RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 6, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 6, 2012 Well, here we are in the Aer Lingus lounge at Logan Airport and the end of our two weeks in New England. We spent the last couple of days in Boston but I'm afraid nothing to report of railway interest. As I said in yesterday's post I think that the Maine Eastern was the highlight for me and also the Baldwin loco at the Seashore Trolley Museum was a bit special but my final photos are not railway related. I'm an absolute sucker for U.S. licence plates as they are so much more interesting than our dull examples in the U.K. and an especial favourite is the official Maine plate that was adopted in 1999. This features the state bird, a black-capped chickadee and the state flower, a white pinecone and tassel! Yes, really! But some people have to be different . . . State crustacean? Aside from the railway pics I'm going to leave you with my absolute favorite. I took it near a small lake outside Franconia, New Hampshire and looking towards the Presidential Range. Magical! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Copleston Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Aside from the railway pics I'm going to leave you with my absolute favorite. I took it near a small lake outside Franconia, New Hampshire and looking towards the Presidential Range. Magical! Yes David, a magical and stunningly beautiful photo of New England. Almost a calender image. In fact so evocative and piney that I've now made it my desktop image! Thanks for all the great updates, almost as if we were there with you, ha ha. Bye for now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigZ Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Lovely photos... A minor point is that the FL-9s are not Bo-Co; the center axle on the trailing truck has no traction motor...it was all about reducing axle loadings on the Park Avenue Viaduct leading to Grand Central Terminal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Yes, David, this country is too vast to fence in the railroads! Which gives me another opportunity to post this photo again........................ http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=401450&nseq=67 Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Last Friday we drove from northern New Hampshire down to the coast at Wells, Maine. After the mostly excellent weather we had enjoyed previously, Friday was terrible as it just rained the whole day. It looked like it would be the same on Sunday but, fortunately, about 2 the rain relented and we decided to go the short distance to the Seashore Trolley Museum at Kennebunkport. We didn't get too long there as it was due to close at 5 p.m. and there was also a little more rain about 4.30 which curtailed the photography. The museum has a long history of acquiring all manner of transit vehicles having begun with its first acquisition back in 1939. It has a large site with various 'barns' for covered accommodation and a restoration shop for working on the vehicles. As we came out of the main entrance building the first vehicle to be seen was this 1914 vintage car from the Dallas Railway and Terminal Company which was presented to the museum in 1954. The next photo shows one of the car barns and, on the left, the car that was doing the rides on Sunday. This is car No. 639 from the Wheeling Traction Company, Wheeling, West Virginia and was a product of the Cincinnati Car Company in 1924. The car picked us up from the building which you can just see on the right in the above picture but a better one is here. This is a beautifully restored shelter which, if I remember correctly, came from Boston. We took the three mile round-trip ride which is along the trackbed of the original trolley route from Kennebunkport to Biddeford (the two ds are correct!). Our motorman was an ex-pat Englishman who has lived for many years in Georgia and has volunteered a couple of times a year at the museum for the past twelve years. Oh and when he is in the UK he is one of the guides on Northern's Settle and Carlisle trains! We took a look in the restoration shop which is stuffed full of vehicles and it is quite difficult to get decent photos from the observation area but I'll include this next one as, over on the right, is 1924 Blackpool car No. 144 which was presented to the museum in 1954 by the mayor and corporation of Blackpool. It looks like it has had some work done on it and is in better shape than some of its companions in the shop. I wandered up toward the back of the site and came upon this line of transit vehicles that haven't turned a wheel for some time and don't look like they will any time soon. I've saved the best find almost to last. This was also away from most of the main exhibits but drew me immediately. It is a product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1920 and came from the Oshawa Railway in Ontario and has been at the museum since 1964. Its attraction is that it is similar to locomotives that were supplied to the Sacramento Northern Railway in California which is one of my favourite trolley systems. So, a couple of shots of No. 300. Finally, on the way out, I spotted this familiar message on a familiar piece of signage in an unfamiliar location. I have been to Seashore Trolley Museum 4 times now - what a great place! - You went in Pumpkin Season when the Trolley drops the pumpkins off for the kids at the midway halt. I a few 100 photos of the museum and have been in all of the car barns amazing wht is not on normal public display! XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 7, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2012 Lovely photos... A minor point is that the FL-9s are not Bo-Co; the center axle on the trailing truck has no traction motor...it was all about reducing axle loadings on the Park Avenue Viaduct leading to Grand Central Terminal. Thanks for that info, Craig. I guess that gives them a Bo-A1A arrangement rather than Bo-Co. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_long Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Great photos David. I love the FL9 photos. Still hard to get my head round there being two of us! Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 7, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2012 Yes, David, this country is too vast to fence in the railroads! Which gives me another opportunity to post this photo again........................ http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=401450&nseq=67 Best, Pete. Yes, great shot, Pete. Haven't I seen on the web somewhere some photos of NS coal trains going down the middle of streets? In Bath, what would have given our H&S folks an attack of the vapours was an unfenced garden with children's climbing frames some 20 feet from the tracks. When I was a lad I had to have a set of step ladders at the end of the garden to be able to view the trains on the other side of a 6' brick wall! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 7, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2012 I have been to Seashore Trolley Museum 4 times now - what a great place! - You went in Pumpkin Season when the Trolley drops the pumpkins off for the kids at the midway halt. I a few 100 photos of the museum and have been in all of the car barns amazing wht is not on normal public display! XF Agreed that it is a great place but I found the number of vehicles that may not see a chance of restoration for many years a touch depressing, especially as many of them are stored out in the open air. Being a largely open air museum it was especially unfortunate that the weather was being uncooperative but I would certainly like to go again and hope to be able to explore a little more than I managed. Still think that Baldwin may be an under-appreciated star! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 7, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 7, 2012 Great photos David. I love the FL9 photos. Still hard to get my head round there being two of us! Dave It's great to see a couple of these unique locos surviving and still putting in some excellent work. The Maine Eastern is not like a U.K. heritage railway and is more akin to the Fort William to Mallaig 'Jacobite' service. Although the average speed for the journey is about 30 m.p.h. this takes into account slower progress through Brunswick and, especially, Bath and at other times I would estimate that we travelled at a good 50. The other difference is that Rockland is an infinitely better destination than Mallaig being larger and having considerably more eateries, watering holes, museums and retail opportunities to offer the up to two hundred and fifty who may be decanted from the train at the terminus. The only problem from the railroad's point of view is that the depot facilities are at Rockland and not Brunswick. This means that the first service leaves Rockland at 08.15 to come to Brunswick and, certainly when I saw it, is pretty much empty. This forms the 10.30 out to Rockland and the the 15.50 return which are well patronised but then the final working, 18.20 to Rockland is, again, virtually ECS. It may be interesting to see what effect, if any, the extension of the Downeaster has on operation in the future. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Yes, great shot, Pete. Haven't I seen on the web somewhere some photos of NS coal trains going down the middle of streets? David Yes, the same location, same photographer (I think) the CSX coal trains (which is what this is) are rarer. Apparently they run all night and the place is inundated with guys with cameras...... Plenty of other similar locations in the USA including Augusta, GA would you believe. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Lastly, tucked away around the back and amidst the undergrowth was this strange little beast. The only information that I have from the Wiki is that it has come from the Edaville Railroad which looks like a rather unpleasant little tourist road in Massachusetts. Whatever, I find it rather attractive but, looking at its present state I don't hold out much hope for a positive future. Having grown up going to Edaville, I'll take some umbrage at the term "unpleasant"... If it weren't for Edaville, most of the stuff you saw in Portland just wouldn't be there. Here's the story, as I remember it... Edaville started as a cranberry plantation in southeastern Mass, not too far from Plymouth. When the Maine 2 footers were going out of business, the owner of the plantation, Ellis D Atwood (hence, EDAville) bought a bunch of the equipment and set up a 5-6 mile loop around the cranberry bogs and the large reservoir used for the water to flood the bogs at harvest. It was used primarily to haul the harvest out of the bogs. Slowly, railfans learned about it, and started showing up asking if they could take a ride. Eventually it morphed into a tourist attraction. They had a museum with a bunch of railroadania in it, as well as antique vehicles, including the 2 foot gauge parlor car "Rangely". There was some standard gauge stuff on display, including a B&M mogul and the B&M "Flying Yankee" streamliner. (The 2nd build by Budd, but the first to enter regular service, as Burlington's more famous "Zephyr" was on a publicity tour) The highlight was the trip around the bogs, which was actually nicer than some "scenic" railways I've ridden!. Very nice little ride in the coaches, pulled by one of the 4 steamers he rescued from Maine. Very impressive during cranberry harvest to see the flooded bogs with millions of cranberries floating on the surface as the steam train went past. There was also a nice carousel for the kids to ride on. I had the pleasure of riding in the cab of SR&RL #8 (2-4-4T) several times in my teenage/early 20s). Every time I remember going, the coaches were painted a nice yellow and the locos were black. Every Christmas, they decorated the place in an ungodly amount of christmas lights, which was quite a sight, and you could take nighttime trips around the reservoir. This was always a highlight of the Christmas season for the family: steam railroading, in the cold, at night. It closed in the early 1990s, the narrow gauge equipment went back to Maine, and the standard gauge stuff and the museum contents were sold to the highest bidder and "scattered to the wind" However, it wasn't without its "tacky factor", It wasn't meant to be a heritage railroad, it was meant to entertain families. For example, at one point in its history, the operator painted the equipment all sorts of gaudy colors, but thankfully that was short lived. There were also silly little wooden cutout decorations for the kids to look at here and there around the track. As a kid, it was neat to see. As an adult, it was easily ignored as I was there to see the steam engines. One "attraction" was a scale new england village tucked in a pine grove, but that was pretty well done. Since then, some people have tried to resurrect Edaville, but its a shell of its former self. No steam, more carnival rides, the museum is gone, and the loop was truncated to only about 2 miles and a bunch of the land sold off for housing lots. I took my son there when he was about 3 to ride "Thomas the Tank Engine", but there's no reason for me to go back as it just isn't what it used to be. If this is what you saw on your search, then I understand how you would have gotten that impression, but in the 1970's and early 80's, it was a great place to visit. Watch this video to see Edaville as I remember it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koBwn1gO8fs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 9, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2012 Having grown up going to Edaville, I'll take some umbrage at the term "unpleasant"... If it weren't for Edaville, most of the stuff you saw in Portland just wouldn't be there. Here's the story, as I remember it... Edaville started as a cranberry plantation in southeastern Mass, not too far from Plymouth. When the Maine 2 footers were going out of business, the owner of the plantation, Ellis D Atwood (hence, EDAville) bought a bunch of the equipment and set up a 5-6 mile loop around the cranberry bogs and the large reservoir used for the water to flood the bogs at harvest. It was used primarily to haul the harvest out of the bogs. Slowly, railfans learned about it, and started showing up asking if they could take a ride. Eventually it morphed into a tourist attraction. They had a museum with a bunch of railroadania in it, as well as antique vehicles, including the 2 foot gauge parlor car "Rangely". There was some standard gauge stuff on display, including a B&M mogul and the B&M "Flying Yankee" streamliner. (The 2nd build by Budd, but the first to enter regular service, as Burlington's more famous "Zephyr" was on a publicity tour) The highlight was the trip around the bogs, which was actually nicer than some "scenic" railways I've ridden!. Very nice little ride in the coaches, pulled by one of the 4 steamers he rescued from Maine. Very impressive during cranberry harvest to see the flooded bogs with millions of cranberries floating on the surface as the steam train went past. There was also a nice carousel for the kids to ride on. I had the pleasure of riding in the cab of SR&RL #8 (2-4-4T) several times in my teenage/early 20s). Every time I remember going, the coaches were painted a nice yellow and the locos were black. Every Christmas, they decorated the place in an ungodly amount of christmas lights, which was quite a sight, and you could take nighttime trips around the reservoir. This was always a highlight of the Christmas season for the family: steam railroading, in the cold, at night. It closed in the early 1990s, the narrow gauge equipment went back to Maine, and the standard gauge stuff and the museum contents were sold to the highest bidder and "scattered to the wind" However, it wasn't without its "tacky factor", It wasn't meant to be a heritage railroad, it was meant to entertain families. For example, at one point in its history, the operator painted the equipment all sorts of gaudy colors, but thankfully that was short lived. There were also silly little wooden cutout decorations for the kids to look at here and there around the track. As a kid, it was neat to see. As an adult, it was easily ignored as I was there to see the steam engines. One "attraction" was a scale new england village tucked in a pine grove, but that was pretty well done. Since then, some people have tried to resurrect Edaville, but its a shell of its former self. No steam, more carnival rides, the museum is gone, and the loop was truncated to only about 2 miles and a bunch of the land sold off for housing lots. I took my son there when he was about 3 to ride "Thomas the Tank Engine", but there's no reason for me to go back as it just isn't what it used to be. If this is what you saw on your search, then I understand how you would have gotten that impression, but in the 1970's and early 80's, it was a great place to visit. Watch this video to see Edaville as I remember it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koBwn1gO8fs Thanks for the information about Edaville, Mike. It certainly wasn't my intention to cause any 'umbrage' with the description. I had found that some items at Portland had come from Edaville and my conclusion had come from looking at the website which confirms the current situation to be much as you have described it in your final paragraph. It certainly doesn't seem to have much in common with its earlier and more attractive incarnation as you describe it. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVSNE Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Thanks for the information about Edaville, Mike. It certainly wasn't my intention to cause any 'umbrage' with the description. I had found that some items at Portland had come from Edaville and my conclusion had come from looking at the website which confirms the current situation to be much as you have described it in your final paragraph. It certainly doesn't seem to have much in common with its earlier and more attractive incarnation as you describe it. David David, Thanks for sharing your photos of your trip to New England. I remember fondly my very first steam locomotive cab ride was at Edaville - I was 11 or 12 at the time. Seeing your photos - especially the one from Franconia looking at the Presidential Range, has made me homesick. I really do need to get back to New England this year. Marty Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 10, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 10, 2012 David, Thanks for sharing your photos of your trip to New England. I remember fondly my very first steam locomotive cab ride was at Edaville - I was 11 or 12 at the time. Seeing your photos - especially the one from Franconia looking at the Presidential Range, has made me homesick. I really do need to get back to New England this year. Marty Thanks for your comments, Marty. You, like Mike, obviously have good memories of Edaville in earlier times and when it was rather different to its current state. Just to make you feel worse here's another view. This time looking west from above Franconia Notch. If I have my orientation right those mountains in the distance may well be the Green ones in Vermont! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Thanks for the information about Edaville, Mike. It certainly wasn't my intention to cause any 'umbrage' with the description. I had found that some items at Portland had come from Edaville and my conclusion had come from looking at the website which confirms the current situation to be much as you have described it in your final paragraph. It certainly doesn't seem to have much in common with its earlier and more attractive incarnation as you describe it. David Don't worry David, the umbrage was pretty minor... Pretty much everything they have in Portland came from Edaville, including the diesel you rode behind. When Edaville closed, and the group in Portland got the stuff, they had a caravan of vintage trucks (lorries, if you prefer) to haul the equipment north. I found a video of the move day. If you like old heavy hauling equipment, watch it... The diesel you rode makes an appearance at about 3:30 into the video. BTW - this video was taken from a rest stop about 10 miles where where I grew up... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 10, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 10, 2012 Mike, Thanks for the video. What an amazing event! When did it take place? Was it around the time when the museum opened in Portland, which I think was 1993, or was it later? I recognised quite a number of the items as they passed on the low loaders. Do you know any more about the problems with the site in Portland? They suggested to me that they were looking at a site up in Gray for the actual covered museum but didn't seem to have come to any conclusions concerning the operational part. Another point which I meant to add in my summary concerned the great courtesy with which one is always treated. I noticed this on my first visit twenty years ago and, although I've only been able to return in recent years, nothing seems to have changed. Whether it be in supermarkets or heritage railroads everyone shows an attitude which is in great contrast to the often surly nature of what passes for 'customer service' in the UK. it is all very heartening and refreshing. Debra and I are already thinking in terms of next year and, although I hope to return to New England in the future, I do have a hankering to see the Pacific North West so it could be that Washington and Oregon will be our target for 2013. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Copleston Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Pretty much everything they have in Portland came from Edaville, including the diesel you rode behind. When Edaville closed, and the group in Portland got the stuff, they had a caravan of vintage trucks (lorries, if you prefer) to haul the equipment north. I found a video of the move day. If you like old heavy hauling equipment, watch it... The diesel you rode makes an appearance at about 3:30 into the video. Thanks for the great clip Mike. I've seen footage of this infamous move before (I have the Atlantic Productions video 'Moving History: Two Foot Rail Returns to Maine'). But oh boy, it still looks like it was a mad dash north with the best goodies from Edaville! Just an endless parade of equipment - a whole railroad being shifted by Freeway. Incredible. BTW, were those spare vintage trucks and empty trailers, as seen in convoy on the Freeway, there in case one of the others broke down en route? And David's evocative and beautiful view of the Presidential Range, the still waters of a lonely Pond, and the (almost heard) distant call of a Loon... make me pine to be in New England again. Wonderful landscape, delightful vernacular architecture, friendly welcoming people, and VERY model-able trains! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Some great photos of your trip to New England. We live in NH about 2 hours south of Conway and made our annuall fall trip there this past weekend; here are some of our photos to add to your collection. I have video of 7470 being turned on the turntable and backed into the shed too. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Thanks for the video. What an amazing event! When did it take place? Was it around the time when the museum opened in Portland, which I think was 1993, or was it later? I recognised quite a number of the items as they passed on the low loaders. Do you know any more about the problems with the site in Portland? They suggested to me that they were looking at a site up in Gray for the actual covered museum but didn't seem to have come to any conclusions concerning the operational part. Another point which I meant to add in my summary concerned the great courtesy with which one is always treated. I noticed this on my first visit twenty years ago and, although I've only been able to return in recent years, nothing seems to have changed. Whether it be in supermarkets or heritage railroads everyone shows an attitude which is in great contrast to the often surly nature of what passes for 'customer service' in the UK. it is all very heartening and refreshing. Debra and I are already thinking in terms of next year and, although I hope to return to New England in the future, I do have a hankering to see the Pacific North West so it could be that Washington and Oregon will be our target for 2013. The museum in Maine didn't exist until Edaville stopped existing, there was no equipment in Portland until that move. I did some quick research and it was 1993. I don't know too much about what's going on up there, other than they seem to have always been on somewhat shaky ground. I've only been up there once, and that was before their track went all the way to the bridge. Seems a shame, as where they are now is steeped in railroading history. The other issues are most of the stuff is just sitting outside exposed to the elements, as you noted, and they don't have any realistic way to extend the trackage. Glad to hear that you found New Englander's friendly and hospitable, and that you enjoyed your visit! But I'll understand if you want to go to the northwest instead next time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 BTW, were those spare vintage trucks and empty trailers, as seen in convoy on the Freeway, there in case one of the others broke down en route? And David's evocative and beautiful view of the Presidential Range, the still waters of a lonely Pond, and the (almost heard) distant call of a Loon... make me pine to be in New England again. Wonderful landscape, delightful vernacular architecture, friendly welcoming people, and VERY model-able trains! I don't know. I noticed a few trucks which looked empty, but were actually carrying the 2' gauge trucks (AKA bogies). I love the Presidentials, great views abound, and a lot of great hikes. One of my favorite memories of my teen years is a weekend camping at Ethan Pond and hiking Mt Zealand the 2nd day of the trip. Ethan pond is here: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=ethan+pond,+nh&hl=en&ll=44.176849,-71.429329&spn=0.017267,0.042272&sll=42.036922,-71.683501&sspn=2.288687,5.410767&t=h&hnear=Ethan+Pond&z=15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted October 11, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 11, 2012 Some great photos of your trip to New England. We live in NH about 2 hours south of Conway and made our annuall fall trip there this past weekend; here are some of our photos to add to your collection. I have video of 7470 being turned on the turntable and backed into the shed too. Stephen Thanks for the photos, Stephen. Jealous that 4266 was on view, it was tucked away in the shed when I was there and it really is my favourite. However, it does give me an excuse to gratuitously wheel out a photo that I took of it last year. I'm guessing that your visit was last Sunday as it looks as though the weather had changed, as predicted. We had a cruel shock coming home as it was sunny and 24degrees celsius when we went into Logan on Saturday evening and when we came out of Manchester airport the next morning it was foggy and 4degrees celsius! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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