| if G 7 Phae.wal LARCE é eee serare $ . “Y WMAPRy. Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum SHEEPSCOT STATION, PO BOX 242, ALNA, MAINE 04535 January/February 2006 The Victorian Christmas train approaches the crowded platform at Sheepscot Station Photo by Bob Cavanagh Victorian Christmas by Sue Longo Our volunteers again dispensed Christmas joy to over 500 passengers, who enjoyed free steam train and horse-drawn wagon rides, this time with two wagons! Santa appeared at Alna Center. (Thanks to Mike Trask.) Back at Sheepscot, the Longo/Lamontagne girls sang Christmas carols. Adults and kids alike continued to be amused by the candies, including elf, reindeer, and snowman poo along with spare red noses for Rudolph. Not even one bag of the homemade candy coal was left at day’s end. The “magic oats” purported to attract Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve were also very popular. Eric Larsen and Cindy Sanger manned the museum store. Bob Cavanagh (who did most of the decorating), ran hot water back and forth between Bay | and the freight shed while Josh Botting and Chrissy creatively heated the liquids. Dave Hart and Julius Stuck kept the hot chocolate and cider and coffee pots filled. The refreshment tables ran smoothly thanks to donations and to the efforts of Dot Weeks and Jane Robertson. Roger Whitney’s cookies and Vern Shaw’s cut-out train cookies were in great demand! The Verneys donated a blow up Christmas scene that added to the holiday atmosphere. The volunteers enjoyed a pot luck dinner in the machine shop, organized by Jane Robertson. Nancy Watson’s cake and Steve Smith’s wife’s goulash ensured that the crew ate well. The Hernandezes took over food management as energy began to wane. Other volunteers included John Bradbury, Gordon Cook, Joe Fox, Bob Gabriel, Steve Hussar, Jason Lamontagne, Bob Longo, John McNamara, James Patten, Frank Paul, Josh Recave, Stewart Rhine, John Robertson, Don Sanger, Vern Shaw, Steve Smith , Brad Whittemore, and Steve Zuppa. A wonderful bunch of volunteers have we! Many of our “regulars” were unable to participate and were dearly missed. Heartfelt thanks go to all who donated foodstuffs, from cookies and chilies to meatballs and sausage soup, both for this event and for Halloween. Surprisingly, though the event was free to the public, passengers donated over $350 to the refreshment table alone. Our thanks to the good-hearted people who attended. Come and join us next Christmas, for you can’t beat the cookies and cider. We hope to make the Christmas trains of 2006 even more memorable! So, until then, “Happy New Year to all and to all a good night!” Visit our web page at: http://www.wwfiry.org
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Transcript
| if G 7
Phae. wal LA RCE é
eee serare $ . “Y
WMAP Ry.
Wiscasset, Waterville &
Farmington
Railway Museum SHEEPSCOT STATION, PO BOX 242, ALNA, MAINE 04535
January/February 2006
The Victorian Christmas train approaches the crowded platform at Sheepscot Station
Photo by Bob Cavanagh
Victorian Christmas by Sue Longo
Our volunteers again dispensed Christmas joy to over 500
passengers, who enjoyed free steam train and horse-drawn
wagon rides, this time with two wagons! Santa appeared at
Alna Center. (Thanks to Mike Trask.) Back at Sheepscot, the
Longo/Lamontagne girls sang Christmas carols. Adults and
kids alike continued to be amused by the candies, including
elf, reindeer, and snowman poo along with spare red noses for
Rudolph. Not even one bag of the homemade candy coal was
left at day’s end. The “magic oats” purported to attract Santa’s
reindeer on Christmas Eve were also very popular.
Eric Larsen and Cindy Sanger manned the museum store.
Bob Cavanagh (who did most of the decorating), ran hot water
back and forth between Bay | and the freight shed while Josh
Botting and Chrissy creatively heated the liquids. Dave Hart
and Julius Stuck kept the hot chocolate and cider and coffee
pots filled. The refreshment tables ran smoothly thanks to
donations and to the efforts of Dot Weeks and Jane Robertson.
Roger Whitney’s cookies and Vern Shaw’s cut-out train cookies
were in great demand! The Verneys donated a blow up
Christmas scene that added to the holiday atmosphere.
The volunteers enjoyed a pot luck dinner in the machine
shop, organized by Jane Robertson. Nancy Watson’s cake
and Steve Smith’s wife’s goulash ensured that the crew ate
well. The Hernandezes took over food management as energy
began to wane. Other volunteers included John Bradbury,
Gordon Cook, Joe Fox, Bob Gabriel, Steve Hussar, Jason
Lamontagne, Bob Longo, John McNamara, James Patten, Frank
Paul, Josh Recave, Stewart Rhine, John Robertson, Don Sanger,
Vern Shaw, Steve Smith , Brad Whittemore, and Steve Zuppa.
A wonderful bunch of volunteers have we! Many of our
“regulars” were unable to participate and were dearly missed.
Heartfelt thanks go to all who donated foodstuffs, from cookies
and chilies to meatballs and sausage soup, both for this event
and for Halloween. Surprisingly, though the event was free to
the public, passengers donated over $350 to the refreshment
table alone. Our thanks to the good-hearted people who
attended. Come and join us next Christmas, for you can’t beat
the cookies and cider. We hope to make the Christmas trains of
2006 even more memorable! So, until then, “Happy New Year
to all and to all a good night!”
Visit our web page at: http://www.wwfiry.org
pota
to
warehouse
dam out
buildings
MILI
Weeks Mills Rd
saw mill
school
house
Nort
h Rd
Zz
~ > Vaughn 2 iC Pierce
Ss % house
=
“T” indicates where Model T was stored
post >
office church on hill
This is an edited version of a drawing by Richard Campbell showing the town of Weeks Mills, Maine, as he
remembers it 70 years ago. Several locations shown are mentioned in the article on the next page.
2-Foot Musing No. 22 Just when I thought that T had put to bed for good the
question of how Monson freight trains were made up, along
comes a letter from Roger Whitney that puts a whole new spin
on it. Roger knows quite a bit about the Monson, as his family
comes from Monson and he has written a nice book about the
railroad. Roger points out that for several years near the end of
service, the run-around track at Monson station was severed
at the Water Street crossing, making it two stub-end sidings.
As aresult, it would require making flying switches to assemble
a train, but Roger does not believe they did. Whatever order
the cars came up out of the quarry was probably the way the
train was made up.
If this were the reason for the random makeup of trains,
and it seems to be the most logical, then, as Roger says, this
leads to the next question. Why did the Monson cut an
operationally valuable passing siding just the width of the
street?
To answer that question requires knowing something of
Harold Morrill, Superintendent of the Monson for 30 years
until he retired in 1938. While he was in charge, Mr. Morrill had
several run-ins with the Interstate Commerce Commission when
they tried to apply Government rules to the Monson’s
operations. He never converted the Monson to automatic
couplers, and he held off installing electric headlights on the
locomotives for many years. These things all cost money, which
was in short supply during most of the railroad’s life, and Mr.
Morrill could be very stubborn when it came to spending
money.
Roger’s theory is that at some time or other the ICC decided
that the Water Street crossing with two tracks required some
sort of crossing protection. Since crossing signals cost money,
Mr. Morrill stymied the ICC again by ripping up the second
track at the crossing. It made switching difficult for the train
crews, but in the 1930s if you were lucky enough to have a job
you didn’t complain too much about it.
Whether or not Roger’s theory is correct, it sure is the
most interesting. Here is the ICC with all of the power of the
Federal Government behind it against a backwater railroad that
not only was short but not even half as wide as a standard
railroad, and they lost two decisions out of three. Chalk one up
for Yankee stubbornness.
While we are on the subject of the Monson Railroad, I
have to say that Monson 3 and 4 are the most unhandsome of
all the locomotives that ran in the State of Maine. They were
basically contractors’ engines with none of the graceful looks
of earlier Hinkley and Portland Company products. Numbers 1
and 2 came from the Hinkley Works and were of the classic
early 2-foot design. By the time 3 and 4 were purchased, Hinkley
was gone, the Portland Company had exited the locomotive
business, and Baldwin’s designs were probably too heavy for
the Monson’s light iron. Possibly there was no choice, but just
maybe Mr. Morrill shopped around and bought the cheapest
engines he could find. I doubt that aesthetics counted for very
much with Mr. Morrill when it came to spending the railroad’s
money.
Since [ have used up most of this Musing discussing the
makeup of Monson freight trains, this will be absolutely the
last word on the subject.
by Ellis Walker
Weeks Mills Seventy Years Ago When he joined the Museum in 2004, Alden (Al) Cook
became the third generation of his family to be associated with
the WW&E. Al’s father Edward was a fireman for a few years,
and his grandfather George was a section foreman in China for
many years. This year, Al added his cousin Richard Campbell
to our membership rolls. Despite having lived most of his 83
years in South Carolina, Mr. Campbell has many memories of
the WW&F, as he was born and raised in Weeks Mills.
The Campbell home was on South Road, also known as
Varney Hill Road, which ran into Windsor via the east side of
the Sheepscot River and was a dirt road well into the 1950s. In
conversations with Al, Richard Campbell spoke of playing as a
child on the east bank of the Sheepscot behind the family
home and hearing the train to Albion coming up from Windsor
and watching its progress upgrade on the west side of the
river until it disappeared out of his line of sight and pulled to a
stop at the station. He was about ten years old when the railroad
quit, so his memories of it in operation were childhood memories.
In the following years, the station and other WW&F buildings
began slowly wasting away in abandonment. Mr. Campbell
was in the station not long after abandonment and found that
it looked like the station agent had simply risen from his chair
and left. It looked like he would be back shortly, as there was
paperwork on the desks and piles of paper in various places.
This was the case for years, as nothing was disturbed except
for some vandalism and scattering of paperwork by area
children. When asked if he knew anyone who worked on the
WWE&E he could offer up only one name, Mr. John Barry, who
worked as a section man based out of Weeks Mills. In addition
to these details provided in a telephone conversation, Richard
Campbell wrote the following letter to Al Cook:
Hello Alden ,
I was very pleased to get your letter and the brochure
telling about the restoration of the old narrow gauge. I can tell
you some things about the railroad. One of the foremen or
supervisors had a 1924 Model T Ford sedan which had been
modified to run on the rails. [remember seeing it in use. It was
housed along with the hand cars in a building on the same side
as the depot but across the road and north of the crossing. I
believe there were four buildings in that group and the Model
T was stored in the northernmost of the group. Orrin Malcolm
used to take mail to and from the post office and the WW&F
depot in a wheel barrow every morning and afternoon. Vaughn
Pierce, who was a friend of mine and still lives in Weeks Mills,
and I used to borrow the hand cars for various reasons - trips
to swimming holes, dances, etc. after the abandonment. We
always left them near the depot, but where we could not easily
have been seen. After a while they were not there anymore. We
figured they must have been scrapped. There were at least five
of them around Weeks Mills all the time. Did Vaughn show you
where the depot used to be?
Regards,
Richard
WW&E Volunteers in 2005 Volunteers are some of the most important assets the
WW&E Museum has. It is thanks to our volunteers that our
track gets laid, our trains get run, and our visitors are greeted.
With the turning of the new year, we like to recognize them.
Volunteer hours, as entered in the volunteer log in the
station, were tallied up for 2005. Last year, we had 157 volunteers
give 12,433.93 hours. The number of volunteer hours is slightly
less than 2004. Since we started recording hours in 1997, we
have accumulated a total of 83,940.65 hours. To put this in
perspective, that’s as if someone were manning the Museum
24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last 3 years, 10 months, 2
days, 21 hours, and 7 minutes.
Volunteers who signed the hours log in 2005 included:
Donald Awbin IM; Carson and Forrest Beck; Roger Berger;
Jim Bocock; Josh Botting; John Bradbury; Dave, Adam, and
Gregg Buczkowski; Sandy Bugbee; Duncan Burns; Rob
Carignan; Bob Cavanagh; Everett Chapman; Jon Chase; Dave
Coffin; Dennis Collins; Kayla Connors; Al Cook; George Cook;
Gordon Cook; Paul Crabb; Bob Curran; Ted Darling; Dana
Deering; Dan Ditullio; Richard Edling; Mark Edry; Warren and
Linda Erdman; Tom Evans; Dave Faulkner; Allan and Ellen
Fisher; Charles Foss; Mike and Joe Fox; Timothy and Justin
Franz; Bob Gabriel; Ed and Matthew Gilhooley; Collin and
Richard Green; Ross Hall; Vic Hamburger; Bob Hammond; Jon
and Nils Hanna; Cherish and Elegance Hartwick; Kristen
Hauck; Tamara Helguma; Galo, Francis, and Alexander
Hernandez; Steve Hogan; Bill Horton; John Houghton;
Thomas Hughes; Stephen Hussar; Carl Irwin; Fran Jones; Larry
Joy; Ben Kittredge; Don Konen; Wayne Laepple; Kai
Lakasuka; Jason and Sheila-Ann Lamontagne; Eric Larsen;
Dave and Jean Law; Ed, Emily, and Michelle Lecuyer; Mark.
Lengowski; Marcel Levesque; Paul Levesque; Bob, Sue, Cindy,
and Beth Longo; D. C. MacDonald; Duncan and Barbara
Mackiewicz; James Mangle; Richard and Wendell Mauser; John
McNamara; Monroe Mechling; Bob Meckley; Chrissy Mercer;
Eric Missal; Alan and Elliott Moore; Fred Morse; Patrick and
Brian Murphy; Tim Nadeau; Greg Nazarow; Dave Newton;
Cliff Olson; Patty Osmer; James and Laurel Patten; Prank Paul;
Charlie Pidacks; Sam Powers; Gary and Joshua Recave; Susan
Reid; Bill Reidy; Frank Rende; Dale Reynolds; Stewart Rhine;
Russell Riggs; John and Jane Robertson; Robin Roebon; Dave
Rossi; Tom Rush; Bill Sample; Don, Jeanne, and Cindy Sanger;
Dave Schroeder; Jeff Schumaker; Steve Sconfienza; Miranda
Searles; Vernon Shaw; Andy Short; Rick and Brenda Sisson;
Steve Smith; Jonathan and Sue St. Mary; Julius Stuck; Paul
Swann; Richard Symmes; Don Thomas; Harry Wagner ITI; Ellis
Walker; Dick and Bryce Weeks; Leon Weeks; Roger Whitney;
Brad Whittemore; Chet Wilkinson; Peter Wilson; Dwight
Winkley; Leon Wood; Zack Wyllie; Clint and Fran Wyman;
and Steve Zuppa.
by James Patten
Railroad Locations
It’s quite likely that a good portion of our 1000+ members
have not ridden the line lately. So when articles in the newsletter
talk of “Cock-Eye Curve” or “Trask Crossing,” you may not
know where these locations are. This article attempts to describe
the railroad as it is at the end of 2005.
The original railroad was a north-south railroad, which was
quite unusual, as most railroads were oriented east-west. In
this article, facing railroad north is facing toward Albion, with
east on the right, west on the left. Fortunately, the railroad
generally retains this orientation for its entire length, making
directions easy to understand and avoiding the problem, for
example, of heading compass south but railroad north.
We start at Sheepscot Station, the southernmost extent of
the Museum line. This is at milepost (MP) 4.8, or 4.8 miles from
the end of the original line at Wiscasset. In those days, this
location was home to a small station building, a small freight
shed, and a section house (a storage shed for track crew tools),
all on the east side. There was a single-ended siding, or team
track, here on the west side.
Today, the facilities are considerably larger. The track ends
mere feet north of Cross Road. A replica of the original station
stands here, as well as a replica of the Weeks Mills freight
shed; both are on the east side of the line. The four-bay Museum
shop building is on the west side, standing at a slight angle to
the main line. A siding between the shop building and the
mainline will soon become the Sheepscot run-around track. On
the west side of the shops is another track, thus making six
tracks in the yard, plus the mainline. Tracks in the yard converge
at a three-way stub switch, from which a single lead joins the
mainline at a switch approximately 250 feet north of the end of
track. Just north of this mainline switch is the original section
house, serving again as a track tool shed, on the west side of
the line. The new water tower will be located across the track
from the tool shed.
The yard ends about a tenth of a mile north of the end of
track, marked by a nice yard limit sign on the west side of the
track, based ona SR&RL design, built by Gary Recave. About
a hundred feet further on is a private driveway crossing, called
Stockford’s Crossing. This first crossing is actually our newest,
having been installed in the spring of 2005. The “Railroad
Crossing.” sign, as described by Stewart Rhine in a previous
newsletter, is on the northeast side of the crossing, as it is with
all crossings so marked. Riders can see to the east the
meanderings of Stationhouse Brook, the brook that flows under
Cross Road and past Sheepscot Station.
Continuing north, MP 5 is reached at the end of the straight
track, or tangent, out of Sheepscot. The railroad now makes a
westerly curve on what we call Davis Curve. The curve is 12
degrees, the second-sharpest curve that was on the original
line (the sharpest was a 20-degree curve on the Wiscasset
shoreline). Up until this point the Museum line was laid with
33-Ib mine rail. Mid-way through the curve it switches to 56-Ib
rail with some 40-lb rail forming a transition. Davis Crossing,
an inactive crossing, is near the end of the curve. The railroad
through to this point is basically flat, with little grade. However,
just north of Davis Crossing, the line straightens, and then
starts downhill on what we call Davis Grade. The grade isn’t
much, about a half-percent for half of the quarter-mile tangent.
The Museum stores rail on the west side of the track at this
point. Stationhouse Brook, which disappeared on the curve,
briefly reappears near the grade.
The tangent ends about a half mile from Sheepscot, and
then enters what the original railroaders called Cock-Eye Curve.
This climbing S-curve gently curves east then more sharply
curves west. The upgrade begins at Sutter’s Crossing, an active
crossing near some power lines. The heavy grade,
approximately 1.5 percent and currently the heaviest on the
Museum line, lasts only through the first curve, leveling out
into the second curve. The south end of the second curve was
the site of a wreck in the late 1920s when a south-bound train
lost half of its cars.
North of the curve there’s another quarter mile tangent,
with Hall’s Crossing, sporadically active, part way up. Between
the end of the curve and Hall’s Crossing there is a wide area
east of the track that was originally intended for a passing
siding. This area is now home to some timbers from the Humason
Trestle project and panel track for a few four-wheeled work
cars. About halfway up the tangent is what we call Phantom
Crossing, which isn’t a crossing at all but has long ties in case
the land abutters decide they want one. Riders can see Humason
Brook on the east side of the line at this point about a mile from
Sheepscot Station.
At the end of the tangent is a short westerly curve, at the
end of which the railroad passes over Humason Brook on the
line’s only trestle, assembled by US Marine Corps Reservists
in 2001. The trestle is about 40 feet long, and the streambed is
about [5 feet below the track. Having crossed to the west side
of the line, Humason Brook soon disappears forever to its
swampy headwaters.
The line now begins its final ascent to the height of land
north of Alna Center. After a short tangent beyond the trestle,
the line begins a gentle easterly curve and about a 1 percent
climb. Midway through this curve is MP 6. Milepost signs, on
the west side, are generally based on WW&F milepost signs,
and were also designed and built by Gary Recave. These signs
consist of a large “W” over the mile number.
The next feature of interest is Trask Crossing, an active
driveway north of which the grade continues for another
quarter mile, entering the south yard limits and passing the
south switch of the Alna Center runaround before passing the
station building. The grade continues north beyond the station,
past the north switch and ends at the height of land about 600
feet beyond the station. Alna Center station is on the east side,
with the runaround track on the west side. Inactive (but newly
rebuilt) Averill Road is north of the station, going across both
tracks. Alna Center Station, at MP 6.4, was originally a simple
flag stop shelter, where trains would stop only if someone was
waiting for them.
The in-service railroad ends just north of the north switch,
but track continues for another quarter mile. The north yard
limit is at the height of land (not to be confused with the Top of
the Mountain a mile further north). The railroad takes a sharp
dip downhill here, which resembles a ramp (also referred to as
“the ladder” in an earlier newsletter), before leveling out and
ending a scant 2.5 miles from Head Tide.
by James Patten
Long Range Plan
Implementation
The Long Range Plan has now been out for seven months,
having been submitted to the Board and the membership in
May of this year. I hope all of you have had the chance to read
it, and if you haven’t, Iencourage you to do so. So far, we have
received a lot of positive feedback. In this and periodic future
articles I hope to be able to shed light on the Museum’s
acceptance and plans for implementation of this document.
At the June 2005 Board Meeting, the Directors agreed to
review one section at each month’s meeting. With only minor
wording changes, the Directors have since approved Sections
1-5 and 7. Once all changes have been made, the plan will be
reissued reflecting the approval of the Board.
Several portions of the plan have already been addressed.
This spring a clean-up party was held to remove junk and
garbage from the immediate vicinity of the shop buildings in
Sheepscot Yard. Much of it was metal that Leon Weeks took to
a junk dealer who gave us several hundred dollars for it. Fred
Morse took the rest to the Wiscasset Transfer Station. Many
weekends this year a few volunteers led by Sam Powers cut up
the junk rail in the pile west of the yard; this material will be
eventually trucked to a junk dealer. This activity partially
addresses the “Sheepscot Yard Cleanup” paragraph in the
Physical Plant section of the plan. There is still more to do,
both along the west wall of the machine shop and by the section
house at the yard throat.
Under the “Wood Shed, Blacksmith Shed” paragraph in
the same section, the area where all the #10 overhaul junk was
stored last year has been cleaned up and is now home to an
open-air blacksmithy. We plan to cover the forge area with a
simple shelter. While there isn’t a woodshed yet, wood to be
dried is now stored near the flammables shed, and wood being
used in fire-up is now stored between the tracks leading to
Bays 3 and 4.
The plan recommended regular operating meetings for
railroad crews. This summer we started having daily crew
meetings before trains begin running, to familiarize the crew
with running conditions or the operating preferences of
engineer or conductor.
I’m sure that all of you have received the 2005 Annual
Appeal letter. Several items presented in this appeal are a result
of the plan. Money has been allocated for Averill Road work,
for planning for a future septic system and toilets, and for a
temporary solution to keep cars out of the weather. Zack Wyllie
has already met with a sanitation engineer, and has walked the
property with him. The engineer will get back to us with his
septic system recommendations.
Averill Road, in the days of the railroad, connected the
Alna Meeting House and current Route 218 with the west side
of Alna and the current West Alna Road. Several families lived
along it. Since the closure of the railroad, it became an access
road to fields owned by the Albee family, long-time residents
of Alna. Last fall volunteers opened up the road by clearing
out all the trees. This fall, the portion of the road alongside the
field was rebuilt by Hanley Construction. Once this road
becomes available for use by heavy trucks, stone storage can
be moved to Alna Center, and the parking lot at Sheepscot can
be cleaned up to provide easier walking.
As announced in prior newsletters, our membership dues
have been raised as of January 1, 2006 to $30 for annual
membership and $300 for life membership. This is a direct result
of the recommendations made in the Membership section. After
some discussion, it was decided not to add any new
membership categories mentioned in the plan.
In mid summer, a saw mill was donated to us. This saw mill
is currently in pieces at AIna Center. Procurement of a saw mill
or similar line-side equipment was recommended in the
Peripheral Operations section. Should any reader know of
anyone who might be interested in taking charge of setting the
saw mill up and operating it, please let us know.
Over the coming months, the Board will go over the
remainder of the plan and set the priorities for the coming
years. We’ll continue to.need everyone’s support as we head
into the future - ideas, labor, as well as finances.
by James Patten
The Great Saw Mill Caper As told to Stewart Rhine by Tom Albee,
grandson of Mr. Everett Albee
In the early years of the 20th century, Mr. Everett Albee
owned the farm that was adjacent to the WW&F Railway’s
Alna Center station. He had a good relationship with the
railroad, as he often shipped milk on the line.
One day Mr. Albee was contacted by the railroad’s freight
agent regarding a piece of equipment that was being shipped
on the Narrow Gauge. He was told that there was a portable
saw mill rig on a flat car in Wiscasset, and that the shipper
wanted it unloaded at Alna Center. Mr. Albee agreed to unload
the mill, and the agent advised that the car would be in the next
day’s northbound train. Arranging the meet was important, as
the saw mill had to be unloaded from the car on the mainline
because there was no siding for a set-off.
The following morning, Mr. Albee took his horse team down
to the station. He then set up some blocking next to the
tracks. When the train came along, the crew stopped on the
mainline north of the station. Mr. Albee tied his team on and
pulled the rig off of the car. With his work complete, he took his
team back to resume his regular farm work.
A few days passed, and no one showed up to claim the
saw mill. One afternoon there was a knock at Mr. Albee’s front
door. Upon answering, Mr. Albee was surprised to see the
Sheriff on his front steps. The Sheriff asked him if he had
unloaded a saw mill from a flat car. He stated that he had and
told the Sheriff where it was. The Sheriff then told him that the
saw mill was stolen, and that they traced it to Alna Center by
the railroad way bills. The two men went down to the field so
that the Sheriff could examine the saw mill and make a report.
The Sheriff then made arrangements with the WW&F to have
an empty flat car on the next southbound train. He asked Mr.
Albee to return the following day to reload the mill rig. Mr.
Albee did as requested and loaded the mill back onto the car. It
is doubtful that Mr. Albee ever received any pay for his work,
but it is known that he was happy to have helped solve a crime.
.
Zack Wyllie contemplates his next step in constructing the new flatcar.
New Flatcar Construction
Volunteers led by Zack Wyllie have begun construction of
anew flatcar. This will be the first new flatcar on the property
since cars 116 through 125 were ordered from the Portland
Company in 1912. Like those cars, the new car, 126, will be 30
feet long and 6 feet wide, with 4 truss rods underneath and 8
stake pockets on each side.
In the same fashion as flatcar 118, the stake pockets will be
used to secure safety railings in passenger service. In freight
service, stakes and long planks will allow the car to handle
large loads of stone ballast.
It is in this latter application that the car will be most useful.
The current practice of having stone delivered to Sheepscot,
loaded onto flatcar 118, and taken north to the work site has
become problematic for several reasons:
* In the springtime, Cross Road in Sheepscot is often
posted against heavy loads until just a few days before
the work weekend.
¢ Piles of stone and space for loading eliminate most of
the available parking before and during the work
weekend.
* The space requirements and mess of handling stone in
the parking area prevent improvements suggested by
Long Range Plan respondents.
* Most important, the transit time to haul stone from
Sheepscot to the end of track has become substantial,
even with our fastest locomotive, Number 10.
Photo by Bob Cavanagh
These problems have been addressed by purchasing a small
area of land across the tracks at Alna Center for stone storage
and loading. The Museum has received landowner approval
to improve and use the road (Averill Road) that accesses the
newly-acquired property.
¢ The road improvements should allow year-round usage.
Since the road connects to a heavy-duty state highway,
springtime load postings should not affect stone delivery.
« Stone loading will no longer interfere with Sheepscot
parking.
* Minor improvements to the Sheepscot Station area will
be possible without fear of damage by heavy equipment.
¢ Transit time to the work site will be substantially
improved, as the stone pile will be 1.6 miles closer to the
work site. Further, completion of flatcar 126 will allow
one train to be loaded while the other is being unloaded,
thus providing a constant flow of stone to the work crew.
While it was originally planned to use ex-Edaville open car
202 as the basis for a new flatcar, the beams in that car were
rotted. Only the trucks and couplers were salvageable. Two
new 5x8 beams and four new 4 x 8 beams were purchased.
These western fir beams, shown in the photo, cost $942. Funding
for the project is through a grant from the Amherst Railway
Society and through the recent Capital Fund campaign.
Everyone is looking forward to seeing the new flatcar in service,
with the possible exception of the work crews, who will now
have less time to rest between carloads!
Mark your calendars now for the Spring Work Weekend on April 28" through 30°
2005 Capital Fund Exceeds Goal The 2005 Annual Capital Fund has exceeded the goal of $40,000 set by your Board of Directors, and has done so at an earlier date
than ever before: As of December 31°, 325 members and 4 friends have given $43,735.
While this will be the final report on our 2005 Capital Fund Drive, our Treasurer reminds us that undesignated donations that go
to the Museum’s General Fund are essential to ensuring that the Museum continues to operate and grow. This is especially true in
the First Quarter of every year, when there is no regular source of income to pay our recurring bills. Ticket revenues only account for
12% of our annual operating income, the Museum Store contributes another 10%, and dues payments account for another 25%. If it
were not for the additional donations that you, our members and friends, are able to give throughout the year, we would not be able
. to continue the steady progress to which we have become accustomed.
Donors between November 10" and December 31“ included:
Oliver Andrews II
Robert W. Arnold
Tim Blanchard
C. Randall Beach
Adam, David & Gregg Buczkowski
Christopher Coyle
Charles Dick
Hunt Dowse
Peter Eastman
Starr Edgerton
Wes Enman
David Eskelund
Kevin Farrell
Michael Francoeur
Allen Gagnon (Red’s Eats)
David Goff
Tracy Hastings
Roger Hathaway
John Houghton Jr
Sherrill Hunnibell
John Keene
Karl Kleimenhagen
Pete Lammert
Stephania Longo
R.E. Lyon & Son
Maine Garden Railroad Society
John Manley
Mr & Mrs Hugh Marshall
Sally Moore
Ronald Muldowney
Greg Nazarow
Robert Parker
Charles Reynolds
John Robertson
Cliff Russell
Ken Sevard
Scott Sidelinger
Jeffrey Sisson
Gary Sodergren
James Stewart
Edson Tennyson
Mark Tilyou
Verizon MIP Foundation
Irma Wilhelm
Ray Wilson
To join the W.W.&F. Ry. Museum or to send a contribution (tax deductible) please use the form below. eae eee es ee ee
ZIP/POSTAL CODE
Please make all checks payable to “W.W.&F. Railway Museum.”
A receipt will be sent for all contributions received.
Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum i Sheepscot Station, PO Box 242, Alna, Maine 04535-0242
Please sign me up as follows: Additional Contributions:
H Life Membership ................. L1$300 #9 Fund
Annual Membership ........... LI $30 #10 Fund
1 Endowment
i Unrestricted
NAME
ADDRESS
i i I i
4 Construction has begun on the Head Tide Water Tank replica. The flat car is sitting on the mainline switch at
the north end of the Sheepscot Yard. The photo on page | was taken from atop the platform in this photo.