Bangor & Aroostook 2-6-0 "Mogul" Locomotives in the USA

Class A (Locobase 5996)

Data out of 1923 BAR locomotive diagram book provided in April 2004 and 1938 BAR diagram book provided in May 2005, both from Allen Stanley's extension collection. See also "The West River Railroad & Trail: A History" on the West River Trail website at []; and "West River Railroad" on the Historical Society of Windham County website at [], both last accessed 11 August 2024. Works numbers were 1647-1648 in October 1895 and 1649-1650 in January 1896.

These Moguls rolled relatively tall drivers and were probably mixed traffic engines. In 1915, three were converted to 4-4-0s (see 5995).

In 1929, the B&A sold the remaining Mogul (#3) to the Woodstock Railway, which named it H H Paine and gave it road #4. The WRR ran 14 miles (22.5 km) from Woodstock, Vermont to the banks of the Connecticut River at White River Junction. Four years later in 1933, the abandonment of the WRy led to the 4's acquisition by the West River Railroad.

The WRRR, built as a narrow gauge line in 1878, ran over "36 miles [58 km] of trouble" from Brattleboro to Londonderry, Vermont, according to West River Trail. "Its' [sic] narrow gauge and winding route led to undependable, if not dangerous, service. A 1903 editorial called the trains 'trydaily-they go down in the morning and try to get back at night.'" Windham County's account reports that a 1905 conversion to standard gauge didn't make much difference:

"But, with cost-cutting on the roadbed, and equipped with inadequate old locomotives and rolling stock, the improvement was questionable. As complaints continued and patronage declined, service was reduced by 1920 to a mixed passenger and freight train only. Then the flood of 1927: 3 bridges and large sections of roadbed were washed away and the track was twisted or buried under mud."

Not surprisingly, then, the WRRR found the 4 "too stiff" to negotiate its curves and set it aside. After the moribund remains of the railroad were finally abandoned, the 4 was scrapped.