Thursday Doors – Trolley Doors

This is one of those weeks when I have a nice crop of doors, but I don’t have a story to tell. Well, I do, but I told it for National Train Day. You may have noticed that I didn’t include many pictures of trolley doors last month. I was planning to feature them in a rare, extremely short Thursday Doors post. However, some very bad news this weekend allows me to share a bit of Thursday Doors humor, in Part-2. First, let’s talk about these doors.

The Connecticut Trolley Museum is the oldest operating museum dedicated to preserving equipment and recreating the experience of an urban electric railroad. Click the link(s) to learn more about the museum. Enter the gallery to see some doors. Next to the trolley itself, the trolley door is the coolest part of the ride. As far back as I can remember, trolley doors were automatic – front and back!

For the unfamiliar, Thursday Doors is a weekly blogfest for door enthusiasts, coordinated by Senior Motorman, Norm Frampton. If you want to participate, all you need is a door. Raise your trolley pole, connect your frog to the catenary wires and set the switches for Norm’s trolley park. Once there, check out Norm’s doors. Then look for the blue frog (the other kind of frog). Click that tadpole and he’ll punch your transfer to the world of doors.

Part-2

As you may know, American southern rock pioneer Gregg Allman died over the weekend. The Allman Brothers Band has been a favorite of mine since I was in high school. They are the band I saw in concert more often than any other (four times).

My very favorite Allman Brothers song is “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” but it barely edges out a lot of other favorites. Lately, one song makes me think about Thursday Doors. And, since I’m unlikely to ever find myself in a situation where I can legitimately use it as the backdrop for one of Norm’s posts, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share the crazy thought I have, every time I hear this song.

“One Way Out” is a song about a man, trapped in an upstairs bedroom with a woman who is not his wife. Gregg Allman sets up the ending with the following lyrics:

“Ain’t no way in the world, I’m going out that front door
‘Cause there’s a man down there, might be your old man I don’t know”

I can’t help but picture the woman rolling over and saying:

“No, that’s just some guy taking pictures for Thursday Doors.”

I’ve added captions to the gallery photos where helpful. Click on any one of them to start a slide show. Below the gallery, if you have a few minutes, you can enjoy my favorite version of “One Way Out.”

Interesting as it’s not a folding door/

I’m guessing this is for baggage or cargo.

This elegant interior would have created some privacy for the motorman.

Very important door. It is an electric railway.

I know, it’s a mess. But look at all the doors!

Very important doors (restrooms)

It takes a lot of support to keep things running

I don’t know if they still serve it, but we had a very nice breakfast here when our daughter was little.

Yes, “rust!” but it’s a door and it’s a crane, and I love it.

One of the current cars in the rolling stock collection.

Doors to the trolley barn. Our car has been removed and is ready for our ride.

“Don’t touch that!” This car is for service of the overhead electrical system.

Ready to roll. All aboard!

In the museum. I love the colors.

Those are some serious doors!

The connection to the overhead wires.

I wish we still cared about the way public transportation looked.

Antique ticket boot inside the main entrance to the museum.

I don’t think they are functional, but they are beautiful.

Door into the museum.

This is an open car, but I guess these doors are for storage.

These may have been manually operated