Hello Matt,
You ask a very good question. I too wish that one or more of the larger engines from Maine were preserved. In fact, one was, for a short period of time. This was Sandy River #24, which was purchased by a local doctor. At the time this was the Great Depression, a period in the 1930s, after the "Roaring 20's" when there was a lot of stock market speculation and then, in 1929, a great collapse of the market. After that, companies which were operating in a hand-to-mouth kind of manner began to starve for income from diminished freight and passenger traffic. All of the railroads in America were effected, and small shortlines, many little trolley lines, and the Maine two footers were destined to failure. You see, when you start to research why where no 2-6-2s preserved, you will find out a lot more about American history.
Well, the guy who bought old #24 was probably affected by the depression like everyone else. His family might have been very angry at him, having to scrape by to survive while he bought this big old piece of iron and put it in their yard. The engine was later scrapped. Its too bad, but at least he tried.
You know, I think we are all lucky that some bigger 2' gauge engines have survived anywhere. There are a couple engines that were in Africa, some of them have moved up to England. There are also several still in Brazil, and one or two in Mexico. It is my hope we can rebuild one of the larger Baldwin engines, from parts, and have it in Maine once again.
Here is some more info on #24:
http://www.roundhouse-eng.com/srrl24/Best regards,
O. Anderson
