Ellis D. Atwood gave this historic amusement park its name, his initials (E.D.A). He started this railroad by purchasing most of the surviving equipment from Maine’s once expansive network of two-foot gauge rail’s and had them trucked south to Carver, Massachusetts. This was the making of Edaville Railroad.
In Maine, these two-foot gauge rails covered several sections of the state starting in the late 1800’s. These short line railroads fell prey to the depression and competition from automobiles. With the railroads shutting down, Ellis D. Atwood began purchasing the remaining rails in 1946 and 1947 and had it trucked to cranberry bogs of Carver, Mass.
Atwood had a plan, he built a railroad 5 ½ miles long around his 1,800 acre plantation of cranberries. He used the trains to service his bogs as well as hauling paying customers through the plantation for sightseeing. This operation evolved into a “Family Fun Park”; with an emphasis on carnival type rides, bright lights and extravagant Christmas displays. Edaville Railroad became a local institution, and drew visitors from far and wide.
Now owned and operated by Jon Delli Priscoli, the 250 acre park has now evolved in to a vintage style amusement park. Edaville is in the midst of a 3 year expansion, with the addition of several new rides, Thomas Land and Charles Dickens village.
