Tag Archives: #two foot gauge

photography

Hidden Wonders at Philips, Maine.

Leave a comment

Following up on yesterday’s Tracking the Light Post . . . Kris Sabbatino and I had found the tracks of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes two-foot gauge tourist railroad recreation and decided to investigate!

A covered bridge once carried tracks over this river at Philips—Lumix LX7 photo.

Using the powers of the internet we learned there was more to see than the small station at Sanders; so we drove toward the village of Phililps, Maine and down the appropriate side street. A sign advising hikers and railfans provided the needed clues.

Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes must be one of these Brigadoon Railways that comes to life at infrequent intervals but spends most of the time secluded deep in a forest.

We met no one. We saw nothing on the move. We took only pictures. And left without a trace.

The historic Sandy River & Rangely Lakes gave up the ghost in 1935. This is relic from the original operation.
Some wee diesel disguised as a Forney. Lumix LX7 photo.
The original SR&RL roundhouse burned to the ground in 1923 destroy three fine locomotives in the process. This is a recreation. Lumix LX7 photo.
You just never know what lurks among the trees! Lumix LX7 photo.

Tracking the Lights Posts Daily!

photography

Elusive Two Foot Gauge at Sanders Station.

Leave a comment

We were aware that there was a contemporary two-foot gauge tourist railroad on a portion of the historic Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes—a once extensive line that succumbed during the Great Depression.

So, on a recent drive around rural western Maine, Kris Sabbatino and I visited Philips, Maine and were delighted to find the small station at Sanders, where two-foot gauge tracks met the road.

The sign on the station read ‘Trains will run in 2021’.

After making a few photos, we decided to explore further . . .

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Remnant of the B&H two foot Gauge at Harrison, Maine.

Leave a comment

The common-carrier Maine two-foot gauge railroads vanished from the scene many moons ago.

A couple of months back, Dwight Smith pointed me to photo hanging on the wall of the North Conway ticket office that shows himself on a Bridgton & Harrison train. “That was taken of me eighty years ago when I was 15.” Well that sort of puts things in perspective!

So on a recent photography adventure with Kris Sabbatino, we paused at Harrison, Maine, the most northerly point on the defunct Bridgton & Harrison. Using my smart phone, I summoned a vintage USGS topographical map from the University of New Hampshire collection and used this to locate where the railroad had been.

We checked a few locations, before I spotted this old causeway and bridge abutments.

Exposed using my FujiFilm XT1.

Tracking the Light Posts EVERY day!

photography

Number 9 Bathed in Steam—Three Photos.

Leave a comment

Last weekend the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in conjunction with Portland’s Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company & Museum invited me to a magical event featuring three steam locomotives under steam.

Arctic conditions were tough on fingers and toes, but made for spectacular displays of steam and condensation.

Among the stars of the event was former Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington number 9, a legendary machine that had been saved from scrapping many years ago and then stored for decades in a Connecticut barn.

This was my first visit with old number 9.

I exposed these photos digitally but I also made use of an old Nikon F3 to exposed both black& white and color film so that future generations may be able to appreciate the cosmic even of January 18-19, 2020.

More photos soon!

Special Thanks to Wayne Duffett and Ed Lecuyer.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!