The table we are installing is an original B&SR table from either Bridgton Junction or Bridgton- we aren’t sure which. It was modified and used by Edaville to access their machine shop. MNG acquired the table in the early 1990s and moved into storage in Maine. MNG still owns the table and has generously lent its use to us as an extension of the Narrow Gauge Collaboration. Should MNG ever seek to use the table for other purposes, it is readily removable and can be replaced with a newly constructed equivalent or conventional roadbed.
The table was originally 28’ long; Edaville converted it to a 40’ table so they could turn coaches. That conversion included replacing the original 24’ ring rail with a 30’ ring rail. The original wheel carriages were lost during that conversion. We have shortened the table to 31’- so as to allow use of the existing (edaville installed) wheel carriages and 30’ ring rail. This also preserves the option of returning tue table to 40’ length someday.
The female center bearing was mounted on a large concrete block in storage in Gray. Rather than move that block, Mike removed the original casting and we made a new concrete center block- which is already installed.
We hope to finish a few repairs on the table and install it this month. There’s a lot on our plate though…
Thanks,
Jason
