Bridgton"s Third Coach at the WW&F?

[Skyler Kimball]

I was doing some research at the large amount of inventory at the WW&F due to many things coming over from the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum than I had not seen before.

I saw a photo of flatcar 14 on top of Flatcar 205, and I had not realized that 205 had been restored.

Last year I had created a roster of the remaining Bridgton and Saco River Railroad equipment, and I had discovered that flatcar 205 was actually coach 17 of Bridgton, later renamed Elthea at Edaville.

I heared It had burned, and later was turned into possibly an excursion car, and later a flatcar. From the WW&F's work on this car, was there any evidence of this car once being a coach? The original length of coach 17 was 42 ft, 6in long.

[Skyler Kimball]

here is a photo when it was at Edaville.

[Mike Fox]

Wow Skyler. What a great bit of information. I had looked, but found no real connection between 205 and any Bridgton car.

205 had been modified to a shortened excursion car. It had end platforms on it when it arrived at the WW&F, and our guys removed them, and installed new end beams, and fixed some deck boards.

All diagonal flooring had already been replaced, it this was a coach, long before it arrived at Maine Narrow Gauge.

If you look for pictures in the Spring Work Weekend thread, you will see what was done to the car.

[Jeff Schumaker]

That is an interesting piece of history that I was not aware of.

Jeff S.

[Skyler Kimball]

So, probably this was not originally coach, due to build and size. Unless, as you said Mike that it was significantly altered before it was even brought to Maine.

There were some rumors that parts of coach 17 were helped to make SR&RL Coach #17, but I am not sure if that information is true either. I believe Edaville had both, and they were both lettered 17, and some information on the burned Bridgton Coach and the other 17 coach got mixed together.

But I did see on some older roster of Maine Narrow Gauge stuff and it something about 205 being coach 17, but again, maybe information could have been not true. I made this roster a year or so ago.

[James Patten]

I had thought that the Elthea wreckage was acquired by the SR&RL group.

[Dave Crow]

Years ago, I had made a copy of data tables that had been on the old Friends of Edaville website; it had the following statement about B&SR 17: "destroyed by fire 1985 at Edaville, hardware recovered to restore #17 at SR&RL Museum".

Dave Crow

[Wayne Laepple]

There were several fires at Edaville over the years. Were they from overheated stoves, arson, or what?

[Ken Berlo]

The hulks of B&SR 17 and an Edaville flat w/ platforms, which was loaded on top of 17, went to Phillips about the mid'90's. I have no idea why.  They were in very bad shape when they showed up.  7-8 years of soggy pine needle build up really took it's toll on the wood. 17 was missing everything above the belt rail.
Late "90's the trucks were salvalged from the hulks and put under SR&RL coach 6. The car was so bad it literally fell apart as we jacked it up. 
4 steel end platforms and 2 cars worth of truss rods were put behind the roundhouse.

[Philip Marshall]

The fire that destroyed B&SR coach 17 at Edaville in 1985 was arson, sadly.

The last I've heard, the trucks are still under SR&RL coach 18 (SRRR 6), not SR&RL 17 (SRRR 5), though maybe that's changed since 17/5 was restored.

SR&RL coaches 17 and 18 were never at Edaville, and I don't think they've ever even left Franklin County since they were built, which is remarkable.

[Ken Berlo]

Trucks are still under coach 18/6.  17/5 hasn't been restored yet, still has a long way to go.
I own a house in Avon, just over the line from Phillips village.  I have been told that either coach 17 or 18 lived in my side yard for time!

[Skyler Kimball]

Thank you for all the help! So it seems that coach 17 was so far gone, that only the trucks were used in the rebuilding of coach 18/6. I am planning on changing my B&SR roster, to amend the wrongs. 

[Philip Marshall]

Here is a picture borrowed from Facebook of SR&RL coach 18/6 on B&SR coach 17's trucks.

[Ted Miles]

Folks,
         I also keep a roster of Maine narrow gauge and Edaville railroad equipment. I have Edaville RR #205 built as an excursion car built at the Edaville Shop in 1958. As an excursion car was 36 feet long; perhaps an original Bridgton & Saco River flat car. Where was it before it went to WW&F in April? Boothbay Railway Village?

As far as I know; it had no connection to the B&SR #17 which was arsoned at Edaville. The B&SR remains went up to Phillips to help the restoration of Sandy River numbers 5 & 6, later SR & RL #17 and #18.

Ted Miles, WW&F Member

[Jeff Schumaker]

I don't think the B&SR had any 36 ft flatcars. They did have three 34 ft boxcars built by the MEC shops.

Jeff S.