Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Rlwy - 2006,2009
A dedicated group of volunteers has brought back to life a small section of the former WW&F. over the past 10 years they have cleared nearly 3 miles of the original roadbed from Sheepscot to north of Alna Center and have re-laid track. With new and restored rolling stock and buildings, the present-day WW&F provides a great feel to what the original was like back in the early 1900's.
This was our second visit to the WW&F; the first was in 2006 (scroll down for pix from that visit). The railroad has made tremendous progress in three years: a major extension of the shop building, completion of the water tank, restoration of open car #103, and extension of the track another xxxx feet. To add to the feeling of the proper era, the railroad has also acquired a beautiful Model A truck.
1 Aug 2009
You can almost imagine yourself back in 1933.
1 Aug 2009
Further down the page you will see a 2006 picture of the piers for the water tank, which has since been completed and enclosed.
1 Aug 2009
#10 pauses at the tank to take on water.
1 Aug 2009
Restoration work on #9 continues.
1 Aug 2009
The open car, #103, behind #10, has also undergone major renovation and rebuilding. Scroll down to see what it looked like three years ago.
1 Aug 2009
#10 heads out for another run up past Alna Center.
1 Aug 2009
The end of the line north of Alna Center. Twice a year volunteers gather for a weekend of track-laying.
1 Aug 2009
Some pictures from an earlier visit
As we arrived, this was our first view of steam power on the revived WW&F.
#10 was originally built as a 30" gauge loco for Louisiana sugar plantations. It was fabricated by Vulcan in 1904, serial #574, and converted to 2' gauge in 1959 by the Edaville RR.
11 Jun 2006
Here is #10 in front of the Sheepscot station.
The interior of the Sheepscot station.
Vern Shaw was the engineer on the day of our visit.
Nearly two miles north of Sheepscot is Alna Center, currently the end of the line.
Coach #8, formerly Edaville #26.
The old and the new: Flat #126 in the foreground is a new car built to match #118, coupled at the far end, an original. Caboose #320 was built in 1997-98, using plans drawn in 1901.
#52 is a little gas loco built by Plymouth.
The view of the south end of the line at Sheepscot. Of particular interest is the three-way stub switch. There was a similar switch on the East Broad Top RR in Pennsylvania.
Another view of that three-way stub switch, with the base for a new water tank in the background.
#9 is ex-SR&RL #5, ex-Edaville, built by Portland in 1891, serial # 622. It is currently undergoing repairs and renovations.
Open excursion car #103, ex-Edaville. This car obviously needs major renovations before she's fit for the rails again.