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Narrow Gauge Railroad Display May Come to Bridgton

June 03, 2008 - BRIDGTON -- Bill Shelley, 60, has been collecting railroad artifacts for 45 years. The Bridgton resident and rail historian is especially fascinated by the Bridgton and Saco River line, a narrow gauge railroad which ran from Harrison through Bridgton to Hiram.

Shelley may have the opportunity to share his enthusiasm and knowledge with others as Bridgton residents and organizations explore the possibility of bringing the narrow gauge railroad back to town.

"It's part of the fabric of Maine and where we've come from," Shelley said. "I want people to see it. I want people to understand what used to be here."

On Monday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m. there will be a meeting to discuss the possibility of transferring equipment to Bridgton from the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company in Portland. The meeting will be held at the Bridgton Municipal Building.

Bridgton Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz and Economic and Community Development Director Micah Niemy agree that bringing back the railroad would benefit the town on several fronts - providing transportation between different areas of town and a pleasant ride for tourists and residents.

Town government plans to take a non-leadership role, Berkowitz said. "This will be a volunteer-driven enterprise," added Niemy.

Michael McClellan, executive director of the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce said that if his board agrees with the plan, they would place a stationary railroad car in front of the chamber office with a banner by this summer. He said the project would not cost a lot of money but would require volunteers to build tracks and restore coaches.

Shelley is enthusiastic about the possibility of displaying a stock car at the Chamber of Commerce. "You have to have something tangible for people to get excited about," Shelley said. If volunteer support prevails, the hope is to lay tracks and run a short passenger train around town.

The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company operates a short passenger line and museum and has preserved railroad artifacts and stock. The term stock refers to both passenger and freight cars. Susan Davis, the executive director of the railroad company said, "we have much more rolling stock than we'll ever use down here." A lot of that stock is from the Bridgton and Saco River line. It would be an "historic return to an original right of way," Davis said.

Established in 1882, the Bridgton and Saco River railroad brought passengers and freight to Hiram, where the standard gauge Maine Central Railroad traveled the rest of the way to Portland.

The distance between the rails determines whether a railroad is narrow or standard gauge. Anything less than 4 feet, 8.5 inches is considered narrow gauge. Five of Maine's railroads, including the Bridgton and Saco River line, were unique in having the narrowest gauge in the country, only 2 feet.

Narrow gauge railroads were more economically feasible for rural areas, as they were less expensive to build and better able to follow tight curves bordering rivers and mountains.

The Bridgton and Saco River railroad helped the Lakes Region grow by providing transportation for area farmers and manufacturers. Local industries shipped out thousands of barrels of apples, canned corn, products from two tanneries, and lumber.

They often loaded freight at night so the passenger trains could run during the day. The Bridgton and Saco River line was the last operating narrow gauge railroad in the state. With competition from trucks and buses, the railroad was sold and the track torn up in 1941.

According to Shelley, the original railroad station sat behind the Bridgton Memorial School. New tracks could follow the original right of way from the school past the Chamber of Commerce building to Sandy Creek. From there, tracks would have to cross routes 117 and 107.

After the road crossings, there is a clear path to Hancock Pond in Denmark. "It's a gorgeous ride," Shelley said, having traveled the route on snowmobile. He said it would be possible to run tracks from Bridgton Memorial School all the way to a potential ballpark behind the drive-in theater proposed by the Bridgton Recreation Advancement Group, in partnership with the town. The first step, though, is to "get the interest started and get a small fire burning," Shelley said.

Shelley, Davis, Berkowitz, McClellan, Niemy, and others met this past Monday at the town hall in Bridgton to discuss the possibility of bringing narrow gauge equipment to town. Davis said that Monday's meeting brought quite a representation of the Bridgton community.

"Once you get things going, it becomes infectious," Shelley said

For more information, contact Michael McClellan at the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce at 647-3472 or info@mainelakeschamber.com or Bill Shelley at 221-0205.

By Julia Davis
jdavis@keepmecurrent.com
June 2, 2008.


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