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The Phillips and Rangeley Railroad was a narrow gauge common carrier railroad in the State of Maine. It connected the towns of Phillips and Rangeley and was built to serve the forestry and resort industries of Franklin County. This railroad pioneered the use of large gauge rolling stock in North America. Earlier freight cars built for the Billerica and Bedford Railroad,〔Moody, Linwood W. ''The Maine Two-Footers'' Howell-North 1959 pp.51-52〕 the Sandy River Railroad,〔Jones, Robert C. ''Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years)'' Sundance Books 1980 p.370〕 the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad,〔Barney, Peter S. ''The Bridgton and Saco River: A Technical and Pictorial Review'' A&M Publishing 1987 pp.13-14〕 the Monson Railroad,〔Jones, Robert C. ''Two Feet to the Quarries'' Evergreen Press 1998 p.136〕 the Franklin and Megantic Railroad,〔''Railroad Commissioners' Report'' State of Maine 1908 p.135〕 and the Kennebec Central Railroad〔Barney, Peter S. ''The Kennebec Central and Monson Railroads'' A&M Publishing 1986 pp.25〕 had a maximum length of . Phillips and Rangeley Railroad ordered the first cars in 1890 and the subsidiary Eustis Railroad ordered the first cars in 1903.〔Jones, Robert C. ''Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years)'' Sundance Books 1980 pp.379-384〕 The Portland Company locomotive built in 1890 was 12.5% heavier than any previous gauge locomotive in Maine.〔Jones, Robert C. ''Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years)'' Sundance Books 1980 p.351〕 The 2-6-0 locomotive purchased from Baldwin Locomotive Works the following year was 28% heavier than the Portland locomotive;〔 and its success encouraged subsequent purchase of similar locomotives by the Laurel River and Hot Springs Railroad of North Carolina in 1892,〔Jones, Robert C. ''Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years)'' Sundance Books 1979 p.146〕 the Sandy River Railroad in 1893,〔Crittenden, H. Temple ''The Maine Scenic Route'' McClain Printing 1976 pp.92-93〕 the Cazadero and San Pablo Railroad in 1897,〔Moody, Linwood W. ''The Maine Two-Footers'' Howell-North 1959 p.204〕 the South African Cape Government Railways in 1901, the Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad in 1902,〔Best, Gerald ''Mexican Narrow Gauge'' Howell-North 1968 p.166〕 and the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway in 1907.〔Jones, Robert C. and Register, David L. ''Two Feet to Tidewater'' Pruett Publishing 1987 pp.111&237〕 ==Early history== Owners of the Phillips and Rangeley Railroad (P&R) were most interested in a means of transporting lumber to markets from the aboriginal spruce forests of Redington township. Redington Lumber Company owned 375 of the 400 shares of P&R stock sold. Construction began where the Sandy River Railroad ended in Phillips; and the first train reached Redington on 11 October 1890. After leaving Reeds Mills, the railroad climbed 800 feet up nine roadless miles of Orbeton Stream canyon between Saddleback Mountain and Mount Abraham. Redington sawmill was built near the summit of what came to be called Sluice Hill. Although no station buildings had been constructed, the P&R commenced regular train service to Redington a few days before the mill started producing lumber on 21 February 1891. Frozen ground halted construction for the winter, but spring weather brought rails to Rangeley on 10 June 1891. On 1 July 1891, scheduled train service commenced from Rangeley to the Maine Central Railroad in Farmington via the Sandy River Railroad from Phillips. P&R locomotive #1 was the first gauge locomotive built by the Portland Company. It was the largest gauge locomotive in Maine when delivered. P&R #2 locomotive was purchased from the Sandy River Railroad and kept the Sandy River number although it was available for construction work before #1 was delivered. P&R #3 locomotive was even larger than #1, and was the first locomotive with a separate tender on Maine's gauge railroads. Initial P&R purchases of 16 box cars, 3 coaches, and one combination car matched Sandy River Railroad inventories of those car types for joint service; but P&R had seventy flat cars to ship lumber from Redington and from Sanders sawmill.〔''Railroad Commissioners' Report'' State of Maine 1895 pp.178&228〕 P&R #1 and identical Sandy River engine #4 generally pulled passenger trains between Farmington and Rangeley, while P&R #3 pulled freight trains from the sawmills.〔Crittenden, H. Temple ''The Maine Scenic Route'' McClain Printing 1976 p.72〕 For the third time, P&R ordered the heaviest gauge locomotive in Maine to replace #2 in 1893. The old Hinkley locomotive was too small to provide satisfactory service on Sluice Hill when the larger locomotives needed repairs, but it was renumbered #4, renamed ''Bo-Peep'', and remained on the roster for less demanding work. P&R received a baggage-RPO car from Portland in 1892; and the Sandy River Railroad put a similar car into service the following year.〔Crittenden, H. Temple ''The Maine Scenic Route'' McClain Printing 1976 pp.74&203〕 The Redington sawmill closed briefly in 1895. Although the P&R grade up Sluice Hill was well positioned to receive logs sluiced off the flank of Mount Abraham, there was a limited supply of timber left within easy reach of the railroad. Workers began to move away from the boom town of Redington. P&R made no further rolling stock purchases. A box car and 3 flat cars were destroyed when Sanders sawmill burned in 1900.〔''Railroad Commissioners' Report'' State of Maine 1900 p.189〕 Redington was virtually deserted by that time. Rangeley Lakes trout fishing was legendary, and the population of deer increased as wild berry bushes grew on cutover timberland. The Rangeley Lake House, a large wooden hotel on the lakeshore near Rangeley, offered luxury accommodation for tourists interested in fishing and hunting; but their summer and autumn business did not cover the cost of railroad maintenance through the winter and spring. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Phillips and Rangeley Railroad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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