01/01/2006
...and to all a good night

    I will close this season with the words on the display as you exit Edaville. I always like to visit one more time at the end of the season before the long break and as usual, it was worth the trip. The crowds were light and the weather perfect: just around freezing, no wind and a light dusting of snow. The scene around Peacedale reminded me of a typical New England calendar photo as the "Anne Elizabeth" approached.
    If you didn't have a chance to see this year's displays and were wondering about my remarks about the African steppe in my last report, here is a photo my wife took today to give you an idea.
    It was a pleasure to listen to a few visitors in the first car voicing their enjoyment over the steam locomotive pulling the train. Someone at work told me a while ago that he actually waited longer in line to ride behind steam. When he finally made it to the front of the line a diesel-powered train pulled up and he decided he would wait for the next one. And he was not a railfan like I am; I think management should take a serious look at running more steam. It does attract more people besides railfans.
    Talking to Chuck, the engineer, he was pleased with "Anne's" performance during this season. While there will always be some minor adjustments necessary to keep a steam locomotive running at her best, he had no major problems with her. I hope my wife tells me that when I hit 70 years of age!
    Have a happy and blessed 2006 and I hope you visit Edaville again this summer.

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11/16/2005
Christmas lights are on!

    Now I know the reason why the bog across the tracks from the station platform has been so neglected the past years: it has turned into a beautiful African steppe for the Festival of Lights! With the shorter loop Edaville has plenty of decorations available to make the ride more entertaining, but for me the most impressive scene at my Sunday visit was right at the station. They took all their exotic animal displays and scattered them throughout the weeds in the bog and it looks great.
    Business looked promising at the beginning of the season; at about 5:00 p.m. cars were spilling over into the grass parking lot. It helped that the opening weekend was also designated as Carver Days, but I still think that it was a good sign to see that many people come to look at Christmas lights in the middle of November.
    Unfortunately the train was pulled by diesel #2 rather than the "Anne Elizabeth", but that will probably change as we get closer to Christmas and they need to run two trains.

09/05/2005
Shorter but not bad

    Finally; I took my first trip around the short loop and it was a pleasant surprise. Yes, it is not what it used to be, no doubt about it and I will always miss the longer ride around the reservoir. But the train moves so slow that it still takes 20 minutes for the trip and you can enjoy the creaking of the cars and clicking of the rail joints along the way. And because of the slow speed I was actually able to watch the flange lubricator work. I rode in the first car behind the engine and while the wheels rolled over the trigger mechanism I could see the shaft rotating to pump the grease. The location of the lubricator is now clearly marked by a "G" marker on the side of the track, something new at Edaville. Besides the new "G" it looked like all the signs along the track had been replaced (whistle markers, yard limits).
    Peacedale has been moved to its new location in the clearing between the pines. The buildings have been split up so visitors can see part of the village from either side of the cars. Not a bad idea and the layout looks good to me. After the landscaping is done the place will be a high point of the trip again.
    What surprised me was to see a new location for Sunset Vista after the train passed Peacedale. Personally I feel that was a location that should not have been moved. After all, the original point was located at the edge of the reservoir and Mr. Attwood used to sit there and watch the sun set over the water. Most new visitors won't know the difference and the significance of the place, but the older Edaville fans will remember it and it will just be wrong.
    Any postcard collectors out there? A new postcard for Edaville USA is for sale in the gift shop printed from one of Savery Moore's excellent Christmas photos.

06/27/2005
Busy, busy, busy

    I stopped at Edaville for a short visit last Friday afternoon since I missed opening weekend and I have to say that I was impressed. The parking lot and overflow parking were packed with cars; Thomas is still a good draw for Edaville.
    The conductors were kept busy with the large crowds but told me that things were running much smoother than a week earlier. It doesn't make their job easy when visitors pay no attention to the announcements. As the train pulled in it was clearly explained over the sound system where the boarding line was and where you had to wait to have your picture taken with Thomas. Within a few minutes after the train stopped some people in the photo line were asking the conductor when they could board the train! Patiently and politely the conductor walked by the photoline and made sure everybody was in the right line. That's one of the many reasons why Edaville is such a special place; somewhere else the operators might have been a little cranky on a steamy day in a dark uniform.
    There had been a discussion in the past about the location of the Atwood Whistle post, it has been moved to the switch were the new loop leaves the old main line. I am happy that we incorporated the memory of Mr. Atwood into the new track layout. And even Thomas honored him with his whistle as the train passed by the marker. The track itself is a first class job as you can see from the photo.
    The new layout in the CranCentral building was a hit with the visitors and was operated by a couple of young engineers. I am sure many of the little onlookers would have liked to try their hand at the throttle of the Polar Express while Thomas is passing by on the outside loop!

05/13/2005
Moving on

    I received e-mail this week from Jim Babish including a few pictures showing the latest changes at Edaville. Here are some excerpts from his report.
    . . . They had stopped work because they had run out of ties but on the day I was there (5/10) they got the first of the two remaining loads they were expecting with the second load expected on Wednesday (5/11). Brenda is confident that they will get the track all in place for the opening because the entire right-of-way has a brand new sub-base of rick-rack stones that have already been tempted and leveled. They have not yet started to move the buildings and displays but they have plans to relocate the butterflies, the Gingerbread House, the Edaville Train for Animals, Peacedale, and the Animal Campout. At present there are no plans to move the Lighthouse or the Sawmill. The lighthouse is still accessible by track which now ends at Guardrail Curve as you were able to show in your last photo article. The Sawmill, however, just sits alone and inaccessible (by train) in the woods.
    There aren't any plans to run the train on the long stub during the coming year at this time. There are areas out along that route that will require extensive work on the rails. If they can get that done or if some railfan volunteers want to take that on as a project (hint, hint) they might be able to run some special trains out there by the Fall or Winter season.
    As you know Rob and Brenda purchased three new rides from another park that had closed. They are called the Drummer Boy (shown in the next picture) which will be operating in the Summer, the Child Coaster (which hasn't been assembled but will be operating by the Winter and a Paratrooper ride which will probably take till next season to get running. They are looking for suggestions to name the Kiddie Coaster.
    Progress continues to be made on the (model railroad. There is a small but dedicated group of volunteers that meet on Tuesday starting at about 9:00AM to work on it. Brenda says they would welcome additional volunteers. They are currently working on the scenery stage but there are still other areas that will need help like wiring and assembly of buildings. This picture was taken at the orientation. There are three independent loops. One loop has an O gauge Polar Express shown in the photo it is the outer loop going over the bridges in the back. The second loop is for an O gauge Thomas the Tank Engine which is the loop going just below and to the front of the bridges. The final loop goes around the opening seen on the far right of the table. It is an Sn30 gauge train that is in the style of the Edaville cars although they are currently in the colors of another railroad. I don't know if they have plans to repaint it into the Edaville colors.

04/25/2005
Road bed is ready for the new track

    It has been a while since I have done a little news flash, but my schedule at work is getting in the way of more enjoyable things like this.
    I hope you have seen the nice photos Jim posted with the construction equipment grading and preparing the new road bed. They did a great job and the new section of track will be the best prepared section Edaville has ever had. Bruce Wilson just emailed and told me that the switch from the old ramp track has been removed and will be placed here where the old line remains as a branch out to Guard Rail Curve.
    The newly rebuilt section of track between Eastman Flume and 14 Acre Bog will be moved again to create a slightly larger radius for the new loop. All the track foundation is in place and ties have been laid near the Flume. Unfortunately work came to a halt when they ran out of ties. The new order is expected to be in by the end of this week.
    Peacedale looked quite forlorn with all the track removed; its new home will probably be this clearing in the pines after the track work is complete.
    All the new cars were lined up around Swan Pond and the cabooses looked a little sad from the distance. They had been scraped and primed and will look beautiful again for the new season.
    Work is in progress inside CRANCENTRAL JUNCTION on an O scale model railroad layout! This will not be a tinplate railroad but a well detailed scale layout built by volunteers. Plans call for several stops and even a narrow gauge line with equipment lettered for Edaville. On the standard gauge line the Polar Express and Thomas will wind their way around. The visitors will have limited train control through buttons that will operate some signals.
    The next Christmas season promises to be bigger than ever. With the shorter loop the existing displays will be grouped closer together and Rob showed me a large amount of decorations that had recently been received. Most of them are for animated indoor displays and look like scenes from a Dickens story.
    All in all it looks like a nice season ahead for friends of Edaville, although I will be the first to admit that I will miss the longer ride.

01/13/2005
Track removal has begun

    What a fitting day to take a last look at Mt. Urann: everything was shrouded in a blanket of fog. Despite the dreary weather the track gang (Rim and Donnie) have been busy all week preparing the rail for removal. It has to be off the hill by the end of this week and they were out there even during the snow and rain yesterday. The job is a race against time because the new owner has to get his work done also. While I was there taking pictures I could hear the clanking of caterpillar tracks in the fog; the sounds of earth moving machinery (the enemy tanks) at work.
    To get the track out of the way as fast as possible they are pulling all the spikes first. Yesterday that involved removing the snow to find them and they also came to a section where the contractor had buried the track to create a grade crossing for his trucks. Shoveling the wet sand off the track slowed them down for while! A few ties also have tie plates and the spikes have to be burned off with a torch because you can’t get a spike puller in there. After the rail is free they are only separating about every third joint, some of the welded sections had to be burned apart in places. Note all the spikes in the picture. Tomorrow is the day where the long sections will be dragged to the bottom of the hill with a tractor. This will save some time over separating all the rail into short lengths.
    Earlier this week the first long section had been moved out of the way at Meadow Street crossing to give easier access for the construction trucks and it was reminiscent of the site 50 years ago: a passing track at Meadow Street station. At least at first glance, a closer look reveals that the passing track is a little out of gauge.
    Once again I have to congratulate the track gang for a job well done in adverse weather conditions. As far as I am concerned Edaville has some very dedicated and resourceful employees working for them. Hopefully the town of Carver will come through now with the necessary permits so these people will be able to continue to work and re-lay the rail again in the planned location.

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