Eastern Railroad Discussion > Abandoned Steam Locomotives

These locomotives are located somewhere in the Northeast (maybe Maine). Does anyone know anything about them?

Thanks!!!!

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Those two are located in the wilds of Maine on the old Eagle Lake and West Branch RR. It was an isolated logging railroad where the locomotives were hauled in over the frozen waterways by Lombard log haulers. The locomotives are two former New York Central ten wheelers (4-6-0). Years ago the forest service ordered all the old log camp buildings destroyed. Somebody went overboard and burned the enginehouse down too. The forest service promised to repair the locos and get them back under cover but as you can see, it never happened. Several years ago, a volunteer group of railfans jacked them up out of the mud and rebuilt the track beneath them. What a project that was!!

SJW

SJW is correct. I authored an article on the former LS&MS 2-8-0 and indirectly referred to the Chicago, Hammond & Western (later IHB) 4-6-0 for a Trains magazine feature article published in the 80's. (If anyone is interested, I can provide more details.) I don't have my reserach handy but I beleive the ten wheeler was built in 1897.

Normally, it takes a few days by canoe to get to the locos, however pilferers go in by snowmobile in the winter and haul off parts. They are slowly being cannibalized. The 2-8-0 is the last Lake Shore & Michigan Southern steam loco in existence. The origins of the locos is sometime disputed (particulary by Rutland fans)but absent builder plates, I was able to confirm their origins with boiler numbers through Bill Edson. Bill Edson is a prolific loco author and has access to federal boiler records.

The 2-8-0, built as LS&MS 780 (later NYC 5780)in 1901, class B-2, was built in Dunkirk, New York by Brooks Locomotive Works (later part of Alco). Roy Davis, at one time president of the local historical society, wanted to bring the loco back to Dunkirk but the state of Maine said "NO". Through a friend of mine in Massachusetts, a former B&M Brooks 0-6-0 was aquired and put on display in Dunkirk. The sad thing is that when the logging railroad quit, the boilers of the locos were blown down and the engines parked in the engine house to wait out eternity. If the park service hadn't burned down the engine house, they could have possibly ran again. End of story.

The locos arrived at Eagle Lake in 1927, and only worked for 6 years, hauling an incredible 800,000 cords of wood. The 2 steamers were put into the enginehouse in 1933, for good.
Interesting to hear about their origins, I too had always believed one of them was a Rutland engine.

Very cool stuff to say the least.

While it is a bit unfortunate that one of the locomotives is not a Rutland, the fact remains that it is close enough that it would make a good Rutland stand-in!

I have always envisioned bringing the two locos out. While on the one hand it seems like an impossible expensive proposition, there IS an inexpensive way to do it. That would be to follow in the same footsteps of when the B&M's Flying Yankee trainset had to be moved from up in Bartlett, NH down to Claremont. Since it was State property, I suggested that the National Guard be enlisted to move it as a training event. Next thing you know, it was moved. Imagine the two locos getting brought out with big choppers..... No muss, no fuss...