MYSTIC VALLEY RAILWAY SOCIETY    

If you have any questions or comments relating to railroading or activities of the Society - past, present, or future - we will try to find you the answer.  Answers to selected questions will appear in the next Waybill which is published quarterly.  Deadline for next edition is February 1, 2010.

To ask the "Bee" a question contact us by E-MAIL:

By all means keep those cards and letters coming for we have some excellent material for coming articles. As with the mail, we will try to address all questions with either an answer or reference. A limited number will appear in future editions of this column as space allows. 

December 2009 – February 2010 

Take just a moment to reflect on Holidays past when one could pass a neighborhood hardware store and see those fascinating “electric trains” either on display or moving in the store window. Other stores offered contests with the grand prize being a train set, oh was the lucky lad or lass that prevailed and brought the booty home. Times have changed and those opportunities of another time are now distant recollections. In the present we have the pleasure of visiting America’s largest Train Store – Charles Ro Supply in Malden, MA just north of Boston. This offers a dazzling array of display items and a fabulous variety of new merchandise in all sizes and prices. If that wasn’t enough, journey to the secret second floor to spend some quality time with a multi-level operating display (usually Saturdays) showcasing several operating “electric trains” that evokes memories of Christmas past. Another option is settling back in your favorite easy chair with a copy of All Aboard for Christmas by Christopher Jennison and treat the senses to a feast of enjoyment. This volume invites the mind to travel through Holiday advertisements from Lionel, New York Central and Pennsylvania to name a few combined with a page or two devoted to Christmas Eve on the Broadway. I can’t think of a more delightful way to enjoy this most festive time of year.

Q. What were the names of the five principal two foot gauge railroads to serve the rural areas of Maine?  R. Williamson Auburn, ME

A. R. Williamson: According to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum in Portland, Maine there were five. Here they are as follows: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes, Bridgton & Saco River (later Bridgton & Harrison), Monson, Kennebec Central and Wiscasset & Quebec (later Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington). A suggested volume on this subject is the Maine Two- Footers by Linwood W. Moody complete with two pull-out maps found at the end of the book written by a man who devoted his life to railroading.

This edition will close with a request for you to supply the locations where you have or currently may enjoy model train displays specifically prepared for the Holiday Season. If you have a picture (past or present) or a specific address, it would be most helpful. This in an ongoing request for it is a work in progress. Our readers would be most appreciative for many take the time to seek these out during this most festive time of year to share with family & friends.

Please take time to share your comments and observations with others for a future edition of this column, for we will include and credit as many as space allows.  If you have any questions or comments relating to railroading or activities of the Society past, present or future we will try to find you an answer. Please write us at MVRS, c/o Ask the Bee, PO Box 365486, Hyde Park, MA 02136-0009 or e-mail us at: