Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad

Name: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad
Address: 128 Bridge Street, Phillips, ME, 04966, US
Telephone: +12076392228
Price range: $

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Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad

Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad is a non-profit museum dedicated to the preservation of Maine's unique 2-foot gauge railroad heritage.

A not for profit, all volunteer, operating railroad and museum dedicated to preserving the history of Maine's longest two foot gauge railroad. Open two weekends and selected other days: See 2016 schedule

02/25/2026

A southbound passenger train coming over the Porter Stream trestle and into the Strong Station. The trestle will later be filled in and a bridge will be installed here over the stream. On the north side of the trestle the area is and was a large gravel bank. You can see this fact in the upper right of the photo.
If you blow up the photo, note the tracks on the north side with the dip in the track as it came onto the bridge and was then an uphill climb going north. All of this will be leveled out later when the bridge was installed.

02/22/2026

Photos taken last weekend at the railroad. Today here we will have blizzard conditions 16-24” of snow.
Who cares! It’s February 22nd and we are on the back-nine of winter!
Not to many more weeks and it will be the 2026 season!

02/17/2026

A great photo of F&M No.1 at Kingfield facing south with the two passenger cars. On the rear is longtime F&M conductor Leon Thomas, the engineer I do not have a name for but he shows up in a lot of F&M photos. Behind the cars is the engine house to the left of No.1 is the F&M woodshed.
I find the wood piled up track side interesting, mill storage, F&M usage, or not yet hauled from the past winter?
Note the large wooden switch stand to the left of No.1. There is a similar style stand that was in Phillips. What is further interesting here is the Kingfield yard had switch indicator lanterns on them, I do not see it here? As much as that has been written about the collective Franklin County lines, switch lanterns, ball signals, semaphores are subjects that fly under the radar.
I hope soon to take a class on Photo Shop or similar program and equipment and this will be in the first five or so photos I will clean up and make it scream, it’s a great photo!

01/28/2026

I finally cleaned up and organized my thumb drives and found this gem and others in a mish-mass of photos.
Just south of Phillips yard, the toothpick mill in the background (later a match mill), and the mill was a railroad customer. The mill when built was with concrete a first for the area. The yellow house on Sawyer St. was the owner’s home and was heated with steam piped in from the mill!
The Phillips Phonograph reported at the time that Thomas Edison knew about the mill being concrete because he was pushing at the time for concrete low cost homes for workers nationwide. Being concrete lowered the mills fire exposure.
What you see here is a posed photo with the track gang that would be responsible for about six-miles of track. In Phillips there were two gangs a southbound and north bound crew. The member in white I doubt very much was a track member given the way he is dressed?

01/19/2026

Most followers enjoy the wide variety of S.R. & R.L. photo subjects. Whether its light engines, cars, locations, or last week’s train shots, and the comments on the whistle or the safeties going off, going downhill, or forgetting to put a “1” before the “7,” or seeing a train in actual motion?
Well, this week we have none of that!

Instead, we’re sharing two dank and dirty photos of the machine shop that kept everything running in all those images you enjoy. I know next to nothing about machinery, so this should be a great opportunity for those who do know their stuff to chime in and share what they see. When you really blow the photos up, there’s a lot going on in the background.
Here’s what I can tell you: from the end pile of wheels up through the line of machinery, the brick wall makes a 90-degree turn and becomes the facing wall you see in the second photo. The second photo was taking to the left out of view of the first photo.
Also included is an inventory of some of the larger machinery that was in the PHILLIPS Shop during a six-week period in June and July of 1923.

We will be attending the Big E Train Show in Springfield, Massachusetts:
January 24–25, 2026
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
We hope to see you there!

01/13/2026

Locomotive No.7 with either a passenger or excursion train reported to be the “devil’s elbow” on the back of this photo it claims to be 1915? This location is now part of the Reed’s Mills Road, using the background this is a south-bound train.
As far as the date I have no proof either way as to a date. If the date is correct the reason I posted it, the excursion car on the rear.
First there are not a lot of photos of the excursion train in service and as the years progressed excursions and excursion cars were used less and less over time.
In the first car in the door sits a crew member looking out.
Note the telegraph pole with three lines mounted on it. If the date is correct I doubt power was that far out of Phillips?
I never noticed until now there is no smoke coming out of the stack, is the white not smoke but steam…they have popped the safeties????

We will be attending the Big E Train Show in Springfield, Massachusetts:
January 24–25, 2026
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
We hope to see you there!

01/07/2026

Those who’ve been following our F&M history will enjoy this photo even more now that it finally has a confirmed location. And for anyone who lives in—or knows—Franklin County well, this discovery should spark a genuine “oh my!” moment.
The photo officially elevates one Tellis Fenwick to full-fledged F&M royalty, as the scene sits right on his lot. Since Tellis is now nobility, we’ll respectfully refer to him as “me lord.” (Bow accordingly…LOL)
Head over to Google Maps and open Street View:
• Start on Route 142 in Salem at Baker Hill Road, heading east.
The first house on the right is the former Salem Station, now a private residence.
• Continue east to 1402 Salem Road, where you’ll spot a large yellow plow labeled Fenwick Construction.
Somewhere within roughly 300 feet on either side of the shop is the photo location. How far back the right-of-way is remains a mystery—I wasn’t dressed for snow trekking in single-digit temperatures.
• Zoom in on Street View and, through the trees, you can catch glimpses of Mt. Abram. A follow-up is planned once the snow melts and before the leaves conspire to block the views.
• And for one more nugget of F&M history: about 3,200 feet east of the shop lies the approximate location of the F&M Salem gravel pit.
History, geography, royalty—who says railroads can’t have it all?

12/31/2025

Up here, winter has returned in full force—much like it was decades ago when scenes like this were common. The photo shown here captures the mill at Kingfield in the background. We’ve chosen to share this simple winter image as a preview of what’s coming in our upcoming Winter Newsletter.
Inside the newsletter, readers can look forward to:
• An unpublished photograph of the “big” Franklin & Megantic snowplow, complete with crew members and identified names—of special interest to our equipment followers.
• Three entries from a newly discovered copy of the 243-page 1923 receivers’ inventory.
• The beginning of a long-term, multi-part series on the Langtown Branch.
• A newly discovered winter photograph of the Pope Mill—the first known image of this important site.
This issue should give readers plenty to think about while looking out the window at a winter scene much like the one shown here in the coming New Year. Happy New Year!
Finally, this is the first of many reminders that we will be attending the Big E Train Show in Springfield, Massachusetts:
January 24–25, 2026
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
We hope to see you there!
________________________________________

12/23/2025

A winter scene on the F&M around the turn of the century. This is part of a group of photos taken at the scene off the plow going off the rails.
We at the S.R. & R.L. wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and your holidays are safe & enjoyable.

12/16/2025

Here’s a teaser photo of the Langtown Branch mill off Route 16. Both the branch and the mill will be a series featured in detail starting in our upcoming winter newsletter, but this image gives modelers a sneak peek at what’s coming.
The reason I include this photo, take a close look at how the floor was reinforced! Below is the ground floor and you can clearly see where the floor once stood before it collapsed.
The second photo is taken from the right-of-way looking northeast. From the river crossing off Route 16 to this spot, the route has been marked with orange tape on the trees so it can be followed. For those who enjoy walking, exploring, or giving the kids an outdoor adventure, these old right-of-way routes offer great views and a bit of history underfoot.
Something to add to your to-do list for next summer!

12/11/2025

Saturday we will be at the Avon Town Hall for those who are local looking to do last minute shopping for those hard to get family members. Hope to see you there.

11/22/2025

That's a wrap folks! Thanks to the Phillips Elementary School for having us .

Address

128 Bridge Street
Phillips, ME
04966

Telephone

+12076392228

Website

http://www.srrl-rr.org/

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