Ghost Trains of the Allagash 

The “Ghost Trains” Of the Allagash Wilderness
The Eagle Lake and West Branch Railroad operated in the Northern Maine Woods from 1926 to 1933. The logging operation hauled pulpwood from Eagle Lake 13 miles to the Umbazooksus Lake (a round trip taking about 3 hours), where the logs were then shipped to papermills in Millinocket, Maine for processing.
The steam locomotives pictured here were disassembled and shipped in 1926 to 1927 by log haulers over land and frozen lakes to Eagle Lake and were then reassembled onsite. Along with the locomotives, miles of train track, 60 box cars (each 32 feet long), gas powered track switchers and conveyers were shipped.
Locomotive #1 was built in June 1897 at Schenectady Locomotive Works in New York. It saw service in New York City, Chicago and Indiana. It was originally powered by steam (burning coal) but later converted to burn oil to reduce the risk of forest fires which could be sparked by its exiting cinders.
Locomotive #2 was built in December 1901 at Brooks Locomotive Works in Dunkirk, New York. It also saw service in New York City and Michigan. It too was converted from coal powered steam to oil powered.
The paper was loaded in 10 to 12 train cars (holding 12 cords of pulp wood each) per each locomotive by 2 conveyers. The logs would be raised 25 feet high by the conveyor as they were loaded on to the rail cars, filling a single rail car in 18 minutes. With electric lighting eventually installed, operations ran day and night. On an average week, more than 6,500 cords of wood were moved across these tracks. At its peak, the company produced 20% of all the paper produced in the United States.
The logging operation ended in 1933 due to a decreased demand for paper during the Great Depression (the demand wouldn’t return until after World War 2). By this time, nearly 1,000,000 chords of pulp wood were hauled by the railroad. The locomotives were considered obsolete and too expensive to transport to another location for reuse. The locomotives were covered by a shed until 1969 when it was burned down due to a miscommunication by the Maine Forest Service, damaging the wooden parts of the trains (such as the cab) and leaving the locomotives exposed to the elements. The trains were repainted that same year to prevent further rusting.
Next to the locomotives were many other remnants of the time period including 75 to 100 yards of the box cars (only maybe half are pictured) which now resemble hulks of mossy wood, cable and metal fittings, still on top of the distinct train wheel groupings. There is what appears to be a large boiler (for power), lots of railway, oil drums and assorted gears or machinery.
The hike to the locomotives is very easy, being just one mile long on flat ground. The drive to the trailhead can be challenging and risky as it is in a very remote part of Northern Maine. The only people in the area are loggers/trucks and hunters (lots of bear and moose hunting camps are nearby). This is my second attempt to visit the site. The first attempt was 3 years ago which I aborted due to quick changing/severe weather, fresh bear sign (track and scat) and a flat tire from the very rough road, often with sharp slate rock. No cell service. But it was worth the second attempt.