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Narrow-gauge steam engine returns to Phillips

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the newly repaired locomotive, Monson No. 3, was off-loaded from a truck onto the rails of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad on Friday, July 15. (Photo by Pam Matthews)
The Monson No. 3 locomotive is off-loaded from a truck onto the rails of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Phllips on Friday. (Photo by Pam Matthews)
The 13-ton engine, which has returned to the SR&RLRR after a seven-year absence, was sent to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland for what railroad buff John Stinchfield called “repair of its boiler tubes.”
The 13-ton engine, which has returned to the SR&RLRR after a seven-year absence, was originally sent to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland for repairs. (Photo by Pam Matthews)

By Dick Matthews
PHILLIPS – Phillips’ steam engine is back. Amid the plaudits and encouragement of some 40 fans and spectators, the newly repaired locomotive, Monson No. 3, was off-loaded from a truck onto the rails of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad on July 15.

The 13-ton engine, which has returned to the SR&RLRR after a seven-year absence, was sent to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland for what railroad buff John Stinchfield called “repair of its boiler tubes.” On closer examination, however, it was discovered more welding had to be done to the boiler. Prior to that, the steam engine had pulled cars in Phillips for four years.

The steam-powered locomotive is an original, once belonging to the Monson Railroad, and pulled cars hauling slate from local mines. It’s owned today by the Portland museum, but Phillips holds a long-term lease allowing the engine to be used on the narrow gauge track of the SR&RLRR. It returned to that service on Saturday, the day after its return, and will pull trains and haul passengers throughout the remainder of the summer.

“We didn’t expect it to be gone so long,” said Bill Berry, one of the SR&RLRR’s 160 members, “nor to cost as much as it did.” Berry said the SR&RLRR’s contribution to the engine’s repair amounts to $143,000.

“It’s funny,” he added, “but when the SR&RLRR was being dismantled in 1935 and its rails and equipment being sold for scrap, you could have purchased an engine for $300.”

Though narrow gauge lines were being built in Franklin County as early as the 1870s – most of them in our area hauling wood and pulp – the heyday of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad officially dates to 1908. That’s when several lines comprising more than 120 miles of two-foot track were consolidated under the company name.

The current SR&RLRR was resurrected in 1970 when a number of volunteers from the Phillips Historical Society decided to rebuild a portion of the historic railroad. They eventually laid three-quarters of a mile of narrow-gauge track running from Sanders Station on Bridge Street to the new roundhouse area alongside Wesley Spears Road, which includes a stop at the group’s trackside museum. The engine today pulls a number of original cars restored by the group.

The original roundhouse, together with the company’s train depot and headquarters, as well as the old car repair shop (now the Phillips Area Community Center), were located on Depot Street across the Sandy River. A 1923 fire in the roundhouse severely damaged eight of the railroad’s 13 operational locomotives. Such disasters, together with a decline in both freight and passenger traffic, began to eat away at the company’s solvency and led to its eventual dissolution. Freight traffic peaked in 1919, when the SR&RLRR hauled some 157,800 tons of wood products out of the local forests.

Early on, too, the railroads hauled passengers into the area, many of them “sports” coming to fish and hunt. One of the railroad employees was Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby, who later went on to become Maine’s first registered guide and who achieved considerable fame for her widely syndicated newspaper columns touting the area and its attractions.

Though much diminished today, the SR&RLRR still provides passengers an exciting ride through the woods, albeit on a shorter route. Still, the railroad has proven to be one of Phillips’ signature attractions, and people come from as far away as New Zealand (one of its members hails from there), England, Germany, and other countries around the world.

While the steam engine was gone for repairs, the trains were pulled by smaller, internal combustion engines, but with Monson No. 3 back on the rails, members say they expect traffic to increase. On Saturday, its steam whistle could be heard all over Phillips, a sound that’s nearly irresistible for lovers of antique trains.

Trains generally run on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first and third weekends of each month. Cost is $6 for adults with a reduced rate for children. Berry said extra trains will run during Old Home Days with trains leaving the station hourly Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 19-21. Find out more about schedules, history, or to learn about getting involved here.

The New Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad is pleased to announce the return of Steam Locomotive Monson #3 to Phillips
The steam locomotive, Monson No. 3 has returned to The Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Phillips.  Trains run on the first and third weekends of each month. Extra trains will be running during the Phillips Old Home Days Aug. 19-21. (Photo by Pam Matthews)
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7 Comments

  1. Excited to see this running again. Thanks for all the work and donations to repair this for everyone’s enjoyment.

  2. Much better to have a legitimate steam engine than a V8 stuck into a locomotive! I remember being very disappointed to discover that substitution years ago when I made a special trip to the area to visit.

  3. we were on our way to Yarmouth and saw this on a flatbed….wondered where it was going!! Awesome!

  4. I love hearing the whistle really takes you back in time, kuddo’s to all the people who keep the station and train running for all to enjoy, great attraction for Phillips…

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