Shore Line Trolley Museum Gets $15K In ARPA Funding

EAST HAVEN/BRANFORD, CT —The Shore Line Trolley Museum was awarded federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act. The $15,000 grant is a "significant step towards supporting local nonprofits in their recovery from the challenging aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic," museum Executive Director John Proto said.

“We are deeply honored and immensely grateful to First Selectman James Cosgrove, the Town of Branford, and the Branford Community Foundation aiding our museum in these unprecedented times," Proto said. "Their visionary decision to allocate ARPA funding to local non-profits underscores the essential role that cultural and charitable organizations play in fostering community resilience and vibrancy.”

The Shore Line Trolley Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest
continuously operated suburban trolley line in the United States. The museum is open to the
public in the summer months, and for special events year-round. Visitors experience a
“museum in motion” by taking a trolley ride on an authentic trolley car along the scenic Farm
River Estuary.

Over 20,000 visitors, and more than 60 school charters pass through the museum’s doors each
year. The museum partners with the Gateway Community College Railroad Technology
Program and hosts interns from Southern CT State University and the University of New Haven.
The museum holds summer reading programs, sensory friendly events, and offers its grounds
to other non-profits throughout the year.

About the Shore Line Trolley Museum

The Mission of The Shore Line Trolley Museum is to preserve and share the social and technological history and continuing impact of urban and suburban public transportation systems by sustaining and operating historic vehicles on the oldest continuously running suburban trolley line in the United States. The museum operates as the Branford Electric Railway Association, a National Historic District. The museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit and all donations are tax deductible. Visit https://www.shorelinetrolley.o... for more information.