by Mass Coastal 2010
Hello, I'm looking for information on a 2ft gauge line that ran in Fairhaven, MA. It was a temporary construction railroad that brought in dirt to fill in Mill Pond (Now Cushman Park) near Bridge St in Fairhaven. I heard it lasted two years, probably 1904 to 1906. The tracks ran from the current dump to the pond and the line could have been built on the side of Bridge St. I heard that they ran 13 trains a day and each train had about 10 to 15 cars. That's pretty busy for a rail line that's not even one mile long! I saw pictures of the equipment used including small side dump cars or gondolas with a little tank switcher (a 0-4-0 numbered 5). If there were 13 trains a day, they must have had 2 or 3 locomotives. I read in an article that the 15 ton engine from this railroad was pulled by six horses to the Fairhaven Rail Yard (Operated by the New Haven at the time) and the engine was put on a full sized rail car. This gets me thinking that there was only one engine. Any info on this little railroad would be very helpful! Thanks!
-Mike
-Mike