Monson Railroad
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The Monson Railroad was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway, which operated between Monson Junction on the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad and Monson, Maine. The primary purpose of this railroad was to serve several slate mines and finishing houses in Monson.[1] According to the Scientific American of 17 May 1890, it was the smallest railroad in the United States.
Overview | |
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Headquarters | Lowell, Massachusetts |
Locale | Maine |
Dates of operation | 1883–1943 |
Successor | Abandoned |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
Length | 6+1⁄4 miles (10.06 km) |
Equipment was never modernized, and the railroad used antique stub switches and link-and-pin couplers to the end of operations in 1943.[2][3] The line was the last commercial carrier in the United States to use such couplers or to run above ground on a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge.[4] (The 2 ft (610 mm) gauge Chicago Tunnel Company continued underground operation as a common carrier freight subway until 1959.)