LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FUN TO DO WITH THE ENTIRE FAMILY? Take a trip back in time at the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum! Enjoy magnificent views of Portland's waterfront aboard antique rail cars pulled by hard-working steam and diesel locomotives. Discover the unique two-foot gauge trains that linked rural Maine to the rest of the world. Read More

If You Would Like To Help, call 828-0814 and ask for Allison or Christina.

BUY A STAY BOLT CAMPAIGN

Please Help Fund The Restoration Of B&SR 7 Steam Engine

We’re Underway

Spring of 2008 saw the beginning of the long awaited task of bringing one of MNGR’s largest steam locomotives, B&SR 7, back to life. It is no small task to do this. We are maximizing volunteer labor and donated services but there are still parts of this project that require funding. Specifically, material needs to be bought and special services need to be paid for.

By The Numbers

A project of this magnitude would cost well over $100,000 if all labor had to be paid for. Significant labor performed by volunteers will reduce this cost but will still need to raise additional funds in order for this project to continue to its conclusion. We started this project having raised $17,000 but have since spent funds on asbestos removal, new tubes, new plate, contracted labor and consumables (acetylene, oxygen, grinding disks, etc.). We are now currently down to a little over $5,000 in dedicated funds. This will be consumed shortly due to having to order more materials and paying for additional contracted labor. It’s very simple, if we run out of funds we stop work, putting down our torches and grinders and notifying our contractor that they must stop work and that no more material can be ordered. Current projections are that we will need at least an additional $20,000 to finish this project.

What We Will Do

We will continue to stretch every dollar we have by continuing to maximize use of skilled volunteer labor and soliciting for donated services (trucking, new windows, ash pan rebuild, new jacket, CNC lathe work, etc.) but there are some parts of this project that must be done by certified professionals (boiler inspections, boiler stress relief, etc.) and not all materials have been purchased yet.

What YOU Can Do

We need to close the funding gap as soon as possible to ensure that this project will continue uninterrupted. Your help is urgently needed. If a lot of people each donates something, then we can get there. So with that challenge, we are kicking of a BUY A STAY BOLT CAMPAIGN. There are approximately 200 staybolts on B&SR 7. A $100 contribution buys a stay bolt for #7 and achieves a goal of raising an additional $20,000 to complete this project. Please send your contributions to the museum at 58 Fore Street, Portland, Maine 04101. State that this is for a stay bolt for #7. You may purchase as many staybolts as possible.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to help put this engine back into service!
DONATE HERE During the payment process you may specify "Engine 7 Fund" in the memo field.