Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads (ME) (Images of Rail) [Paperback]

Robert L. MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2003

The narrow gauge railroad arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Based on the Welsh two-foot gauge, the American narrow gauge was expanded by railroad engineers to a three-foot gauge that became the standard track width for narrow gauge railroads in the United States. Maine, however, adopted the two-foot gauge that was developed by George E. Mansfield in Massachusetts. The narrow track width was ideally suited to the mountainous terrain, and the maneuverability of the trains proved highly beneficial to companies and passengers traveling to remote locations. The narrow gauge railroad served Maine for over fifty years until the early 1940s. Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads is a comprehensive pictorial record of the history of the narrow gauge railroad in Maine. From the one-hundred-twelve-mile Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad to the five-mile Kennebec Central, Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads features the toylike miniature trains of Maine as they appeared at different stages in their history. The Bridgton and Harrison Railroad, the Monson Railroad, and the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway lines are documented within, as well as the current restoration projects that are under way.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert L. MacDonald is a founding member and historian of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum and is a member of the collections committee. He is a retired sales representative for the Canadian National Railways in northern New England and a longtime member of the 470 Railroad Club. He has authored two books on narrow gauge railroads and is a feature writer for a publication on short-line railroads.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (May 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073851179X
• ISBN-13: 978-0738511795
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,365,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pictures! Clunky Text!, October 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads (ME) (Images of Rail) (Paperback)

This is primarily a picture book - filled with great old pictures of Maine's famous 2-foot-gauge railroads (there were also a couple of 3-foot-gauge railroads in Maine; these are not mentioned).
Each railroad gets a chapter of photos with a short introductory text with a basic outline of its life and death. I wish someone with skills at grammar and editing had given the text and captions a quick once-over. But the pictures are the "Maine" feature of the book, and I was happy to see a few I'd never seen before. People who own all the "Big" (expensive) books about the Maine narrow gauge railroads may not find much new here, but it's a great introduction and overview for the general reader.
I was interested in the pictures showing the equipment that still exists (and even runs) today - some of the pieces are over 100 years old, and their survival is almost miraculous!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welsh Connection for the Maine Narrow Guage, March 17, 2007

By 

Edward L. Cornwall, Jr. "Corny" (Central Maine, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads (ME) (Images of Rail) (Paperback)

We recently had travelled from Maine, USA to Wales, UK having a marvelous, picuresque journey on the Rheilfford and Pfestiniog railway out of Porthmadog. In many ways the Wales countryside resembles that of Maine in terms of topograghy. In showing some co-workers a couple of photos we had taken of this magnificent little Welsh 2 footer which began business in the 1830's and still runs a successful tourist line, one of them asked if the Maine Narrow guages weren't also built on two foot guage. I believed they must have been 3 foot like the Western US narrow guage roads, such as the Durango and Silverton, but this question made me curious. I found the intriguing answer to that question in this little book. Not only were the Maine Roads built to the 2 foot guage, but they were actually modelled after the sucessful Rheilfford railway. Since we live in Maine, we are interested in Maine history as well as Railroading, and found through this book that it truly is a small world after all.

I recommend this pictorial book to any Railfan or Maine History buff, or any combination thereof.