports are interesting in that they show plainly the losses, problems and vicissitudes in connection with the town management of an electric railway which previous owners had sought to abandon almost wholly because they were unable to make the utility profitable.
The municipal managers endeavored to effect every possible means of economy, but without avail. Other street railways gradually abandoned lines which formerly connected to the Exeter, Hampton & Amesbury until the only one left was the Northeastern’s Salisbury, Seabrook and Hampton Beach line. Moreover, during the five years of municipal operation, rainy summers and exceptionally rigorous winters were encountered, cutting down normal riding income and adding to normal winter expense. Of course, the increasing use of private automobiles caused decreased patronage and this was probably the most harmful of all the many disturbing factors.
End of the Experiment
Finally, our town’s railway petitioned the Public Service Commission for permission to operate buses over the route covered by its rails during the fall, winter and spring months in order to avoid heavy winter costs. The requested authority was granted on November 5, 1925 and a single bus began running between Exeter, Hampton and Hampton Falls in January 1926.
This service was operated by interests friendly to the railway — a new corporation called the Exeter, Hampton and Amesbury Transportation Company. This was the beginning of the end. Two proposals were placed before the voters at the annual Town Meeting on March 9, 1926, the first to discontinue the railway and sell the property and the second, offered by the railway directors, was in effect, to curtail operation to the summer months only. The first proposal, contained in a motion offered by L. C. Ring, was carried and the Board of Selectmen were named as a committee to dispose of the property.
On April 26, 1926, a request was filed with the Public Service Commission that the town be allowed to discontinue railway operations. At a hearing called by the commission, no one appeared to oppose the request which was granted on May 27, 1926. Dismantling of the railway began immediately and the rails and overhead wiring were sold as scrap metal. The formal sale of the remainder of the assets took place on February 15, 1927. It was reported that the total receipts were $42,774.72.
Yearly Loss of $17,000
This experiment in the ownership and management of an electric utility extended over a period of five years. The bond issues aggregated $88,000.00 and the yearly losses totaled $39,642.01 making a total cost for the experiment of $127,642.01. Deducting the receipts of $42,774.72, we have a net loss of $84,867.29. This means that our town paid $16,973.43 a year for the five years rather than give up at the outset a transportation facility which had been responsible for the primary growth and development of Hampton. Was it worth it? In our town, did old trolley rhyme with folly?
Why Road Was Purchased
Those influential citizens of Hampton who were responsible for the purchase of the Exeter, Hampton & Amesbury Street Railway, must have known that the road, as a whole had been operating at a loss for many years. The dire financial circumstances of electric railways in these parts was a matter of public record, as we have already pointed out. But these citizens also knew of the feeling of dependence on the trolleys which existed universally among residents of our town and also among citizens of sister communities. The trolleys had made Hampton Beach.
Would the absence of trolleys seriously harm Hampton Beach? Many citizens went to and from their work in neighboring communities by means of electric cars and many other folks, who owned bath houses or cottages at the beach had no means other than the trolleys of reaching their recreational property. And these influential citizens of another era, successful managers of their own businesses, probably thought that by exercising business acumen and greater economy in railroad management, savings might be made sufficient to reduce operating deficits to a level so low that, with expected subsidies from neighboring towns, losses might be altogether overcome.
Weighing Need Against Loss
And while, in the knowledge of what actually happened, this might be termed wishful thinking, if we are willing to endeavor to put ourselves in the places of these public spirited citizens of bygone days, we can easily see their dilemma. What would happen to the beach if trolleys were discontinued? Will motor cars and buses come into general use fast enough to make electric railways unnecessary? So they weighed great need against probable loss and decided they could not afford to do otherwise than take the necessary chance. The probable loss became a reality but if it had not been incurred, a greater, those perhaps an intangible loss, might have been suffered by the community. Obviously, there are other ways in which this socialistic experiment might be judged or evaluated, but in the light of the great good which the electric railways accomplished for our town, the loss incurred during the five years of town ownership is comparatively small.
We Still Have the Clock
And after all, we still have the clock! It was saved when the town hall burned in March 1949 and continues to tick away the hours in the present town office. It is the same clock which used to hang in the dispatchers office of the Exeter, Hampton & Amesbury Street Railway carbarn. We like to think that it is well worth exactly $84,867.29!