Unusual early Monson photo

[Philip Marshall]

I came across the following photo for sale on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monson-Railroad-Mixed-Train-at-Monson-Depot-Undated-5x7-Real-Photo-Print-/331775112747?hash=item4d3f56762b:g:GdUAAOSwll1Wu5ZG

It's clearly an early image of a mixed train at Monson, with an interesting lettering scheme on the combine and boxcar. But do you notice something unusual about the locomotive? It's facing north! This has to be the most unambiguous evidence I've seen that the Monson engines were indeed turned sometimes and that the turntables were not just for the snowplow, at least in the early years of the railroad. (The combine is also facing the "wrong" way, incidentally.)

[James Patten]

Are you sure it's not a reversed negative?

[Cliff Olson]

Philip is correct that the engine (#1 or 2) is facing north.  However, this may only be evidence that the wye shown on the bird's-eye drawing of Monson actually existed during the early years of the railroad.  The wye also is shown in a plan of the branches of the Monson Railroad that I have seen at the Maine Archives.  The third leg of the wye was to have run from the west side of Chapin Ave. (Hebron Pond Quarry Branch) almost to the eastern boundary of the station grounds (Monson Pond/Kineo Quarry Branch).
This is also the only photo that I have seen that shows lettering on a Monson box car.

[John McNamara]

Are you sure it's not a reversed negative?

The road, station, and engine house are in the proper relationship, so there are no reversals.

[Ken Fleming]

There are more Monson photos linked on bottom of this one. Number 3 is one.

[Cliff Olson]

Ken, I think the engine was misidentified as #3.  The domes and cab roof curvature look like Hinckley to me.

[Allan Fisher]

I did manage to purchase the Monson photos - but not the Kennebec Central images. - They were already sold.

Hope to get them to the Archives in the next month. It appears that we already have 90% of these images in the Archives.