Massachusetts' only steam railroad. The words "Massachusetts" and "steam" are not often used in the same sentence. Other than the 2-foot gauge Edaville Railroad in South Carver, and a couple of short-lived amusement parks, such as "Pleasure Island", Massachusetts has never been a place where steam railroad preservation has flourished. In the early 1940s, when several of the 24" gauge railroads in Maine were going out of business, South Carver cranberry farmer Ellis Atwood started acquiring this unique, narrow gauge railroad equipment for use in servicing his expansive cranberry harvesting operations. Initially, he built a 5.5 mile railroad for his own use, but soon discovered that the public was enchanted with the little trains. For nearly half a century, his "Edaville Railroad" operated as many as 5 steam locomotives as a tourist operation, until that railroad went out of business in 1991. Although most of the original Maine, 2-foot equipment was acquired by a museum in Maine, and was repatriated to that state, interest in keeping the Massachusetts operation going has never died. Several operators have carried the torch over the ensuing years, using equipment acquired in other places and the place survives to this day, morphing as needed to meet the public demand. Today, the railroad at Edaville is in the hands of railroad people, and the focus is on bringing the operation back to its roots, including continuing the tradition of Edaville's famous Christmas Festival of Lights.
On the last day of the 2023 event, which also happened to be New Year's Eve, the railroad ran a double-header steam special, so that park patrons could photograph the train in places that are not normally accessible, such as this one, on the west shore of Turtle Creek Reservoir. Seen here are the only operational steam locomotives in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the lead this day is Monson Railroad #3, an original Maine, 2-foot Forney, which ran on the original Edaville Railroad for nearly 50 years. She's on loan from the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company & Museum. Behind her is Edaville's own Locomotive #11, a 1925-vintage Porter, which began life as a 30" gauge, saddle-tanker and which has been heavily modified as a tender engine for use here in the park.
