Bailey,
Were the brakes on all the cars working this past season ? If they were I bet that made things a lot easier. I would have thought that would have more than compensated for the 4% downhill incline, but maybe I am crazy.

I have heard conflicting stories over the years as to whether or not when the railroad was restored in the late 40s and early 50s air brakes were added on most of the passenger equipment ( As 7 and 8 were modified with the addition of air compressors and 6ET westinghouse air brakes). I know the SR&RL cars came from Maine this way. Does anyone know if the cars were equipped with air brakes and ran that way at Edaville ? I have never seen photos of the engines (namely, 7 and 8 ) with air hoses that would suggest they had functioning brakes on the train. Are there any photos which shed any light on this question ?
Regards,
Trevor