Edaville Railroad Museum

It has been quite a while since I have written you about the
doings here at Edaville and it seems to me this is a good time to
‘report progress’.

1959 was good year for Edaville Railroad and Museum. About
225,000 passengers rode the narrow gauge trains on the 5 mile trip
thru the Cranberry bogs. Christmas Festival was the best ever and
the ‘biggest’ night 10,486 rode the trains. We had four
trains running all afternoon and till almost mid-night to take care
of the passengers. Trains running on a 7 minute headway made things
look like sure enough old time railroading around here that night.
Lots of coal smoke, steam and hot oil to smell. And that always
smells good.

Edaville now has five steam locomotives. The four we have had
ever since the road was built in 1946 and this past summer we
rebuilt a small (12 ton) 30′ gauge Forney type to 24′
gauge. Did all the work here in the Edaville shops except pressing
the drive wheels on the new axles. Didn’t have heavy enough
press for this, so the Boston and Maine very kindly helped out.
That was a small job for them in their Billerica Shops.

The two large locos. were fitted out with complete new boilers
last year, now the three small locos. are also getting new boilers.
First of the three now finished and is expected to get her first
run under steam the first of next week. Boilers for other two
locos. about finished and all five engines will be ready for
service by the time daily running starts on Memorial Day week-end.
We are also building five new open or summer cars in our shops so
Edaville has been quite a busy place all winter.

Mr. Blount, Owner of Edaville Railroad, is a life long lover of
steam engines of all kinds, locomotives in particular. In addition
to the five running on the line here, he is acquiring for
preservation and display all the steam locomotives he can find. At
present he owns 14 standard gauge and 8 narrow gauge engines which
have run their last mile in revenue service. One possible exception
to the last statement. One of the last engines acquired is a 60
ton, 30′ gauge 2-8-0 Baldwin just received from Mexico, where
it was used on a narrow gauge line running out of Saltillo. This is
an outside frame loco. and it’s just possible it may be
narrowed to 24′ gauge and be given a new lease of life here on
the Edaville. This is more dream than promise at the moment, but
she is a little beauty and is quite peacefully resting along side
the diesel streamliner ‘Flying Yankee’ along side the main
line of the Edaville at the yard limits on the way out to Cranberry
Junction where the parking lots are located and where all Edaville
train trips start. Two of the standard gauge locomotives and five
of the narrow gauge ones are on display here at Edaville, along
with one Case 45 HP. steamer, two steam rollers, four steam fire
engines, one European portable double cylinder engine, one 1885
steam dredge, oil field steam pumping engine and jack, 1905 White
steam auto, needing some restoration, several miscellaneous model
steam operated locos, and stationary engines in the Museum and one
very nice Cagney 17 inch gauge 4-4-0 Amusement Park steam
locomotive.

Nine of the standard gauge and one narrow gauge locos. are on
display at Pleasure Island, a new Amusement Park north of Boston on
Hwy. 128, just opened last summer. Side tracks in the park makes it
easy to display them there, while all engines, etc., have to be
brought in to Edaville by trucks, as we are 5 miles from nearest
railroad. Up there Blount also has a dozen std. cars, both
passenger and freight, a Frick steamer, steam roller and a steam
fire engine. But that’s another story.

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