This is quite a lengthy post, involving a few Narrow Gauge railroads in Maine. Literally took hours.
Sandy River & Rangeley Lake Railroad
Beginning in 1891 as Sandy River, the 112 mile (180km) long route began with only a few miles. The railroad purchased the Phillips & Rangeley railroad in 1908, merging into the Sandy River & Rangeley Lake Railroad. In 1912, Maine Central, a leading and thunderous company at the time, operated the SR&RL until 1923. Maine Central built the 2ft gauge railroad the following rollingstock:
37 Flatcars
3 Cabooses
37 Boxcars
And a Baggage-RPO (Rail Post Office) by the Portland Terminal Company from 1912-1917. Locomotives 15-18 were also reboilered in the Waterville Shops owned by Maine Central, as a freight branch was made at the same time. Outbound lumber decreased from 50,000 tons to only 11,000 in 1906 to 1919. The Phillips shop made 2/3 of the flatcars into pulpwood cars. The RPO Service ended in 1917. Freight traffic peaked over 157,000 tons, which 81% was Pulp, but ended because of World War 1 ending. The railroad was beginning to decline in service because of costs, including operations in the winter. In 1923, tragedy struck. The Phillips Roundhouse burnt down, taking with it 8 of the 13 operational locomotives present. The railroad was turned over to a hotel owner on July 8th (today) 1923. Freight was discontinued from 1923 to 1924. Later, the railroad was connected to Carbasset Mill, which used WW1 tanks for hauling logs out of the woods. In 1925, after reconstruction of the Phillips shop, 2 Rail Buses were created out of Ford Model A's. These could substitute the steam locomotives. In the winter of 1926-1927, another Railbus was created. On May of 1931, the last steam powered locomotive left Rangeley. Railmotor service ended in Autumn of 1931. Two highway trucks contuined the shipments in 1932, as it was all they had available. They took their business to trucking. By then, no trains operated the route. Rails started being scrapped, and by the time the removal reached Phillips, the company ended. Most equipment was scrapped by 1936.
In 1970, a few local railfans began to document the railroad. Soon, they started to preserve the remaining content left behind. Fast forward to modern day times, replica rolling stock and locomotives are run on the original trackbeds.
Wiscasset, Waterville, & Farmington
Beginning in 1895 as the Wiscasset and Quebec Railroad, the line later changed to the WW&F in 1901 as the Belfast & Moose Lake railroad wouldn't negotiate a crossing of their track. The company was able to make a branch from Weeks Mill to the Kennebec River at Winslow, but never made it to Quebec as the SR&RL didn't allow passage from Farmington. The WW&F hauled potatoes, poultry, and lumber along with general freight and passengers. Because of roads, the railroad struggled in the 1920s. Frank Winter purchased the railroad and planned to use his 2 schooners to transport coal north and return with lumber back in Boston. However, a derailment in 1933 caused operations to cease. Winter died in 1936, and the railroad was almost completely scrapped. His 2 schooners were left at a wharf in Wiscasset. In 1989, a nonprofit organization rebuilt 2 miles of the rail in Alna. A man had secretly been purchasing the parts of rail from homeowners, and the town of Alna caught onto him. Milepost 4.8 (Sheepscot Station) is the current "main station" for the railroad today. Milepost 0 is Wiscasset Yard, where Maine Central interchanged with the railroad. This is also where the wharf is.
Rollingstock: The railroad began with a 0-4-4 Forney built by Porter. Later, Portland Terminal provided 2 19 ton Porter locomotives. They also built 4 passenger cars, 20 flatcars, 11 boxcars, 4 lowside gondolas, and Caboose #26. Portland Company built 32 more cars after the construction to Winslow. Another Porter was added, this time a 24 ton. Once again, Portland Company made another 32 rollingstock until World War 1. In 1907, Carson Peck purchased 3 locomotives, including a Baldwin 2-6-2. Frank Winter purchased 2 locomotives in 1931 from Kennebec Central, after the Waterville shed caught fire.
The modern day railroad has 2 replicas and a Plymouth locomotive running passenger service. The museum has active and static displays.
sources
WW&F website
WW&F Wiki
WW&F members as well!