Dose anyone out there know anything about B&H #17. I know it was built in 1904 by the Laconia Car Co. and was sold to Edaville in 1941. After that I lose the car. Was it saved? is it at MNG? or still at Edaville? What is its condition? If anyone knows anything please let me know. It was a beautiful car and I am soon going to be drafting the car so I would like to know what happened to it.

-Eric

Eric, are you perhaps referring to Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes #17?

This was indeed a Laconia car that was burned some time ago and was acquired by the M.N.G.R.R. It is now in the posession of the Sandy River group out of Phillips, Maine running a homebuilt steam outline replica of an SR&RL locomotive. This coach, while sometimes said to be built in 1904 in some sources, I believe traces much earlier into Laconia and Sandy River history being from 1884.

I'm relatively new to 'catching on' interest to the "Two Footers", so don't go by me!

Thanks

here is some info on SRRL #17,
click on passenger car #5.

http://www.srrl-rr.org/roster.htm

Scot

and here is Edaville #17,
clearly not the same coach as SR&RL #17..
hmmm..

http://www.vistadome.com/trains/edaville/ed11.jpg
#17 is not listed on a roster of equipment still at Edaville.

the Maine narrow gauge museum lists a coach #17 in their collection:
17 Coache (burned) 1904 48' Phillips, ME Display

the SR&RL is in Phillips..so the #17 that the MNGRR lists must be the same car that SR&RL is restoring as Sandy River #5.

which makes Edaville #17 still MIA..
I will post a question on the Maine 2-footer yahoo forum, those guys will know.

Scot

Here's some more information on #17, most of which Eric and subsequent posters probably already know.

According to Robert C. Jones's book "Two Feet to the Lakes," coach 17 was built by Laconia in 1904 for $3175. It was 42 feet 6 inches long, seated 29, was equipped with an Edwards stove for heat, and had stained glass windows. There are drawings and photographs of it on pages 242 and 243 respectively in this book. Earlier, on page 223, a roster says that it was sold to E. Mead in 1941 and subsequently went to Edaville, where it "burned." But take heart....

On page 74 of "The Bridgton & Saco River - A Technical and Pictorial Review" by Peter S. Barney, the caption for a photo of #17 shows it as the "Elthea" at Edaville, reports that it suffered extensive fire damage in 1985, and is "currently awaiting restoration." Since the date on this book is 1987, "currently" is 1987 - pre Maine Narrow Gauge.

Therefore, as Eric suggests, it must either be at Edaville or at MNG.

I don't think there is any SR&RL involvement at all.

-John

There were two coach #17s. Both of them were built by Laconia, but otherwise they were very different in design.

The car that became SR&RL #17 and its mate SR&RL #18 were built in 1884 with board and batten siding as Sandy River RR numbers 5 and 6 respectively.

B&SR #17 was built in 1904 and had arched windows topped with stained glass. Except for the Sandy River's parlor car "Rangeley", this car was arguably the most ornate coach to run on any of the Maine two-footers.

The B&SR car went to Edaville where it was burned to its frame in 1985 by young trespassers who attempted to light a fire in the car's stove for heat. Edaville had hoped to rebuild the coach, but never did. It sat for many years near the car shop under a blue tarp, which failed and was never replaced.

After the Edaville equipment moved to Portland, the frame of B&SR #17 was moved to the SR&RL museum in Phillips, Maine. By this time the frame was so rotten that a pencil could be punched through the side sills. The frame was stipped of its trucks and possibly a few other items, which have in turn gone into the restoration of SR&RL coach #17. Parenthetically, SR&RL #18 remains in service at the museum in Phillips.

Scale drawings of B&SR #17 can be found in the book "Two Feet to the Lakes", by Robert C. Jones.

Best Regards,
Glenn

mystery solved!
thanks Glenn!

scot

Eric,

you are quite right, the Bridgton & Saco 17 was the finest car that they had. It did indeed spend many years at Edaville RR.

Unfortunately, it was burned by an arson fire in the (I think) early 1980s.
However, there must have been something left, as it went up to Portland with the rest of the intact cars.

Later, it was given to the Sandy River Railroad Museum, who have the body of SR&RL 17 which is another Laconia car. I hear that they plan to merge what is left of the two cars in order to get one restorable car.

The Robert Jones book, Two Feet To The Lakes and the others in the series on the Maine Two Footers will give you all you want to know on these lines.

Ted Miles

Thank you all. While I am glade to know what happened now it saddens me to know that #17 is gone. I will do my best in recreating this fall car in my drawing. If anyone wants to know if I am any good at drawing railroad equipment you can ask some people from the WW&F Ry Museum to whom I donated a hand drawn poster of W&Q #3. I have all the books on Maine Two Footers by Robert C. Jones except Two Feet Between the Rails. I was indeed talking about the car that scottychaos posted the link for of the car at Edaville. That photo dose the car no justice. The paint is just horrible. Well again thank you all and I feel we lost another very special peice of Maine two foot gauge history with the lose of B&H #17.

-Eric B.