The Edaville Railroad, South Carver, Massachusetts, USA

[rogerfarnworth]

The featured image shows a passenger train on the Edaville Railroad, made up of coaches from other narrow gauge lines, running on a shallow embankment over a cranberry bog, © Public Domain. [1: p555]

Originally known as ‘The Cranberry and Small Fry Line’, the Edaville Railroad is a 2ft-gauge narrow gauge line in Massachusetts. [1: p555]

It featured in a short article in the August 1952 issue of The Railway Magazine. This is the next article in a series looking at lines featured in early issues of The Railway Magazine.

Writing in 1952, Edwards comments: “Although never exceptionally numerous, lines of this type assisted materially in the development of many areas. As early as 1877, a 2-ft. gauge line, eight miles long, was inaugurated to link the Massachusetts towns of Bedford and Billerica, but the track and plant were removed to the State of Maine two years later, and used for the Sandy River Railroad. This line proved of great service to many previously isolated communities; its development was rapid, and extensions and branches soon brought its mileage up to 120. Other similar projects followed, mostly in Maine, and a sixty-year period of success resulted. In recent years, however, the usefulness of such small lines has declined. The present economic situation has proved an adverse factor … and nearly all of them have been closed.” [1: p555]

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/01/30/the-edaville-railroad-south-carver-massachusetts/

[rogerfarnworth]

The Edaville Railroad, South Carver, Massachusetts, again. …

The featured image for this article is Monson Railroad No. 4 on an Edaville Railroad works train in 1950, © Public Domain. [2: p93]

In January 2026, I was reading an early copy of The Railway Magazine and wrote an article about the Edaville Railroad which can be found above. [1]

In January 2026, I had not really cottoned-on to the significance of the Edaville Railroad as a pioneer in the field of preservation.

We all recognise the Talyllyn Railway as the first railway in the world to be preserved. But the Edaville Railroad predates the date in 1951 when volunteers began running the Talyllyn.

The Edaville Railroad opened in 1947. It was not a ‘preserved’ railway, but it still has a claim to being the first heritage railway. It was a 2ft-gauge railway, built by an enthusiast on a green field site to run historic stock.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/06/18/the-edaville-railroad-south-carver-massachusetts-again/

[Point353]

Went there about 40 years ago when the site hosted a model train show, which I seem to recall was held under tents.

The Flying Yankee train was on display in a rather deteriorated condition.