Martha's Vinyard and Nantucket Railroads

Are there any traces still left of these railroads? Any stations, trails/track still left on the island(s)? On that note, do any of there locomotives survive?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Nantucket there is a pub called the club car and when I was there a few years ago they had a coach that was next to the pub and was part of the bar. It is a narrow gauge car, which is what ran on the island

A great book on the cape rr is "Cape Cod Railroads" by Farson

As for the Vineyard, There is nothing left of the tracks or the row that I am aware of. although in the campgrounds there used to be some of the rails and ties left in the roadway around teh Tabinacle,(sp?) but I beleive they where torn up a couple of yrs ago when they rebuilt the roadway there. I can remember as a kid seeing the tracks comming through the pavement. alsways thought it was kid of neat. the last vestiges of the tracks on the SSA pier where lost the pier burned up in the 60's

There once was a train on Nantucket
with tracks three feet wide - who'd of thunk it!
But a hurricane came
and blew off the train.
So now, to move freight, they must truck it.

-Ed Lecuyer

There's a locomotive buried off Washington Street on Nantucket, and I believe one of the local historical societies has a bell and headlight off one of the Island locos as well.

Think the line on Nantucket met its demise during WWI - think the locomotives ended up in France. Colin Harding, Fairfax Station, VA

That is correct. The railroads met their demise in 1917, and were used by the Allied Expeditionary Forces in France. One locomotive, that had been severely damaged, was buried in place on the Island.

I believe the buried tracks you saw at the edge of the Campground at Oak Bluffs was not the railroad but a short trolley (it may have been horse) line that also existed there. I understand the trolley connected the local wharf with the campground. Does anyone know anything else about this operation? As for the railroad, there is a little white general store at the edge of Edgartown known at the Depot. I understood from somewhere that the building was the Edgartown station, although I can't see any resemblance.

On Nantucket there is a small "cut" between some buildings where the rail line supposedly ran, but as it has been many years I can't recall exactly (maybe Siasconset?) where it was.

The Trolley line started off as a horsecar line, but was electrified shortly after it opened. The had a single, strange-looking radial-trucked car. I am not sure when the operation ceased, but it probably coencided with the removal of the steam railroad.

Theres a bit of info on the horse car line here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=dOGdFm ... #PPA111,M1

and here:

http://www.archive.org/stream/guidetoma ... s_djvu.txt

And about the Nantucket Railroad:

http://www.nha.org/history/hn/HNnantucketrailroad.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantucket_Railroad
http://www.capecodrails.com/book.shtml#ch6 (show locos and trains)
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-fr ... 94629ED7CF
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/ ... _136086551 (photo)
http://www.eganmaritime.org/PrintRailroad.html

Also there was a book about it: Lancaster, Far-Out Island Railroad
Written and illustrated by Clay Lancaster, this is the definitive study of Nantucket's Railroad which ran from 1881 to 1917. Published 1972.

And: Railroads of Cape Cod and the Islands
by Andrew T. Eldredge

Here's the map

http://historical.mytopo.com/getImage.a ... g&state=MA

discovered this coach near Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard. Anyone familiar with the history? It was located at the Black Dog snackbar just outside town. Someone mentioned that it was owned by the Black Dog folks. It was in good shape, decent paint and roof, but did not appear to be used for anything

http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?20121 ... 146445.jpg

I believe that combine is former ex Edaville, exx B&M and (IIRC) exxx DL&W. It was on display behind the former B&M 1455 locomotive at Edaville. Guess the combine had a wish to be a narrow gauge car being at 2-footer Edaville and now at a former 3-footer "neighborhood" on MV!

highrail, did you happen to check whether it was standard or narrow gauge?

As for the Martha's Vineyard Railroad, it is not 100% gone. Some of the embankment just north of Edgartown can be found if you look closely. The raised area in the middle of this picture is the embankment off Norton Orchard Road.



A significant portion of the Edgartown Golf Course perimeter road run along the former ROW, and the embankment can be found in the woods to its northwest.

Looking at aerial imagery:



That's the one bit of remaining ROW that I wasn't able to get permission to visit - the homeowner wasn't home.

Standard gauge. I will post another angle of it...
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?20121 ... 357623.jpg

Steve