Inventory of 2' Maine narrow gauge track

[Russ Nelson]

I was surprised to hear about the Monson tracks next to their station. I thought I would make a post listing all the locations of still-existing or re-created Maine narrow gauge track.

Albion main line:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/676786500
Albion spur:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/676786503
Monson:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/700769978
Maine Narrow Gauge Museum (and all of its yard tracks not listed here):
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/28797776
And of course, us:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/7637853

For a grand total of 6.28 miles.

[Bill Baskerville]

Russ,

What about the SR&RL up at Philips?

Would the Boothbay RR Village qualify as recreated?

Also, were the MNGM tracks originally 2 foot or was it a standard gauge?

Just curious.

Bill

[Joe Fox]

The track in Portland was once standard gauge, then torn up for scrap. So the state asked them to use standard gauge ties and 85 lb rail in the event they were to ever run trains out there again.

[Bill Reidy]

I didn't know Maine Narrow Gauge supplied the rail for their main line.  For some reason I thought they slide one rail on the existing abandoned track inward to establish the two-foot gauge.

The state requesting 85-pound rail in case standard gauge trains returned seems awfully light, even for the 1990s.  I've never taken a close look at the rail in Portland, so perhaps it is 85-pound.

[Joe Fox]

85 lb can handle a lot of weight. In fact most of Rumford yard is 85 lb currently which sees freight cars up to 263,000 pounds. At my Dads I have a train video of them building MNG with jack hammers and lining track with bucket loaders.

[Bill Piche]

Definitely 85 pound rail. I also don't think that they anticipated freight service but light rail akin to the subway trains in Boston. 85 pound rail would work for that.

Everything about when that rail went in was silly. It was mandated to use 85 pound rail and standard gauge ties but MNG weren't supplied the monetary resources to put down new ties or for significant ballast to build the railroad back up properly. If anything the 85 pound rail mandate has been a blessing in disguise as the (admittedly) less than ideal construction would have probably fallen apart by now if it had been built with lighter rail.

[Mike Fox]

Just the way the State made MNG place the track on one side of the ties was not very well thought out. The load on the ties were one sided instead of being evenly distributed, causing the tie to settle under the track, while the end with no rail rose out of the ground.

[Benjamin Richards]

I think that's a feature, not a bug... call it "Auto-Superelevation".

[Russ Nelson]

Russ,

What about the SR&RL up at Philips?

Would the Boothbay RR Village qualify as recreated?

Also, were the MNGM tracks originally 2 foot or was it a standard gauge?

Just curious.

Bill

The best way to get answers on the Internet is not to ask questions, but to post wrong (or incomplete) answers.  Thanks for these, I'll add them to the list.

[Russ Nelson]

Boothbay Railway Village main line:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/413029387
BRV spurs:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/413029386
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/413029385
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/413029389
Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes main line:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/451275845
SR&RL passing siding:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/451275858#map=19/44.82816/-70.34430
SR&RL turntable lead track:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/451275846

[Bill Baskerville]

Russ,  Thanks for the update.  So what now is the total mileage for 2 footers in Maine?

How much of that is the total mileage for the WW&F?