Connecticut Company 1414



Facts and Figures


Current Number1414
Railway RepresentedConnecticut Company
BuilderOsgood-Bradley
Built In1911
Builder's order id5006
Currently in (State)Connecticut
--(Locality)East Haven
Totally out of svc date1948
(Initial retirement date)1947
Car Typestreetcar
-subtypeopen car, 15-bench
-designation
Statusstored operable
More infohttp://www.bera.org/cgi-bin/viewcar.pl?car=1414
Gauge4'8.5"
Constructionwood
Roof typeDR
EndedDE
Length42'0"
Width
Height
Weight41500
#Seats75
#Wheels/Conf.8
Total HP160
TrucksStandard O50
BrakesStraight Air
CompressorGE CP27
ControlK-6
MotorsGE 80 (4)
Voltage (if not 600DC)
NotesLoaned to Lake Compounce Amusement Park 1997-2024

Car 1414 in operation at Lake Compounce
Floating Stage Productions
photo: https://floatingstage.com/history-of-lake-compounce/

Car 1414 in operation at Lake Compounce in 2015
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bunnyhugger/25489709615/
Car History by Frank Hicks


Connecticut Company 1414
One of several surviving Connecticut Company open cars, 1414 was part of an order for over 100 identical cars built by Osgood-Bradley in 1911. ConnCo owned hundreds of these large open cars, using them all over its system, and ran them much later than most other street railway companies. Though open cars largely fell out of favor by the 1930's, ConnCo retained many to carry crowds to the Yale Bowl games in New Haven right up until the end of service in 1947. When BERA made its decision on which ConnCo cars to save after the system was abandoned, four of the big open cars - including two 1400's - were among the cars chosen to be preserved. Car 1414 ran at Branford for years, but in 1997 it was loaned to the Lake Compounce Amusement Park in Bristol. The country's first amusement park, Lake Compounce opened in 1846 and during the ConnCo years had streetcar service provided by cars like 1414. The rejuvenated park has a 1,800-foot streetcar line that 1414 operates on during the summer, typically carrying a quarter of a million people a year - far more than any other car in the BERA collection.

Ownership History


OwnerCar NumFromToPreservation?Loan?
Connecticut Company (Connecticut, New Haven)14141911 1948 NO NO
Branford Electric Railway Association (Connecticut, East Haven)14141948 1997 YES NO
Lake Compounce Amusement Park (Connecticut, Bristol)14141997 2024 YES YES
Branford Electric Railway Association (Connecticut, East Haven)14142024 present YES NO

Additional Media

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Car 1414 in operation at Lake Compounce circa 2022
YouTube
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=binTgoVaVPI