Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad
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Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad | |
---|---|
Locale | Maine |
Dates of operation | 1908–1935 |
Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
Length | 112 miles |
Headquarters | Phillips |
The Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad (SR&RLR) was a narrow gauge common carrier railroad that operated approximately 112 miles of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railroad in Franklin County, Maine.
Contents |
[edit] Formation
The SR&RLR was formed by a series of mergers between 1908 and 1911 of a number of existing narrow gauge lines located around Farmington in Franklin County. The lines that formed the SR&RLR were the Sandy River Railroad, the Franklin and Megantic Railway, the Kingfield and Dead River Railroad, the Phillips and Rangeley Railroad, the Madrid Railroad and the Eustis Railroad.
The SR&RLR operated as a subsidiary of the Maine Central Railroad from 1912 until receivership in 1923. Maine Central built 37 box cars, 37 flat cars, 3 cabooses and a baggage-RPO car in their Portland Terminal Company shops for the SR&RLR between 1912 and 1917. SR&RLR locomotives 15, 16, 17 and 18 were reboilered in the Maine Central Waterville, Maine shops during the same period, and a 4-mile freight branch was built from Perham Junction to Barnjum.
[edit] Closure
In the late 1920s competition from roads began to impact the SR&RLR. By 1934 all lines beyond Perham Junction were removed. Train service ended in the summer of 1935. Remaining rails were lifted for scrap metal in 1936.
[edit] Revival
![Monson Railroad #3 at Phillips station, June 2007](../../../../images/shared/thumb/d/d3/MonsonNo3.jpg/180px-MonsonNo3.jpg)
In 1970 a group of local railfans at the Phillips Historical Society formed a project to document the SR&RLR. This group eventually formed a separate non-profit organization to preserve remaining equipment from the railroad. The non-profit now operates a short heritage railroad on the trackbed of the original SR&RLR at Phillips.
[edit] Locomotives
Number | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hinkley Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1877 | 1251 | ex-Sandy River Railroad No. 1. Scrapped 1912. |
2 | Hinkley Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1877 | 1261 | ex-Phillips and Rangeley Railroad No. 4. Scrapped 1912. |
3 | Hinkley Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1884 | 1664 | ex-Franklin and Megantic Railway No. 1. Scrapped 1912. |
4 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1886 | 8304 | ex-Franklin and Megantic Railway No. 2. Scrapped 1912. |
5 | Portland Company | 0-4-4T | 1890 | 616 | ex-Sandy River Railroad No. 4. Scrapped 1919. |
6 | Portland Company | 0-4-4T | 1891 | 622 | ex-Sandy River Railroad No. 5; sold to the Kennebec Central Railroad 1925. |
7 | Portland Company | 0-4-4T | 1890 | 615 | ex-Phillips and Rangeley Railroad No. 1. |
8 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-4-4T | 1907 | 31826 | Ordered for the Sandy River Railroad but delivered to the SR&RLR. Burned 1923. |
9 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-4-4T | 1909 | 33550 | Built new for the SR&RLR. Scrapped 1936. |
10 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-4-4T | 1916 | 42231 | Built new for the SR&RLR. Used on the Farmington to Rangeley main line only. Scrapped 1936. |
15 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-6-0 tender | 1891 | 11706 | ex-Phillips and Rangeley Railroad No. 3; rebuilt in 1912 as a 2-6-2. Retired 1923. |
16 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-6-0 tender | 1892 | 12964 | ex-Sandy River Railroad No. 6; rebuilt in 1915 as a 2-6-2. Scrapped 1935. |
17 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1893 | 13276 | ex-Phillips and Rangeley Railroad No. 2. Scrapped 1936. |
18 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-6-0 tender | 1893 | 13733 | ex-Sandy River Railroad 2nd No. 2. Rebuilt in 1916 as a 2-6-2. New tender built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1926. The last locomotive to run on the SR&RLR. Scrapped 1936. |
19 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-6-2 tender | 1904 | 23874 | ex-Sandy River Railroad No. 8. Scrapped 1935. |
20 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1903 | 23245 | ex Eustis Railroad No. 7. Wrecked 1922. |
21 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1904 | 23754 | ex Eustis Railroad No. 8. Scrapped 1935. |
22 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 0-4-4T | 1904 | 23755 | ex Eustis Railroad No. 9. Scrapped 1935. |
23 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-6-2 tender | 1913 | 40733 | Built new for the SR&RLR. Used on the Farmington to Phillips main line only. Scrapped 1936. |
24 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 2-6-2 tender | 1919 | 51803 | Built new for the SR&RLR. Scrapped 1937. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- MacDonald, Robert L. (2003). Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-1179-X.
- Crittenden, H. Temple (1976). The Maine Scenic Route. McClain Printing.
- Moody, Linwood W. (1959). The Maine Two-Footers. Howell-North.
- Cornwall, L. Peter and Farrell, Jack W. (1973). Ride the Sandy River. Pacific Fast Mail.
- Jones, Robert C. (1979). Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years). Sundance Books.
- Jones, Robert C. (1980). Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years). Sundance Books.
- (1980) Reproduction Maine Central Railroad, Portland Terminal Company, Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, Bridgton and Saco River Railroad Company Hand-Book of Officers, Agents, Stations and Sidings January 1st, 1917. Edwin B. Robertson.
- (1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912,1913 and 1914) Railroad Commissioners' Report. State of Maine.
- ^ Jones 1980 pp.350-351