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Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Coordinates: 43°39′45″N 70°14′42″W / 43.66250°N 70.24500°W / 43.66250; -70.24500
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Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum
Locomotive No.4 outside the museum
Overview
HeadquartersPortland
LocalePortland, Maine, U.S.
Dates of operation1993–present
Technical
Track gauge2 ft (610 mm)
Length1.5 miles (2.4 km)
Other
Websitehttps://mainenarrowgauge.org/

The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway, located in Portland, Maine, United States.[1]

History

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Operating out of the former Portland Company Marine Complex, the organization was founded in 1993 and continues to operate as of 2024. The collection consists of passenger and freight equipment, as well as artifacts from the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railways that ran in the state of Maine in the late 19th century and early 20th century.[1]

The organization operates a 1+1⁄2-mile (2.4 km) long railroad that runs along the waterfront of Casco Bay and parallels Portland's Eastern Promenade. Historic steam and diesel locomotives and a variety of restored coaches are used to run passenger services on the railroad.[1]

Since 2021, Several of their steam locomotive equipment are currently on long-term loan at the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway.[2][3]

In mid-January 2025, the railroad was shut down for several months as tracks were ripped up for "Portland Foreside", a $660M luxury neighborhood development project, featuring a hotel, restaurant, condos, apartments, as well as an indoor market and public plazas. MNGRR originally expected the railroad to be down for two weeks while the tracks were removed and replaced following construction; Foreside claimed the construction was planned to minimize disruption.[4][5]

Equipment

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Locomotives

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Locomotive details[2]
Number Images Builder Type Date Status
1 General Electric 23 Tonner 1949 Operational
3 Frameless Vulcan Iron Works 0-4-4T 1912 Operational
4 Frameless Vulcan Iron Works 0-4-4T 1918 Stored, awaiting overhaul
4 Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad Rail Bus 1925 Operational
7 Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-4-4T 1913 Operational
8 Frameless Baldwin Locomotive Works 2-4-4T 1924 Stored, awaiting restoration
11 Plymouth DDT 10 tons 1975 Operational
14 Plymouth CL-2 4 tons 1923 Operational

Visiting locomotives

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Visiting locomotive details[2]
Number Images Builder Type Date Status
5 Whitcomb Company 25DM42a 1950 Operational

Rolling stock

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Rolling stock details[2]
Number Builder Type Build Date Status
9 Jackson and Sharp Passenger Car 1901 Display
15 Laconia Car Company Passenger Car 1882 Under restoration
16 Jackson and Sharp Passenger Car 1903 Operational
19 Billmeyer and Small Passenger Car 1890 Stored, awaiting restoration
22/23/24/25 Edaville Railroad Passenger Cars 1958-1987 Operational
14 Billmeyer and Small Combine Car 1890 Operational
15 Billmeyer and Small Combine Car 1890 Operational
12 Edaville Railroad Combine Car 1958 Operational
102/105 Edaville Railroad Open Air Cars 1960s Operational
50/52/56/57/60/62/70 Portland Company Box Cars 1889-1905 Operational
Bridgton and Saco River Tank Portland Company Tanker Car 1903 Stored
101 Laconia Car Company Caboose 1882 Display
553 Sandy River Railroad Caboose 1904 Operational
557 Maine Central Railroad Caboose 1913 Display
40 Maine Central Railroad Flanger 1913 Stored
2 Bridgton and Saco River Railroad Snow Plow 1900 Stored, awaiting restoration
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  • No. 4 hauling an excursion train.
    No. 4 hauling an excursion train.
  • Train operating along the Eastern Promenade.
    Train operating along the Eastern Promenade.
  • Train parked at the platform.
    Train parked at the platform.
  • Narrow gauge tracks re-gauged from standard gauge.
    Narrow gauge tracks re-gauged from standard gauge.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum". Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum. 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  2. ^ a b c d "Collection & Roster | Portland, ME".
  3. ^ "Equipment Roster".
  4. ^ "Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad forced to close three months for construction". newscentermaine.com. 2025-01-14. Retrieved 2025-01-16. "We came in to work last Monday and found excavators tearing down our buildings and removing our tracks." According to Foreside Development, the project is part of a land swap agreement that was negotiated seven years ago between their company, the City of Portland, and Maine Department of Transportation. In a statement, Foreside said that the project received input from Portland Trails and MNGRR.
  5. ^ Staff, WGME (2025-01-14). "Off-track: Narrow-gauge railroad in Portland closed until April due to development". WGME. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
  • Meade, Edgar T. Jr. (1968). Busted and Still Running. The Stephen Greene Press.
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43°39′45″N 70°14′42″W / 43.66250°N 70.24500°W / 43.66250; -70.24500

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