The WW&F Railway museum operates the smallest locomotive I have ever seen. The little critter is a Model BSA-1 built by the Brookville Locomotive works in November 1946. It weighs in at 1.5-tons. They were designed for the cranberry bogs of Cape Cod. It is powered by a Continental gas engine. It has served the museum well.

Does anyone know of a smaller locomotive? and any other Model BSA-1s in preservation?

Ted Miles, WW&F Life Member

The details on the WW&F's Brookville "Cranberry Special" can be found on the railway's roster page. Slightly out-of-date, as No. 51 is now back in service following Jay Barta's work. I understand it was used in MOW work this past week.

I watched it run today as it was transferred from the Sheepscot shop building to the car barn.

The WW&F doesn't consider it a locomotive, but rather a track car in their operating scheme.

It looks like Brookville built 15 of the Cranberry Specials. This seems to be preserved:

3330 4/17/1947 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
J J Beaton Co., Wareham, Mass
A D Makepeace, Wareham, Mass - 1/1981

Another one:

3526 5/8/1949 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Atkins & Durbrow, Ltd, Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
“Cranberry Special”

Sandy City RR (Atkins Durbrow) Point Colbone, ONT here 2002
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/scr.jpg

Thanks for the additional information!

I am interested to see that a couple of them made their way up to Canada!

Ted Miles, WW&F Member

1216 4/6/1928 B 24” 1T Special Gas/Mech
“Cranberry Special”
Fuller Motor Sales, Co (D), Middleboro, Mass

1900 3/14/1934 B 24” 1½T Cranberry Spec Gas/Mech
United Cape Cod Cranberry Co., Halifax, Mass

2006 3/29/1935 B 24” 2¾T Ford V8 Cranberry Spec Gas/Mech
Maine Peat Moss Co., Jonesport, Maine
Malatesta Machine & Welding, Dexter, Maine

3217 8/30/1946 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
A D Makepeace Co, Middleboro, Mass
“Cranberry Special”

3232 10/25/1946 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Fuller-Hammond Co, Onset, Mass
“Cranberry Special”

3233 10/25/1946 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
J B Atkins, Harwick, Mass
“Cranberry Special”
John F Hall, Dennis Port, Mass - 1959
Summer Eddy, Brewster, Mass - 1963

3237 2/14/1947 B 24” 1½T Ford V8 BFA Gas/Mech
Ellis D Atwood, South Carver, Mass
“Cranberry Special”

3314 3/24/1947 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Russell A Trufant (D), Middleboro, Mass
“Cranberry Special”
Fuller-Hammond Co., Onset, Mass

3315 3/25/1947 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Elthelbert Haines & Brother, Chatsworth, N J
“Cranberry Special”

3316 3/25/1947 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Elthelbert Haines & Brother, Chatsworth, N J
“Cranberry Special”

3379 1/2/1948 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
A D Makepeace Co., Wareham, Mass
“Cranberry Special”

3380 1/2/1948 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
A D Makepeace Co., Wareham, Mass
“Cranberry Special”

3526 5/8/1949 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Atkins & Durbrow, Ltd, Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
“Cranberry Special”

Built for:
J. B. Atkins, Harwich, Mass - 1946

Sold to (eventually):
Robert S. Paine, Wellfleet, Mass - date unknown.

Brookville #3233 is currently:
WW&F #51, Alna, Maine - 1994

As of March 2017, the 3232 is (or was) in the Finger Lakes area of NY State. I've forgotten the town name. It looked as though it hadn't run in some time, but appeared to be mostly intact.

JR

On June 5th a photo was posted on the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum Facebook page, showing the newly installed turntable at Edaville in the 1940s. On the turntable lead in the background is a small critter, which could be the 3237.

3526 5/8/1949 B 24” 1½T PY112 BSA Gas/Mech
Atkins & Durbrow, Ltd, Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
“Cranberry Special”

Ran this unit for quite a few years at a private estate in Niagara Falls, as we were able to save it from this location, along with a Ruston (refitted with a huge 6cyl Chrysler Industrial engine) and almost all of the peat cars. Both locomotives were used to haul peat moss in from the fields to the unloading station where the cars were dumped and the peat packaged for resale. It was a pretty cool operation that at one time was used to hold Merchant Marine POW's. There was 3 1/2 miles of 2ft gauge track at the bog, and we cleared some to run on during the easter weekend of 1995. This locomotive is now plinthed on a shelf at the Statfold Barn Railway in the UK.