Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway (WW&F) Discussion

We need to give Joe a place to consolidate all of his WW&F knowledge and postings!


Have at it Joe!

Thanks Ian,

I didn't see this earlier, but now I know where I can post what goes on at the WW&F to keep all of you guys updated.

Yesterday, Saturday, January 26th, 2008, brush cutting was done in the area of a planned parking area west of the Percival house. Other uses for the same area include things such as a roundhouse, a car barn, and bathrooms. The first things to go into the area when it is all cleared out will be parking, and public restrooms. THe roundhouse will be three stalls, like the original Wiscasset roundhouse, and will have three smoke jacks on the turntable end of the building, so that the steam engines can be fired up inside. If you have any questions, plesae feel free to ask.

Joe Fox wrote: THe roundhouse will be three stalls, like the original Wiscasset roundhouse, and will have three smoke jacks on the turntable end of the building, so that the steam engines can be fired up inside. If you have any questions, plesae feel free to ask.

Thanks for the info Joe. Any idea when the round house will be started/done?

-Justin Franz, also a member of the WWFry, just wish I could do more.

The parking and restrooms are the highest priority. There's no timetable for turntable/roundhouse at this point. I'd guess at least 5 years out.

Next Saturday, Feb. 23rd will be a #9 work day. There will be brush cutting done also, along with any other work that needs to be done.

Work was done on #9's rear frame. Brush cutting was also done in the soon to be new parking area, and work was done on #10 as well. All and all, a lot of work got done, and all three crews were kept busy all day long.

Joe

The following is the WW&F steam event in the snow on March 29th, 2008.

"Yesterday's steam event went very well. Everybody was very happy, several photographers were taking pictures of the steam engine in the snow. There were smiles on young and old alike as they toured the yard, took pictures, found easter eggs, etc.

The teachers that I had come view me firing the steam engine as a part of my Senior Project had a great time, and plan on coming back again. One of them was a history teacher, and I am going to see if maybe he can bring a class or two to the museum next year, so that they can get a chance to see a small part of Maine's history.

The steam from the stack was incredible, I wish I could have taken some pictures, or video of the way it billowed out of the stack, wow what a sight it was. I shot some video of us yard switching at the end of the day, that I will add to YouTube, and post a link here for you guys to watch. One angle I thought about for next time, is on top of the cab roof." Quote from Joe Fox's post on WW&F Ry discussion forum.

Here are some links to the Yard Switching videos that I am posting on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlQKUQhg7Fg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWriFjbwWsQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4XobYD4XhQ

Please let me know what you think of the videos. Thanks,

Joe

The 2008 WW&F Annual Picnic was an outstanding take, as it always is. Some great "freight" action at the end of the day. A big thank you to all of you at the Museum who always put on a great show.

Here are two videos I took this past weekend. They are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNCFESAA5CE

and here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZPsA7VM9-w

I have more coming. Hope you all enjoy them.

Dave

Here are three new additional videos from last week's Annual Picnic. Hope you all enjoy them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR0bEy-cnkw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN8rJ5r3NvA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg5dKa1960c

Ecellent videos.

The WW&F is a wonderfull place. A few days ago, while I was working at Conway Scenic, I met a lady that wrote an article about the WW&F in the Wiscasset Paper. I told her that I am a volunteer there, however, not as regular now as I once was, due to me working on Saturdays and Sundays, and having Mondays and Tuesdays off. Oh well. Thank you for posting the videos, and please keep them coming. Thanks again,

Joe

Here's a quick clip I took at the '07 picnic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfk8zS3rumI

TRAINS magazine states that the WW&F got some money for extending their trackage a bit more. Someone recently expressed concern about them taking too long to secure the ROW from people building on it. They were worried that without active clearing, etc, they would loose the ROW to "progress".

Thoughts?

The railroad is in of no danger of someone building on the ROW. The progress may seem slow to some but is all done (with acception of the dirt work, stumping, grading atc.) with volunteer labor. Most of the right of way easements have been signed to keep the rail moving North at a steady 1,000 to 1,200 feet a year. All of the land owners in the area are very pleasant and want little done for them for the use of their land. Most just want a simple woods crossing. Others want nothing accept to see the railroad continue.
Some places farther up the line, a state hightway was relocated onto the right of way. But this is way beyond what could be reasonable for the railroad to reach. And though it would be nice to recreate the whole line, just a portion of it is more reasonable to do to give the public a taste of the way things used to be.
http://www.wwfry.org/
Mike

miketrainnut wrote:
Some places farther up the line, a state hightway was relocated onto the right of way. But this is way beyond what could be reasonable for the railroad to reach. http://www.wwfry.org/
Mike

Where exactly is that? (I've probably been over it at least once in my journeys over the line.)

Cosmo, Route 194 directly south of the former Whitefield station site. For about 1/4 mile south along the river. Where the road turns away from the river just past the old dam, the roadbed stays on the bank of the river headed south toward Head Tide.
Mike