Hi Folks,

After an absence of over sixty years, the group “RETURN OF THE RAILS” in Bridgton, Maine and the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland, Maine have signed an agreement that will return two foot narrow gauge rails to the town of Bridgton, Maine.

The first phase of this effort is to display a two foot gauge passenger coach from the Maine Narrow Gauge collection in Bridgton. Starting Monday, June 9th, local volunteers and businesses will combine their efforts to construct a raised display platform 4 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 40 feet long in front of the Chamber of Commerce Information Center on Portland Road (US Route 302). The plan is to complete the display by July 4th.

Subsequent stages are being planned and will be undertaken as sufficient support becomes available. Participants and contributors of all kinds are encouraged.

If you are interested in helping, please contact either:
“Bridgton” Bill Shelley at (207)221-0205, email: bbs2u@roadrunner.com
or
The Greater Bridgton Lakes Region, Chamber of Commerce Information Center, Portland Road, Bridgton, Maine 04009 at (207)647–3472, URL:
http://www.mainelakeschamber.com

Sincerely,
Glenn Christensen
“Backshop” Editor, Maine Two Foot Quarterly magazine.

It's a shame that the B&H couldn't have been saved since it lasted so long after the other 2 foot lines were gone. One wonders if a Strasburg RR like effort to have a group buy stock and keep the line going as a tourist attraction might have worked.

There is supposedly one part of the whole "Strasburg survival" legend that doesn't get emphasized........

The legend I gathered from my mother (a native of Lancaster, Pa.) and others from that area was basically an addition to the popular legend....... We all know the story that Henry K. Long and others were having trouble getting folks to cough up 1958 prices of $450 a share for the Strasburg stock. Then they got the bright idea of making each shareholder a vice-president. Then shares sold quickly.

And now as Paul Harvey would say.........

Shares still didn't sell...... until the rail buffs among the potential rail operators pointed out to Lancaster's "society set" that being a railroad VP got you a railroad pass with every railroad in the country! Therefore, a good share of the initial investors of the Strasburg Rail Road were folks just intent on free upper-class transportation!

I seriously doubt being a VP of a short line gets you anywhere with "Julie" at Amtrak today..............

Getting back to the B&H: Would there have been enough people wanting to get in on such a scheme in B&H territory for this to work? Was this "angle" ever an impetus for, say, the Edaville or Mondanock & Northern?

Hi Tim,

There was a "Save The Bridgton Narrow Gauge RR Club". The group managed to raise several thousand dollars towards that end, but ultimately the money trickled in too slowly, time ran out, and the narrow gauge was torn up.

Whether or not the effort truly failed is happily debatable. Maybe it was their example and the apparent failure of their effort were the factors that galvanized Ellis D. Atwood into buying two foot equipment. We may never know.

But thanks to him and to many past and current fans, we may yet see the Bridgton narrow gauge rise again.


Best Regards,
Glenn

The late Edgar T Mead, the line's superintendent during some of the final year, that was behind the effort to keep the B&HR going as a tourist line. My belief is that some of his efforts kept the operation alive long enough to allow Ellis D Atwood to buy much of it to form his Edaville Railroad, and today a good selection of the B&SR's equipment remains in existence, most now back in Maine.