W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
The Maine Narrow Gauges (Historic & Preserved) => Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad => Topic started by: Matthew Gustafson on December 21, 2008, 09:17:54 PM
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Just want to know? ::) :)
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It is 0.5 miles Phillips to Sanders.
-Still the same it's a pretty nice 1/2 mile. It contains the approaches to the old covered bridge, the Old Stone Fort roundhouse, the curve where Numbers 16 and 23 plowed into each other, a little bridge over a creek and nice views of the Sandy River at both ends.
I was there one time and threw my canoe on a push car and dragged it to Sanders with the rotary handcar. I dumped the boat in the river and paddled back to Phllips. A canoe trip with a 24" gauge shuttle is pretty rare these days!
PS: The Sandy River is really a lot more "Rocky" than "Sandy" in this area...
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Well at least its longer than Ward Kimbells 900 feet Grizzly Falts Railroad! ::) :)
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And I thought it was 1.5 miles long.
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They actually have access to about 3 miles of ROW, but unfortunately there was a landowner reluctant to let them cross (...like reluctant enough to hire a lawyer.) so most of it is unusable for now.
When I first visited SR&RL in 1982, they'd just laid the last rails to get them up to the edge of Bridge Street. Wesley Spear said that they were working on getting permission to cross the road and would probably be crossing in '83. The end of track is still in exactly the same place today.
The half mile is actually a pretty decent amount of track. You still feel like you are headed someplace and if you happen to be aboard that rotary handcar you can build up enough speed to get your adrenaline flowing and still have more than enough room to slow and stop before you splatter yourself against a parked train. (...it's a hoot!)
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They recently installed "T" style grade crossing sign at about mid point on the line. It's a replica of the classic ones the SR&RL had 100 years ago. It's a beautiful sign.
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Is this next to the grassy meadow between the curves? That is an old road crossing.
The other crossing would be right at the back corner of the Old Stone Fort, but that's more of a snowmobile trail.
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Any photo's of the crossing sign online?
Mike Nix
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Does anyone have a map of the 3 mile SR&RL route of the museums main line and the soon to be built right of way?
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This is a topo of the original ROW north of Phillips. The current line is contained inside a bow in the Sandy River across from Phillips. It has an "and" marked next to it. A little crude scaling (width of my thumb) brings 3 miles north almost to where the "Y" in "Sandy" is next to the track then headed towards Madrid Junction.
http://historical.mytopo.com/getImage.asp?fname=phlp32sw.jpg&state=ME
This isn't happening "soon". It's more like "someday".
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[Moderator's Note]
I changed the link in Steve's email to point to the historical map collection hosted by my employer, rather than the UNH collection. The data is exactly the same, except our collection covers a much larger area.
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Steve, The sign is next to the field you mentioned. I took photos of it but will have to send them to Steve H. or Ed to post. It's a beautiful sign with the black paint at the base and a cast finial on top. John did a great job.
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I seem to recall fittings from a crossing sign over at the Railroad Room at the Historical Society. I bet they used them as patterns.
The same building has the Phillips Public Library. I used to go in there every year at Old Home Days and read a chapter of Ride the Sandy River. I did this for about 5 years before I finally found my own copy and actually finished the whole book!
-I love the public libraries in Two Footer country. Where else in the World will you find three copies of The Maine Two Footers?
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Can anybody update this thread from 2008? Have they added any new track since then?
Regards,
Fred M. Cain
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Hi Fred.
The only new trackage is around the the yard area, extending a siding or 2. Length of the railroad is still regulated by the lack of a bridge and the road crossing..