Abandoned Eagle Lake Trains
The Eagle Lake and West Branch Railroad operated the two large engines from 1927-1933. On an average week, the engines and their 12 cars hauled more than 6,500 cords of pulpwood along the tracks to the West Branch watershed. The railroad was the brainchild of Edouard “King” LaCroix and brought wood for the paper-making industry from the region surrounding Eagle and Churchill Lakes over to Umbazooksus Lake, owned by Great Northern Paper. The steam locomotives and their tenders (name of the car that carried the fuel) were originally built in 1897 and 1901. LaCroix purchased them used (thrifty, thrifty!) before moving them to Maine. Once in Maine’s deep woods, they were converted from coal to oil to avoid forest fires caused by coal’s cinders.

These trains are waiting for snowmobilers to visit them! Photo courtesy of Kevin Brown from Bangor Daily News.
History of the Eagle Lake Trains
Now, it’s a pretty long hike into the Allagash area, but your snowmobile makes it a superb winter adventure. Start and finish your Maine train encounter at Northern Outdoors Adventure Resort –we’ll make sure you have all you need for a wonderful ride.

Snowmobile Touring Directions to the Trains
From Rockwood-Kineo, Maine:
From Greenville, Maine:
Run up Moosehead Lake to Kineo or take the trail to Kokadjo. At Kokadjo take the Moosehead Loop/Rt66 Re-route to the Ragged Lake Trail. Head East 4.3 miles. Head north on the Maxfield Brook Trail. Cross over the Golden Road and head north on the Pine Stream Trail 14 miles to Chesuncook Village and the Chesuncook Lake House. Stop at the Lake House to fuel up and get the very latest trail instructions to avoid cutting operations in the area – but confirm they’re open first. The trains are 21 miles from the Lake House

Are You a History Buff?
Here are several links we found in researching this blog article that you might enjoy!
- https://amsnow.com/reviews/snowmobile-trails-travel/2010/12/maines-forgotten-railroad
- https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/history/allagash/index.shtml
- https://bangordailynews.com/2014/02/26/outdoors/old-locomotives-sit-abandoned-in-the-middle-of-maine/
THANKS TO AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER, BANGOR NEWS & KEVIN BROWN & MAINE.GOV FOR THESE GREAT IMAGES. See their links above.
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