It's not quite true that things happen slowly in the RR business, Edaville went down hill in a hurry after the new owners took over. They were also very quick to tear things down and rip track up.
One thing that they are not quick at is moving forward. They retreat at a remarkable pace, but they advance very very slowly, if at all.
What ironic and sad is that we're not asking them to go beyond what they had when they started.
If they weren't so incompetent the 5.42 mile loop would still be there.
As far as the place being clean, BFD, I want to see trains, trains aren't always clean. Reminds me of the Cheese Shop skit by Monty Python. The shop has no cheese but the person behind the counter points out that it is very clean.
In that vain, I'll have to say, yes, the place is clean, it's certainly not contaminated with railroad equipment.
They are catering to people of that age because those are the only ones who will be interested in the place in any numbers.
If you own a movie theatre and you show a blank screen every day instead of movies, you'll get some visitors but not many. Edaville is basically a blank screen as far as a place to see trains goes.
The last time I visited Edaville, all four Maine loco's were running, as was the Model T inspection car, and the railbus. They ran the diesels too. They ran a double header and even a triple header of steam. They ran the 5.42 mile loop in reverse by using the bypass track, which the present incompetents have torn up.
They had authentic Maine Two Foot rolling stock as well in both mixed trains, freight only trains, and passenger trains.
Not to mention a working signal system. That was in the late 80s though.
When not looking at the equipment that was actually in use that day, you had plenty of two foot gauge equipment on yard tracks you could look at.
There were also plenty of 3 foot and standard gauge static displays.
There was also the Cranberry Jct station, and a working water tower, yard trackage, trackage going into the big cranberry screenhouse, a good number of sidings, the turntable.
There was also Plantation number 5, another steam engine, a bit small for use at Edaville.
Again, I'm not interesting in clean, I want to see trains. Edaville wasn't a dump until the present owners too over, it was just filled with railroad equipment.
I also want something to take pictures of. A single steam engine doesn't cut it. Their short loop doesn't cut it. Their very few static displays don't cut it.
Why anyone would actually pay to go in there is beyond me. It's not worth paying for.
If the present Edaville was a theatre, all they would show would be a blank screen. But, they'd still get some visitors, some people can't tell the difference.
Of course, the real Edaville at Christmas time used to run three trains at the same time, all powered by steam. The signal system was not installed for show. it was installed because they needed it.
I can understand a little kid being entertained for an hour or so down at Edaville but no one else, unless you're happy staring at a blank screen.
It was nice back in the day when they'd actually get some speed up on the tangents. They'd get up to 30mph or so. Not bad for the length train.
The clowns now operate at about 6 to 7 mph. Of course, if they operated at any speed they'd be around their loopette in about 1 minute, so they have to draw the ride out by going ridiculously slow.
One thing that they are not quick at is moving forward. They retreat at a remarkable pace, but they advance very very slowly, if at all.
What ironic and sad is that we're not asking them to go beyond what they had when they started.
If they weren't so incompetent the 5.42 mile loop would still be there.
As far as the place being clean, BFD, I want to see trains, trains aren't always clean. Reminds me of the Cheese Shop skit by Monty Python. The shop has no cheese but the person behind the counter points out that it is very clean.
In that vain, I'll have to say, yes, the place is clean, it's certainly not contaminated with railroad equipment.
They are catering to people of that age because those are the only ones who will be interested in the place in any numbers.
If you own a movie theatre and you show a blank screen every day instead of movies, you'll get some visitors but not many. Edaville is basically a blank screen as far as a place to see trains goes.
The last time I visited Edaville, all four Maine loco's were running, as was the Model T inspection car, and the railbus. They ran the diesels too. They ran a double header and even a triple header of steam. They ran the 5.42 mile loop in reverse by using the bypass track, which the present incompetents have torn up.
They had authentic Maine Two Foot rolling stock as well in both mixed trains, freight only trains, and passenger trains.
Not to mention a working signal system. That was in the late 80s though.
When not looking at the equipment that was actually in use that day, you had plenty of two foot gauge equipment on yard tracks you could look at.
There were also plenty of 3 foot and standard gauge static displays.
There was also the Cranberry Jct station, and a working water tower, yard trackage, trackage going into the big cranberry screenhouse, a good number of sidings, the turntable.
There was also Plantation number 5, another steam engine, a bit small for use at Edaville.
Again, I'm not interesting in clean, I want to see trains. Edaville wasn't a dump until the present owners too over, it was just filled with railroad equipment.
I also want something to take pictures of. A single steam engine doesn't cut it. Their short loop doesn't cut it. Their very few static displays don't cut it.
Why anyone would actually pay to go in there is beyond me. It's not worth paying for.
If the present Edaville was a theatre, all they would show would be a blank screen. But, they'd still get some visitors, some people can't tell the difference.
Of course, the real Edaville at Christmas time used to run three trains at the same time, all powered by steam. The signal system was not installed for show. it was installed because they needed it.
I can understand a little kid being entertained for an hour or so down at Edaville but no one else, unless you're happy staring at a blank screen.
It was nice back in the day when they'd actually get some speed up on the tangents. They'd get up to 30mph or so. Not bad for the length train.
The clowns now operate at about 6 to 7 mph. Of course, if they operated at any speed they'd be around their loopette in about 1 minute, so they have to draw the ride out by going ridiculously slow.
