W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
Worldwide Narrow Gauges => Massachusetts' Two Footers => Topic started by: Ted Miles on March 31, 2021, 03:24:29 PM
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I thought I would look and see what Wikipedia has to say about this old time New England firm. Founded in 1835, they manufactured textile machinery from 1835 to 1948 with final closure in 1976. They had a progressive company town called Whitinsville, Massachusetts. Of interest to us is their two-foot gauge railroad powered by two GE Diesel-electric locomotives. They were at Edaville, then Maine Narrow Gauge Museum. The #2 locomotive is currently getting a new Diesel engine in Portland.
Ted Miles, WW&F Member
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Anybody know anything about Whithin #1?
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There were three GE’s at Whitin, I believe. Two were built in 1948 or 1949, builder's numbers 30490 and 30491, and the third one (30580) was built in 1951. All three went to Edaville. Now one is at Maine Narrow Gauge, one is at Edaville, and the third one was wrecked. Its remains are also at Edaville, as far as I know.
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Is the wrecked one worth saving? I know anything can be saved and restored if you throw enough money at it but the question arises; Is it worth it ???
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If I'm not mistaken, the wrecked Whitin locomotive was also moved to Maine from Edaville where it was at the very back of MNG's rail yard at the Portland Company. I remember there was nothing - nothing - nothing left to salvage when Edaville and MNG got done with her - and she was scrapped when MNG had to get rid of property they were using to reduce their foot print at the Yacht Company (Sprague)
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I have heard the wrecked one still exists, but as Allan said, all useable parts are gone. I thought I heard it went back to Edaville.
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The wheels, trucks and frame are all that remain. Whatever is left was at Edaville unless it’s been recently scrapped.
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As they say in the "house for sale" ads, it's a "handyman's special".
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The wheels, trucks and frame are all that remain. Whatever is left was at Edaville unless it’s been recently scrapped.
I've seen photos firsthand that were taken in the last week. Trucks, frame, and a beat up carbody still exist.
Chris
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IIRC, the battered remains were mentioned in the thread discussing the possibility of acquiring a new diesel.
I don't remember the conclusion, (I can and probably will look for it again) but I don't think it was "impossible!"
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Some 2 foot trackwork remaining at Whitin Machine Works in Whitinsville, MA
(https://i.ibb.co/9HcwLgg/0417201343a.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7tjg5CC)
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Some 2 foot trackwork remaining at Whitin Machine Works in Whitinsville, MA
Here:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Whitinsville,+Northbridge,+MA/@42.109535,-71.6708979,142m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e41181db76d3cd:0x411fc767dadc4d52!8m2!3d42.1112075!4d-71.6661783
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(https://i.postimg.cc/0j8hS9JL/20251114-145226.jpg)
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The photo Mike has posted, from the Jul - Aug 1938 issue of the National Railway Historical Society, Inc. " Quarterly" magazine. The magazine, one of many in the H. Lincoln Harrison collection recently donated to the W. W. & F. Ry. Museum by Kenton T. Harrison of Massachusetts.
The electric locomotive was built in 1891 and after the General Electric Company of Lynn installed the overhead wires, service with this side rod equipped motor, began in the Spring of 1892. The builder, the Old Thomson - Huston Electric Co. of Lynn designed the motor to power the rear axle and by use of siderods to connect with the front axle.
On January 1, 1900, a trolley began operating on the route and continued to provide service for 35 years. The Linwood Street Railway could be traversed in ten minutes with a fare of 5 cents.
"The line was always owned by the Machine Works, certain of whose officers and employees attended to the operation of the railway, and in recent years cars ran only at hours when workers were going to or from the plant, with trips as far as Cross Street on Sunday mornings for church-goers. Cars continued to meet the two remaining Providence - Worcester trains until trolley service was discontinued on February 28, 1935. The six passenger cars were then burned, but two electric locomotives continue to handle freight over the line for the Machine Works, as they have for nearly half a century."
The photo used in the article is credited to the Whitin Review, which I surmise to be an employee publication of the period. This piece gives a nice account of the standard gage route from Whitins station to the mill, while stories and photos of the two foot gage remain scarce.
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In October of 1965, I got permission from Virgil Starbird to go to Boston with his truck delivering finished lumber milled at Starbird Lumber to customers in Boston. Virgil's long time driver, Everett, did not talk much but we had a pleasant trip down from Strong Maine and delivered the finished lumber to two customers, and then went to Whitinsville, MA to let me dicker for two-foot gauge trucks from the recently abandoned two-foot gauge railroad at the Whitin Machine Works. I was also offered the three two-foot gauge locomotives at $1000 each. With money from Virgil and my own stash, I was able to buy 6 sets of trucks and bring two of them to Strong for one of the six (6) Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes box cars in Starbird's lumber company yard. These cars were used to store lumber and saw mill parts. In that yard there was also a standard gauge Rail Bus that the SR&RL shops had built for the MEC Oquossoc Branch. He used the bus to move lumber on a few hundred feet of standard gauge track within the mill area.
The other four sets of trucks where offloaded in Avon Maine on original SR&RL Right-of-Way in a field just south of Phillips where Bob Beal and I had built two or three hundred feet of track for some of the freight equipment from Phillips to be displayed. We had cut the ties from a wood lot Bob owned just north of Phillips, and two-sided these after hours at the lumber mill just outside of Phillips on the bypass. This was the beginning of Sandy River Railroad Museum.
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Thanks for posting that information Allan and great story! I wonder if you knew of the two foot rail that Sonny Fairbanks laid on his property in Avon in the 1930's? He had a small handcar railroad as it has been described. Equipment consisted of a velocipede and a four wheel handcar.
Another question...were all three of the G.E. 23 ton diesel- electrics at the Whitin Machine Works? I've not been able to figure if one unit went to the Koppers tie plant in Nashua, New Hampshire either directly from G.E. or sold from the machine works.
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Bob Beal and I laid the track on Sonny Fairbanks property - so it was the same railroad
All three locomotives were at the Machine works when we were there.
The Whitin locomotive that had been destroyed in an accident was still at the very back of the Maine Narrow Gauge yard at Portland when they were cleaning up and consolidating their freight equipment on two tracks. I was told it would be scrapped at Portland as everything usable had been stripped over the years.
I don't believe it ever went back to Edaville.
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Allan, I can recall seeing the wreck of the 3rd unit at Edaville. Unfortunately I can't recall what year that was, but it was down where the new Edaville engine shop is, out back. That move from Portland back to Edaville may be when MNG started to move surplus equipment from their site.
I have two photos of Sonny Fairbanks handcar line that were just given to me by Allan Socea. I had estimated the track distance at 300', so that dovetails in with what you found when you worked there. The Socea collection photos are from 1936 and '37 and in one, Sonny is looking like he's having a lot of fun. The second shot shows his dog on the handcar looking like he'd rather be doing dog things.
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I misspoke - Retired SR&RL Conductor Sonny Fairbanks lived in Philips on the Bypass. He had about 300 feet of track next to his driveway, and had many handcars and etc on this track.
Just down the street SR&RL engineer Dana Al drich lived with his daughter. I visited Dana and was invited into the kitchen where he went through photograph albums that had been given to him. Tears came to his eye when he recalled his happy days working on the railroad.
I tried to visit with Sonny Fairbanks at his home but he shooed me off.