By Justin Franz

SOUTH CARVER, Mass. — Monson Railroad 0-4-4T 3 has returned to the cranberry bogs of Massachusetts to celebrate the upcoming 75th anniversary of one of the oldest tourist railroads in America, the two-foot gauge Edaville Railroad. 

The locomotive was brought to South Carver, Mass., following the Amherst Railway Society’s annual Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield, and will lead a series of excursions on April 23 and 24. The trips are being organized by Edaville, Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum, and Maine Locomotive & Machine Works. 

The Edaville was founded by Ellis D. Atwood in 1947 after he had purchased all of the equipment he could find from the recently defunct Maine two-footers. Among the engines in his fleet was Monson 3, built by Vulcan Iron Works in 1912 for a slate-hauling two-footer based in western Maine. Edaville would run until the 1990s, when the equipment was brought home to Maine. The railroad reopened in the early 2000s and today the train ride is part of a larger amusement park. 

Monson 3 was last in South Carver in 1997 for a series of trips to celebrate long-time Edaville manager Fred Richardson’s 80th birthday. 

Brian Fanslau, the owner of Maine Locomotive & Machine, said they plan on re-lettering Monson 3 for the Edaville and even adding a few of the tourist road’s trademark touches, such as a large headline and white striping. Some trademarks though, such as the balloon stack 3 had for years, will probably not come back. Fanslau said the locomotive will lead a number of trips over the weekend, including some that will traverse the Edaville’s original main line to Cranberry Lake Park, a section of track that is rarely used today. Funds from the excursions will go toward MNGRR’s restoration of locomotive 3’s sister engine, Monson 4, another Edaville veteran. 

Visit Maine Locomotive & Machine’s website for more information and tickets.