The magic of the legendary Edaville Railroad is going strong and delighting a whole new generation.
By Jennifer Sperry
Pennsylvania coal feeds the firebox. The resulting heat transforms boiler water into steam, fueling the pistons and powering the engine. Like a giant tea kettle, the train surges forward. The telltale whistle is a nostalgic sound, a reminder of how this iconic piece of machinery furthered American industry.
The beauty and simplicity of the steam engine are on full display at Edaville in South Carver, Massachusetts. Tucked away amid the forests and cranberry bogs of the state’s South Coast, Edaville is best known as a holiday destination. Its attractions include 26 amusement rides, a European-style market, and an indoor gift shop. The holiday season, dubbed the Festival of Lights, begins right after Veteran’s Day with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, light displays, carolers, food vendors, and more.
However, to anyone paying attention, Edaville is much more than just a theme park—it’s an invaluable piece of local history.
Nearly 80 years ago, Edaville began inauspiciously as a cranberry farm. Founder Ellis D. Atwood—one of the largest cranberry producers in the state—embraced innovation. He thought that an onsite railroad would increase the efficiency of his harvest. During the 1930s and early ’40s, he discovered Maine’s two-foot narrow gauge railroads and watched them go out of business one by one, courtesy of the Great Depression.
When Maine’s Bridgton and Saco River Railroad was sold for scrap in 1941, Atwood purchased as much rolling stock as possible. After WWII, he was able to move all the salvaged equipment to his 1,800 acres in South Carver, laying a five-and-a-half-mile loop of tracks around the bogs. The trains hauled cranberries to the screen house and brought supplies back to the bogs.
This private railroad generated a lot of local interest, and the Atwoods offered complimentary train rides to friends and acquaintances. These rides through cranberry country grew in popularity, and a regular schedule was born. The couple decided to name the small but charming railroad Edaville, a play on Atwood’s initials.
As the story goes, the Atwoods’ predilection for holiday lights topped off the appeal. “Eventually, so many people drove by to see the decorations that they started clogging the roads. The Atwoods moved the displays back into the railroad, and that’s how Edaville morphed into what it is today,” says current operator Brian Fanslau.
Armed with a physics degree and plenty of train engineering know-how, Fanslau has been involved in the Carver railroad for nearly 20 years, rebuilding and maintaining engines and cars. He does the same up north via his company, Maine Locomotive & Machine Works, which similarly rehabs trains for Portland’s Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum.
Thanks in large part to Fanslau’s vision and expertise, Edaville currently has three functioning steam engines pulling trains six to eight cars long. Engine #11, built in 1925, received a new boiler and tender and was regauged from three feet to two. Engine #21, built in Leeds, England, in 1936, was also successfully restored. Rounding out the mix is Engine #3, on loan from the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum. Built in 1913, this beauty arrived at Edaville in 1946 and is back once again—a great success story for enthusiasts.
“Our goal is to operate with steam only and eliminate diesel engines completely,” Fanslau contends. “Steam engines are so much more animated and colorful and traditional, and that’s why people love coming here.”
Previous owner George Bartholomew is one of those people. He was a train enthusiast from a very early age.
“My grandfather knew I was interested in trains and brought me to Edaville,” Bartholomew recalls. “I barely remember it, but Ellis let me ring the bell and blow the whistle.” By age 14, he was working at the railroad and, in 1970, jumped at the chance to buy it. As one of Edaville’s most dedicated owners, he managed the property until the 1990s.
At age 82, Bartholomew still visits Edaville when he’s in town. For him, the allure of seeing Massachusetts’ only operating steam locomotives never gets old. Not surprisingly, Fanslau has his full support. “Brian is a hands-on restoration guy. He wants to preserve the heritage of this place and make a go of it, and I think he can do it,” says the retired railroad veteran.
For Fanslau, the park’s mission does not center on profits or growth; it’s about keeping history alive. It’s about the smiles on kids’ faces riding the trains for the first time. It’s about grandparents sharing in special moments. It’s about families experiencing a slice of Americana in real-time.
Both Bartholomew and Fanslau visited Edaville as children, and that’s part of the magic of this park. One generation passes on a cherished tradition to the next.
