Rails to the Light Side: Ghostly Happenings at a Trolley Museu...

Chief Motorman John Erlanson, Office Manager Janet Fischer and Right of Way Maintenance Superintendent Bob Snyder have volunteered at one of the oldest Trolley Museums in the United States for more than thirty years. They share a passion for maintaining and operating the museum's small fleet of century old trolleys while conveying the rich heritage of electric traction to the museums's visitors. Over the years John, Janet and Bob have developed a strong friendship. They know they can rely on each other to keep the museum running smoothly. It's almost as though they can read each others' minds when important tasks have to be completed. The tasks get done, and no one on the team needs to ask who did them. The team is about to face a series of challenges that cause each of them to question their assumptions. It begins with a "Final Ride" and Memorial Service that is given to a museum volunteer who had been the last surviving Motorman on the defunct Hartford & Springfield Street Railway. Eerie events occur that can't be explained. A tragic loss breaks apart the team. While John tries to work through his grief, the museum faces its biggest challenge in more than a quarter century. Will that challenge, which impacts the very future of John's beloved museum, be met?

About the Author

Mike Brenner discovered his passion for trolleys when he moved back to Connecticut after spending most of his adult life in the Midwest. He was raised in Milford, the same city where Frank Sprague, the Father of Electric Traction, was born more than 150 years ago. One of Mike's fondest childhood memories was going to the "Branford" (Shoreline) Trolley Museum with his Dad when he was about six years old. Although he loved that brief trolley ride through the woods and a salt water meadow, he never anticipated that trolleys would become an important part of his life. After a career spent in Marketing Communications and Election Services, Mike retired and moved back to Connecticut. His wife, Suzanne, suggested that they attend "Winterfest" at the Connecticut Trolley Museum and purchase a museum membership. That beautiful ride beneath a tunnel of Christmas lights awakened Mike's long dormant interest in trolleys. That interest became his passion as he soon became very active in the museum's Restoration Shop while seeking qualification as a Motorman. After several years, Mike and Suzanne relocated to back to the Midwest. He is a Motorman at the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. He proudly tells his riders that he is from the same home town as Frank Sprague. When he is not operating streetcars, Mike helps care for his two young grand daughters and sings with a Community Mens' Chorus.

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