This is an interesting little book about a steam railroad near South Carver, Mass. A lot of photo graphs, and a fairly easy layout make me think this could be easily re-created in Trainz, either as a model railroad layout or as full size. Lots of pictures of the rolling stock as well.
New Book at Project Gutenberg Edaville Railroad
- Thread starter Forester1
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I used to visit this place with my family when I was a kid and once later on, not long before they closed down. The place still exists with a much-reduced train ride. The equipment was transferred to the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum in Portland, ME,
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum offers scenic train rides in Portland, Maine. Enjoy family friendly special events year-round at Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum.
mainenarrowgauge.org
I forgot to mention that the famous B&M Flying Yankee streamliner is now at the Conway Scenic in Conway, NH. This was once on static display at Edaville. The trainset is being restored and will be used at some point to travel through Crawford Notch.
You'll notice that this trainset looks familiar. It's the sister to the CB&Q 6000
You'll notice that this trainset looks familiar. It's the sister to the CB&Q 6000
Downloading it now ... thanks!
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75376
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75376
We need a Google Train!I could see some rolling stock in Google satellite view, but there were no street views close enough to get a good look from the ground. We need to send the Google car through there....
Check out the link I posted for the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum.
When Edaville closed, the locomotives and rolling stock were moved to the museum located in Portland Maine along the waterfront. The equipment in a sense went home via the interstate highway up Route I-495 northbound then up north to Portland via I-95 northbound.
Before the equipment and track was removed, before it was all scrapped, the Maine narrow-gauge railroads were a serious operation running many branches in western Maine above Rumford and Mexico. It was a combination of better roads cars, trucks, and the Great Depression that did these railroads in.
In addition to the narrow-gauge equipment. Edaville had a selection of other equipment including the above-mentioned Boston and Maine Flying Yankee. This is the sister to the CB&Q train that came out at the same time. The other equipment, from what I remember included a compressed air locomotive, an old Austrian tram, and some other static displays. Inside a shed was an off-limits on display only fixed up Laconia Car Works parlor car with plush seats and mannequins dressed in period clothing. There might have been other displays, but this is what I remember from 45 years ago when I was up there last.
Besides the track circle, they had a small yard with a turntable located across the "mainline" where they could turn locomotives and passenger cars if they wanted. In the yard were some passenger cars that never seemed to see service, some boxcars, hoppers, and some gondolas. The passenger trains had some open cars and always a caboose. I rode in the caboose once up in the cupola. I think I was about 11 when I did that and I never forgot that.
I haven't been down there since long before they closed and have no idea what was left for running on the site. Today, the operation is more like an amusement park and less about operating historical narrow-gauge railway stock.
The last time I was there, the operation was showing its age. The equipment, while still clean, needed a paint job badly, and the food was meh unlike other times when they had a full BBQ. In addition to the train operation, they opened a small petting zoo with llamas, goats, and sheep. You could purchase a handful of grain pellets for about 25-cents and feed the animals. These wer desparate times and they were looking for revenue by then.
It's going to be a great ride in Crawford Notch. In the early 1980s, I went on a couple of "ski weekends" with coworkers up at Attitash Mountain Ski Resort. (Note the quotes...) The tracks run right through the complex and we saw a number of MEC freight trains pass through. Further up towards Bretton Woods, is a number of high trestles and I saw some freight running in the opposite direction.
Crawford Notch is located in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. This line was once part of the Portland and Ogdensburg, or Portland Maine to Ogdensburg, New York and eventually became the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The portion to Ogdensburg, New York was abandoned after the bridge across Lake Champlain burned, and the line was cut back to St. Johnsbury, Vermont where the line interchanged with the Central Vermont (Grand Trunk/Canadian National).
In 1984, Guilford Transportation, who had purchased the Maine Central, Boston and Maine, and Delaware and Hudson, closed the Mountain Division and there it remained mostly dormant. In the 1970s, the Conway Scenic had purchased a small segment of the then recently abandoned Boston and Maine White Mountain branch which ran up from Rochester, NH, and ran trains from Conway to North Conway with occasional excursions to Intervale where the B&M and MEC interchanged cars.
When the Mountain Division was closed, they eventually purchased the line up to Hazens.
The rest of the line had remained mothballed until recently and today a company, I can't remember the name of, has started running freight on the once closed portions and switches freight customers in Whitefield and other locations. They have plans to open up the line all the way down to Hazens, giving the CSRR the opportunity to run all the way to Whitefield.
The Portland, ME to Intervale portion is still closed and sadly may become a rail trail instead of an active rail line, although the Conway Scenic Railroad is interested in running trains on the line. Fingers crossed!
Last edited:
blueodessey
Well-known member
Maybe this line?
Abandoned railroad to be restored! St. Johnsbury, VT to Whitefield, NH - January 2025
56,338 views Jan 13, 2025
In April 2024 the Vermont Rail System purchased the New Hampshire Central Railroad, a small shortline that operates in northern New Hampshire. New Hampshire Central, NHCR for short, operates in North Stratford as well as on the line from Groveton to Whitefield, NH. Their freight rights also extend down the former Boston & Maine line to Bethlehem and on the Maine Central Mountain Division to Gilman, Vermont but neither have been used in some time. Until 2019 NHCR delivered plastic pellets to a local manufacturer and since then has only come as far south as Hazens for occasional Conway Scenic equipment moves. Despite this they still have continued to serve customer Rhymes Propane Facility in North Stratford, NH. This lull in freight traffic changed in December 2024 when the first plastic pellet hoppers arrived for the plastic pellet customer in Hazens for the first time in years. On top of this renewed traffic NHCR is continuing to serve Rymes and is also offering car storage in Lancaster, NH. VRS crews are also up to something else, clearing brush on the old MEC Mountain Div in Whitefield. The work starts at the Hazens switch, goes past the famous ball signal, and extends to the old yard near the town center. This work has been ongoing over the past few months and the clearing work is evident even under the snow. Brush around the old track has been cut and piled along the right of way. Seeing this work a number of fans have been questioning as to why this was happening as a large railroad wouldn't purchase a small shortline and then spend money to clear long unused trackage for no reason. On January 10th the plan was officially made public and VRS’s intentions are to bring the railroad back into service, ultimately connecting to their active line in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont. A local newspaper, Caledonian Record, published the announcement with info directly provided by the VRS. Quoting the article “The Burlington-based Vermont Rail System (VRS) plan involves eventually connecting to St Johnsbury to move commodities such as timber and wood products, and tap into the Class 1 railroad”. They went onto explain “there’s a grant application to get the old yard area cleaned up and get some trans loading going out there as well” which explains the current ongoing work that was visible in the old Maine Central Whitefield Yard. “Currently VRS has the operating rights from Groveton, down to Gilman, and to Wing Road in Bethlehem. Some customers are interested in moving both inbound and outbound lumber and log type products, and as the project advances VRS would move that product and others if asked”. Currently Vermont Rail doesn’t have access to the whole line from St. Johnsbury to Whitefield and that track hasn’t been used and maintained since 1999. To change that VRS is looking to purchase the 21 miles of line from Gilman to St. Johnsbury from current owner CSX ended up with this piece of railroad when they bought out Pan Am Railways and being disconnected from their network I’d say they’d probably give it up pretty easily. There is some damage from deferred maintenance on the track in Vermont but VRS plans to repair it to get trains moving. In addition to just moving more freight Vermont Rail wants to connect their preexisting operations at St. Johnsbury to their new purchase instead of taking a roundabout route through Quebec. VRS already operates about 400 miles of trackage handling 25,000 carloads of freight and also offers passenger excursion trains on their trackage. Connecting the NHCR to their preexisting network opens up new connections for freight and can increase competition among their connecting railroads. It of course also makes rail more competitive with trucking.Seeing this route restored would be awesome but that’s not the only part of the plan. In addition to the Mountain Division, what is left of the old Boston & Maine line past Whitefield to Bethlehem is eyed for reactivation. To quote the article again “The plan also calls for VRS leasing from the state the railway spur that comes across Route 116 at the Whitefield town line and extends a quarter mile to Wing Road in Bethlehem for freight car storage. Storage is one possibility for the spur. We have had some inquiries about possible trans-loads down there as well, and at times there could be some cars stored down there”. “But if we do transload operations around Wing Road, we wouldn’t be able to store cars there. All options are on the table and there’s a lot of speculation out there”. The end of this video shows the current conditions of the rail lines in Whitefield as they were during my visit in January 2025.
Yes, that's who it is. I saw that video too and that's what got me to mention what I did, but I totally forgot the name as happens when we get old... At one point, they were barely a short line and were on the way to extinction and I'm glad they made a comeback. This area is at the minimum 3-1/2 hours north of me.Maybe this line?
Abandoned railroad to be restored! St. Johnsbury, VT to Whitefield, NH - January 2025
56,338 views Jan 13, 2025
In April 2024 the Vermont Rail System purchased the New Hampshire Central Railroad, a small shortline that operates in northern New Hampshire. New Hampshire Central, NHCR for short, operates in North Stratford as well as on the line from Groveton to Whitefield, NH. Their freight rights also extend down the former Boston & Maine line to Bethlehem and on the Maine Central Mountain Division to Gilman, Vermont but neither have been used in some time. Until 2019 NHCR delivered plastic pellets to a local manufacturer and since then has only come as far south as Hazens for occasional Conway Scenic equipment moves. Despite this they still have continued to serve customer Rhymes Propane Facility in North Stratford, NH. This lull in freight traffic changed in December 2024 when the first plastic pellet hoppers arrived for the plastic pellet customer in Hazens for the first time in years. On top of this renewed traffic NHCR is continuing to serve Rymes and is also offering car storage in Lancaster, NH. VRS crews are also up to something else, clearing brush on the old MEC Mountain Div in Whitefield. The work starts at the Hazens switch, goes past the famous ball signal, and extends to the old yard near the town center. This work has been ongoing over the past few months and the clearing work is evident even under the snow. Brush around the old track has been cut and piled along the right of way. Seeing this work a number of fans have been questioning as to why this was happening as a large railroad wouldn't purchase a small shortline and then spend money to clear long unused trackage for no reason. On January 10th the plan was officially made public and VRS’s intentions are to bring the railroad back into service, ultimately connecting to their active line in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont. A local newspaper, Caledonian Record, published the announcement with info directly provided by the VRS. Quoting the article “The Burlington-based Vermont Rail System (VRS) plan involves eventually connecting to St Johnsbury to move commodities such as timber and wood products, and tap into the Class 1 railroad”. They went onto explain “there’s a grant application to get the old yard area cleaned up and get some trans loading going out there as well” which explains the current ongoing work that was visible in the old Maine Central Whitefield Yard. “Currently VRS has the operating rights from Groveton, down to Gilman, and to Wing Road in Bethlehem. Some customers are interested in moving both inbound and outbound lumber and log type products, and as the project advances VRS would move that product and others if asked”. Currently Vermont Rail doesn’t have access to the whole line from St. Johnsbury to Whitefield and that track hasn’t been used and maintained since 1999. To change that VRS is looking to purchase the 21 miles of line from Gilman to St. Johnsbury from current owner CSX ended up with this piece of railroad when they bought out Pan Am Railways and being disconnected from their network I’d say they’d probably give it up pretty easily. There is some damage from deferred maintenance on the track in Vermont but VRS plans to repair it to get trains moving. In addition to just moving more freight Vermont Rail wants to connect their preexisting operations at St. Johnsbury to their new purchase instead of taking a roundabout route through Quebec. VRS already operates about 400 miles of trackage handling 25,000 carloads of freight and also offers passenger excursion trains on their trackage. Connecting the NHCR to their preexisting network opens up new connections for freight and can increase competition among their connecting railroads. It of course also makes rail more competitive with trucking.Seeing this route restored would be awesome but that’s not the only part of the plan. In addition to the Mountain Division, what is left of the old Boston & Maine line past Whitefield to Bethlehem is eyed for reactivation. To quote the article again “The plan also calls for VRS leasing from the state the railway spur that comes across Route 116 at the Whitefield town line and extends a quarter mile to Wing Road in Bethlehem for freight car storage. Storage is one possibility for the spur. We have had some inquiries about possible trans-loads down there as well, and at times there could be some cars stored down there”. “But if we do transload operations around Wing Road, we wouldn’t be able to store cars there. All options are on the table and there’s a lot of speculation out there”. The end of this video shows the current conditions of the rail lines in Whitefield as they were during my visit in January 2025.
The Youtuber also visited the Maine portion of the line and it's in bad condition. The tracks have been "mothballed" by the state of Maine since Guilford embargoed the line and of course there's been a big push for a rail trail. At this point, we're hoping that CSRR's interest in the line prevents the trail people from getting their paws on the ROW because you know what happens after that even if the trail is for interim use. In one portion there is an adjacent trail on the same ROW and I don't see why that couldn't be extended instead of ripping up the tracks.
