Bangor Industrial Narrow Gauge - American Thread Plant at Milo, Maine.

[Mark Hendrickson]

I have the 1978 edition of Northern Rails.  Published buy The 470 Railroad Club.  It states that the gauge is 18 3/4"  locomotives are 3-ton Plymouth Model AL.  SN 750 purchased 1919 and SN 895 purchased 1920.  Original built with Continental 4's replaced with Chrysler 6's.  For 1978 it states the locomotives are store, but cars are hand pushed.

[Benjamin Campbell]

Great info Mark! Are there any photos? I imagine that 18 ¾ inch gauge may in fact be a metric gauge.
The majority of the equipment was manufactured by Arthur Koppel and several of the bearings I have
are marked “Berlin” rather than with their Pennsylvania address.

The layout of this industrial line is super cool! There is at least one ‘diamond’ – there was at least one
turntable which still exists down here in Mass. We see some sort of ‘transfer table’ presumably
for transferring the bolts(squared up pieces of wood are called bolts) to the spool turning lathes.
Behind the transfer table we can see the line pass through a ‘tunnel’ in the building. Amazing that
this remained active into the 1970s.

Hard to tell whether the ‘bolts’ are arriving in the standard gauge cars or being shipped out in
them.

On a side note - I read somewhere that 18 inch gauge was the narrowest gauge that could
accommodate center aisle passenger cars.

It would be great if someone with better computer skills than I could permanently post the photos
in this thread. When the Ebay listing is pulled these historic photos may disappear into a private
collection. 

[Benjamin Campbell]

Here is a link to a discussion about the Koppel bearings over at Practical Machinist.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-and-history/early-light-railway-roller-bearings-274092/

[Mark Hendrickson]

Odd gauge.  Works out 47.6 cm seems like I've read about it some where but can't find where yet.  My guess is the line may have been hand or 1 horsepower originally and then add locomotion later.  18" was fairly common in the mining world.  Used extensively at Homestake mining in South Dakota.  which was originally mule driven.

[Bruce Wilson]

Your memory has not played tricks on you, there is a Koppel dump car (and several Koppel chassises) at Sheepscot.

 

Just reading this great information about the industrial railway at the American Thread Co. in Milo. After many years if not having an internet connection and working nights, I constantly find something new in this discussion forum everyday. I equate that thrill to (say) being given a big stack of old 1950's (ish) railroad magazines.

Anyway...regarding the Koppel tip cars and chassis at the W.W. & F. Ryan. Museum, one complete car with dump body/hopper came from the Ramsdell estate in W. Thompson, CT. and therefore I would assume it to once have done duty on the original W.W. & F. Ryan. Recall that Linwood Moody is shown in a photo at the Wiscasset shop, with such a car among the abandoned equipment.

Two Koppel tip car chassis were brought up to Sheepscot (with the Brookville) from Paine Enterprises Marine Ry. that was a 1,000 foot operation in South Wellfleet, MA. The Brookville and chassis were used to convey beach-goers, coolers and picnic baskets from a well made shop building, right down to waters edge.

The wooden tip car decks were rotted out when a group of museum members salvaged the rail and equipment. Later, steel plate was applied temporarily and stake body sides attached for use hauling small batches if crushed stone, etc.

The steel plate decking was later removed and the chassis were then used as shop trucks, for the caboose.

There was a 4 ton Plymouth gas/mech'l engine in the So. Wellfleet shop, and I heard it run after doing an oil change on it. The wheel flanges on one side were worn to a knifes edge however. Mr. Paine told me he sold that engine to the Beaver Brook Museum, though it may have actually gone elsewhere.

[Mark Hendrickson]

I found the Plymouth builder's list online.  Plymouth made 4 locomotives for American Thread Co. with the gauge of 18 3/4".  There are no other engines made to this gauge by Plymouth. Nor any other locomotives made for American Thread.   

Link to Plymouth list:  https://utahrails.net/pdf/Plymouth_Lehmuth-2013.pdf

         Const #    Ship Date        Gauge    Model       Engine                  HP     Tons      Fuel/Drive 
             68       11/24/1915      18 3?4“     AL-1      Continental N3.5   23        3         Gas/Friction
                        Built on 44” gauge frame. Guessing this maybe in error and was 24” frame.
                        American Thread Co, Lakeview Spool Mills, Lakeview, Maine                       
                        American Thread Co, Milo Maine - 10/24/1923

             147   9/18/1916   18 3/4”        AL-2.    Continental N3.5.   23.       3        Gas/Friction
                        American Thread Co, Milo Spool Mills, Milo, Maine ?                       
                        Rebuilt. 30” - 7/11/19?                       
                        American Thread Co, Kinco, Maine - 10/8/19 ?

             750.    12/26/1919       18 3?4“     AL-2.    Continental N3.5    23.       3       Gas/Fricton
                        American Thread Co, Milo Spool Mills, Milo, Maine
                        Rebuilt                                            Chrysler 6 cyl       100
                        Basketville Industries, Milo, Maine

            894       6/18/1920.       18 3/4”     AL-2     Continental N3.5.    23.      3.      Gas/Friction?           
                         Built on 24” gauge frame
                         American Thread Co, Lake View Spool Mills, Lake View, Maine
                         Basketville Industries of Vermont, Milo, Maine ?

[Bruce Wilson]

Thank you for finding and posting that great roster Mark. Many years ago, museum member Ellis E. Walker made me a set of 11 slides from originals that were given to him by Fourtin Powell. I still have them and am assuming that the museum's archives may have Fourtin's original slides. This past winter, a single slide of the Milo operation sold for over $75 on eBay. It showed three men out with one of the Plymouths and operating over the yard track age. One man might have been doing some track work, but I can't be sure now.

I would be willing to have scans made of the Fourtin Powell slides, for anyone interested  and at my cost.

[Mike the Choochoo Nix]

I’m pretty sure that the 18 3/4 inch gauge was someone’s conversion of 500 mm. From what I’ve read 20 inch, 19 inch/500mm and 18 inch gauges were used by various industries.  Of course as long as the wheel treads are wide enough, those little trams didn’t care as long as the gauge wasn’t too tight.
M. Nix

[Mike Fox]

I changed the topic name because we have learned it is not a two footer. I almost changed it to less than two footer..

[Ed Lecuyer]

Bruce Wilson found this photo of the operation in Milo, Maine.

[Bruce Wilson]

During last Friday's set up for the Archives Department ephemera sale, the photo Ed has just posted, was found within the Stephen Smith collection. As volunteers were grouping photos, timetables and surplus slides together, this one didn't seem to fit with the batch of New York Central, etc. photos it was included with.

I think this image is of a Plymouth engine at the American Thread Co. mill at Milo, Maine.  The rail used looks to be traditional 20lb. panel track, but without the attached steel ties. The rail and that sharp no. 3 frog (on the left side) are fastened directly to the timberwork. Check out the neat little transfer table to the right, that allows unloading directly to the plants' fleet of railcars with some leeway to lining up a truck tailgate.

Steve Smith had many items collected over the years that went to new homes. A collection of his American Locomotive steam component blueprints went out with one happy shopper who told me that she was buying them for another museum she is a member of.

As the American Thread photo fits our own museum collecting goals, we have retained it for our own future resource library.

[Mike Fox]

[Bruce Wilson]

Also from the Kenton Harrison collection.