Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse
Portland Head Lighthouse
Portland Breakwater Light (“Bug Light”)
Maine Narrow Guage Train Ride
Narrow Guage Parlor CarWhat could make a day more perfecter than lighthouses and trains in the same day! The day started out inauspiciously as we headed north…er…east…er…OK, back towards Portland to see the sea. Old Orchard Beach reminded us some of ocean City,MD without the Boardwalk. It has big time amusements, shops of all kind, etc. As we drove up the coast we had great vistas of the backsides of motel, hotels, condos, etc. A we drove further the coast became totally residential with houses of all kinds. Our first stop was Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is surrounded by posted private property and can only be seen from a few hundred yards away. The light is the strongest on the Maine coast and can be seen from 27 nautical miles away.
Our second stop was the one I was looking forward to, Portland Head Lighthouse. This is the one you see in all the photos, paintings, etc. The Lighthouse is located in Fort Williams Park a former army base. Although the day was gray, the lighthouse was beautiful. There is an excellent museum in the old keepers house. The lighthouse is still operational with modern lights. Visibility of the light equipped with a powerful airport beacon only improved visibility of the light to 23 mi from the 21 miles with the Fresnel lens and oil lamp. Progress?? From here we had a pretty good look at Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse. The rock ledge upon which it is built is submerged during high tide. Our final stops were at the Portland Breakwater Light (“Bug Light”) and the Spring Port Ledge Light, both small lights marking the entrance to the harbor.
Since we were so close we decided to drive into Portland to look around. We missed the new Cunard “Queen Victoria” by one day. Apparently she gives new meaning to “big.” Anyway, as we drove through the waterfront I noticed some narrow gauge RR tracks. We spotted the sign and in we went to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. There were 5 narrow gauge railroads in Maine that operated until the mid-forties. In this case, narrow gauge means 2-foot wide tracks. We signed up for the train ride that took us a short distance along the shoreline to the old swing bridge (30 minute ride up and back). The museum has several old narrow gauge coaches to inspect. They used a diesel locomotive today, but on weekends they run a coal fired steam engine. We had been chatting with the engineer and afterwards he took me on a private tour to the engine shed to see their 3 steam locomotives. One is operational. One is being rebuilt with goal of complete restoration in about year. One was operational until about 10 years ago, but needs restoration.
Our second stop was the one I was looking forward to, Portland Head Lighthouse. This is the one you see in all the photos, paintings, etc. The Lighthouse is located in Fort Williams Park a former army base. Although the day was gray, the lighthouse was beautiful. There is an excellent museum in the old keepers house. The lighthouse is still operational with modern lights. Visibility of the light equipped with a powerful airport beacon only improved visibility of the light to 23 mi from the 21 miles with the Fresnel lens and oil lamp. Progress?? From here we had a pretty good look at Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse. The rock ledge upon which it is built is submerged during high tide. Our final stops were at the Portland Breakwater Light (“Bug Light”) and the Spring Port Ledge Light, both small lights marking the entrance to the harbor.
Since we were so close we decided to drive into Portland to look around. We missed the new Cunard “Queen Victoria” by one day. Apparently she gives new meaning to “big.” Anyway, as we drove through the waterfront I noticed some narrow gauge RR tracks. We spotted the sign and in we went to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. There were 5 narrow gauge railroads in Maine that operated until the mid-forties. In this case, narrow gauge means 2-foot wide tracks. We signed up for the train ride that took us a short distance along the shoreline to the old swing bridge (30 minute ride up and back). The museum has several old narrow gauge coaches to inspect. They used a diesel locomotive today, but on weekends they run a coal fired steam engine. We had been chatting with the engineer and afterwards he took me on a private tour to the engine shed to see their 3 steam locomotives. One is operational. One is being rebuilt with goal of complete restoration in about year. One was operational until about 10 years ago, but needs restoration.
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