Hi Roger,
I'd definitely be interested. The Monson RR has long been a particular interest of mine. Living in Oregon, -about as far away from 2-footer country as it's possible to get and still be in the same country- I have to rely on whatever information others can disseminate. And there seems to be less info out there on the Monson than any of the others, except possibly the Kennebec Central. There would seem to be a lot of directions to explore - remaining physical traces (ROW,etc.), industrial operations at the quarries, operational details of the railroad, come immediately to mind.
One particular avenue of exploration has always intrigued me..........A couple of the Monson's last employees, engineer Elwyn French and fireman/brakeman Albin Johnson appear in pictures to have been relatively young men when the railroad shut down. One supposes they may have lived for years afterward. Was any effort made to interview them, or to contact their families (if any) for any reminisces or artifacts? Here in Oregon, where I volunteer with the Sumpter Valley RR restoration group, we have been fortunate that several of the old employees were alive until quite recently. Every effort was made to trace them and today the museum has hours of fascinating taped interviews. Interestingly, I posed this question some time back on the "Maine 2-footers" yahoo group and did not even recieve the courtesy of an answer. That group seems to be all about models and no interest in actual history.
Anyway, good luck with your project.......I look foreward to reading your blog. Is your book still in print and available? I have The R.C. Jones volume and the Arcadia Press book, but no other print material on the Monson.
With best regards,
Jeff Acock
Adrian Oregon
