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Monson Railroad

Narrow gauge railway in Maine, US (1883–1943)

The Monson Railroad was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway, which operated between Monson Junction on the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad and Monson, Maine. The primary purpose of this railroad was to serve several slate mines and finishing houses in Monson. According to the Scientific American of 17 May 1890, it was the smallest railroad in the United States.2 It is headquartered in Lowell.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

  • HeadquartersLowell1

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MonsonStation
Photo: Gwernol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Monson Railroad was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway, which operated between Monson Junction on the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad and Monson, Maine. The primary purpose of this railroad was to serve several slate mines and finishing houses in Monson. According to the Scientific American of 17 May 1890, it was the smallest railroad in the United States.2

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Early common carrier operations

Four daily round trips were scheduled to meet each of the standard gauge trains. The Monson train crew consisted of an engineer, a conductor, and a fireman who doubled as brakeman. The train crew shoveled snow by hand for the first winter, and then fabricated a butterfly pilot plow in 1884. Two flat cars were converted to box cars during the first year of operations.

Athens was dropped from the railroad name on 18 February 1885, and the Monson Railroad requested legislative authorization to extend the main line sixteen miles (26 km) south from Monson Junction for connection with the standard gauge Sebasticook and Moosehead Railroad (later the Maine Central Railroad Harmony branch.) Legislative approval was granted, but funding was never available for the extension envisioning conversion to standard gauge railroad all the way to Monson.

The railroad acquired a wedge snowplow in 1888 to improve reliability of winter service. One of the flat cars was converted to a snow spreader in 1888 because the plow was unable to throw the snow far enough from the tracks. Four more flat cars were converted to box cars in 1891. Both locomotives were converted to burn coal about 1900. A coal transfer shed was built at Monson Junction, and the woodshed at Monson was henceforth used for storage of coal.

Portland Slate Company built a new mill on the Monson Main line in 1904, and six new flat cars were built by Laconia Car Company in 1905 to handle loadings from the new shipper. The additional traffic encouraged the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad to build a new freight transfer siding at Monson Junction in 1904.

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Decline of service

The Monson engine house burned on 3 November 1919. Vulcan locomotives 3 and 4 were damaged, and old Hinkley #1 was considered a total loss. A highway truck handled mail and express shipments for ten days until engine number 4 was repaired. Engine number 3 returned to service on 20 November, and the engine house was rebuilt in June 1920.

Under pressure from the Interstate Commerce Commission, Franklin firebox doors were installed on the locomotives, and an automobile headlight was connected to a six volt storage battery to serve as a headlight. Train service was reduced from four to two round trips per day effective 10 October 1921. The Monson Pond quarry extension was abandoned in 1922.

The track crew was laid off in 1933, and the train crew became responsible for right-of-way maintenance and freight transfer at Monson Junction. Locomotive #3 was the only operable engine after 1936. Passengers, mail, and express were carried in a slate company highway truck when the locomotive required repairs. Passenger service was discontinued on 1 November 1938.

Monson became the last of Maine's - and the nation's - 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railroads in commercial operation when the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad was dismantled in 1941. Infrequent flat car loads of crated slate products moved to Monson Junction until 12 July 1943. On that date Monson Slate Company received permission to use a highway truck for common carrier service. The railroad was dismantled during the winter of 1943-44 and the engine house became a garage for the truck.

Linwood Moody found Monson locomotives #3 and #4 in a Rochester, New York, used equipment yard in 1946. The two steam engines were shipped to the Edaville Railroad for restoration, and are still in operation at the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum in Portland, Maine.

From Wikipedia’s article on Monson Railroad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

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