Correct. The Edaville of Atwood days is gone. The current Edaville is an amusement park. Oh, and they have a train ride. That's all most tourist know or care.

Several years ago, circa 2013, the Edaville #11 (I think) was rebuilt by the Boothbay Railway Village Shop. She was converted from an International Smelting & Refining loco of 1925, built by H.K. Porter, a tank engine (C/N 6976) with a new tender. Back then I saw her running on the Boothbay Village Loop.

Anybody know if the loco is still running at Edaville? A/K/A Thomas Land?

Ted Miles, Edaville post card collector, narrow gauge fan

[

Bob[/quote]

Correct. The Edaville of Atwood days is gone.

So too the days of F. Nelson Blount. Edaville was my all time favourite tourist railroad! Christmas time was the best when there were three trains running and 4 engines fired up!
I fired and ran all 4 steam engines. I became a qualified engineer. I mean I ran with my fireman not as a thrid man in the cab. Lots of good raiilroaders there. Jose Guilbe taught me whipperwill whistling!

You obviously didn't come out when we had the F-unit and SD45 on the CSX Santa Train a few years ago. Crowds much larger than normal and the biggest photographers chase pack that anyone could remember. Folks came in from across the county and around the world. About what the UP 3985 had, or more.

Historic diesels draw. We just had a tour group come over from Europe to ride behind several Alco locomotives. I've had to turn folks away on some photo events where I pulled old diesels out. The diesel buffs are there, and in large numbers, when done right.

Now back to Edaville...

Bart

Edaville has not been sold, according to an article posted today by the Quincy Patriot Ledger. Fair use quotes:

"CARVER – Edaville Family Theme Park will reopen during the holiday season as the owner continues to search for a buyer.

"Edaville announced on its Facebook page that it will reopen from Nov. 10 through New Year's Day with Christmas lights, rides, food and more.

"The 75-year-old park is working on new pricing to make it more accessible to all, as well as a new website with real-time data on rides and vendors..."

Call me nuts but last night I swear the announcement on Facebook said that the park was sold. Checking the same announcement this evening it just says that the park is opening in November and does not seem to indicate a sale.

I am pretty sure they edited their posting but maybe I'm going crazy?

Rumor had it that they were pretty close to striking a deal with a party who intended to keep steam at the park back when they had their 75th anniversary run earlier in the summer so hopefully they're pretty close to inking it out with this same party right now.

She was as of this past April. Brian Fanslau and Hannah Miller of Maine Locomotive and Machine Works organized a weekend Edaville 75th anniversary celebration, during which No. 11 was running, along with Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum Monson No. 3 (formerly owned by Edaville).

Some details of the event with photos can be found in this WW&F forum thread.

Having spent part of my misguided youth growing up in a town next to Carver as a frequent visitor to Edaville in the 1970s and '80s, Ed Lecuyer's post in the WW&F forum thread best expressed my feelings of the weekend:

"It was a great weekend, full of emotions, surprises, and nostalgia.

"One thing that struck me was the strong feelings that were observed among those visitors who were clearly too young to have have seen (or at least remembered) Edaville before 1991 (when most of the historic equipment began leaving), or 2005 (when the loop was drastically shortened) and even those visiting for the first time. This enthusiasm from the younger generation proved (at least to me) that the magic of Edaville is still quite alive and well.

"I sincerely hope this was not my last visit for a trip around the bogs of So. Carver."

I first visited Edaville with my family in 1983 when I was 7 years old. That one day was hugely significant in my life, and I've been a Maine narrow gauge fan ever since.

If I had a time machine to go back to the Edaville of 40 years ago, what I would actually most want to see is the museum display. I have a vague memory of locomotive bells, headlights, prints, etc., and learned only many years later that this had been the celebrated R&LHS artifact collection, formerly housed in the Baker Library at Harvard Business School. The early R&LHS under Charles Fisher's leadership was a very New England-oriented group and acquired a lot of rare and important 19th-century New England railroad artifacts as well as photos and paper, but it was all sold at auction and dispersed to the winds just a few years later when the R&LHS board decided that holding physical collections no longer fit the mission of the organization. Yes, I know the R&LHS paper and photo archives at least are now at CSRM in Sacramento, but the fact that the artifacts were not kept together is a tragedy in my mind.

Edaville's central position in the early US rail preservation movement should not be forgotten.

-Philip Marshall

So this was posted to Facebook earlier this morning;

Rest assured, Edaville is no longer for sale. The new operators, Shervin B. Hawley, Managing Partner of Sudbury, MA, and Brian Fanslau, Operations Partner of Alna, ME, are committed to the long-term success of Edaville as a traditional family park centered on its historic steam locomotives and family-oriented activities. Thank you for being so patient as we plan for the November opening - you'll be rewarded with the experience you have come to know and love over the last 75 years.

Neither Thomas Land nor Dino Land will be open this year as we concentrate on how to make the Christmas Festival of Lights one to remember for our 75th anniversary.

We will answer other questions as we progress with our plans for 2022 and beyond.
Tickets will be available online when our new website launches around Labor Day.

Something tells me Edaville’s going to be fine. I don’t know Mr. Hawley, but I’ve met Brian. A lot of people here in New England have seen his work, and he’s another one of those guys that gets steam.

Sounds like some good news.

How many miles of track remain compared to the Blount Era?