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Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington

Railway Museum

SHEEPSCOT STATION, ALNA, MAINE 04535-0242

September/October 1997

Marcel Levesque applies a final coat of paint to the roof of boxcar 309 on

September 27, 1997, at Sheepscot. Larson Powell photo,

Main Line Extension Moves Ahead

Sy Larson M, Powell, President

The months of September and October have seen

a substantial amount of work directed toward extending the railroad’s main line tracks. By the middle of October, all of

the roadbed which we currently have under lease had been graded and our remaining inventory of ties had been laid oul as far as possible in preparation for rail laying and

spiking. ‘

As reported by James Patten in the “Track Crew Update” later in this issue, the total length of our main line

has now reached 1,557 fect and this figure increases almost

every week. Another 200-300 feet should be in place before

year end, if the weather cooperates.

A major part of the track work has involved the

installation of a crossing at the logging toad just beyond the

curve on the Davis property. This curve has been tricky to construct because of some very wet ground which required a large amount of stone ballast for proper drainage, as did

the crossing itself, Because of the heavy logging equipment

that uses this crossing, it had to be built to withstand some very rough punishment.

Grading of gravel at the crossing was completed

by Harry Percival on Saturday, October 18th, the same day that a crew of volunteers traveled three hours north to Hancock, Maine, toremove another load of rail from Phillip

Sammis’ property,

This crew included Zack Wyllie, Jason

Lamontagne, James Patten, Fred Morse, Jim Morse, Marcel

Levesque, John Bradbury, Frank Rolfe, Ben Cracolici and

Bill Plappert. They left Shepscot Station at 6:00 a.m. and arrived at Hancock shortly after 9:00 a.m.

In what proved to be a back-breaking job, they

pulled up some 1,086 running feet of 55 Tb. rail (543 feet

when laid side-by-side).and pushed it by hand on an uphill grade for nearly a mile on a small flatcar to the loading area

by the main road. There it was stacked with the pile of 1,350 fect of 30, 35 and 40 Ib. rail that was pulled up last spring. It took until after 6:00 p.m. to complete this job.

The entire load will now be moved to Sheepscot Station in the next month or so and used for various purposes,

including the main line, Once again we want to thank Mr. Phillip Sammis

of Kennebunkport and Millbridge, Maine, for giving us the

opportunity to buy this rail. Without his help, we would not

have been able to extend our trackage as rapidly as we have. Meanwhile, planning for our new caboose project

is well underway under the direction of Vice President Zack Wyllie. The first steel for the trucks has been ordered and

actual construction should begin in a few weeks. Finally, it is with great regret that I announce the

resignation of Bruce Wilson as a director and as membership secretary of the Museum, Bruce has worked long and hard

ona variety of projects and has done an outstanding job as membership secretary. He has spent many hours driving

back and forth from Pembroke, Massachusetts, where he

ool ees |

lives, to Sheepscot, and is now involved with a group of

volunteers who are helping to reopen the Edaville Railroad in South Carver, Massachusetts. Bruce grew up just a few miles from Edaville and his father was involved in the road's operations so his ties to that railroad are strong. We wish

him well and hope he will continue to retum often to

Sheepscot. For the moment, until anew membership secretary

is appointed, please mail all dues renewals, contributions

and other mail to the W.W. & F. Railway Museum, Sheepscot

Station, Alna, Maine 04535-0242,

Fund Drive Tops 33%

By the middle of October, just about one month

from the date our annual appeal letter was mailed, we had received just over $4,000 in contributions from our members

towards our goal of $12,000, or roughly 33%. We thank each and every one of you who have donated to our drive thus far and want you to know how important your support

is to us, both financially and psychologically. We still have

along way Lo go to reach our goal but we believe we can hit our target apain this year, as we have in every past drive.

Here is a partial list of our donors to date:

Boxcar 309 at the Ramsdell farm in West Thompson, Connecticut, in April 1995, prior to being moved to Sheepscot. Larson M. Powell photo.

James C. Patten

Just L. Wold

Roscoe P. Woodman

Martin K. Van Horn

George B., Bartlett

John D. Hansen

Tracy K. Hastings Fred $. Morse

Henry §. Tinkham

Ben Kittredge, M_D.

David J. Birmingham Grant D, Whipple James E. Auman

Sumner T. Carlson

Karl P. Gustafson

Clarissa T. Percival Royal H. Spencer

Clifford B. Richardson

F. Yan Wormer Walsh

Richard W, Symmes

John E. McNamara

Donald H. Turner

Marion A, Edgar

Jerome M. Hebda

Walter G. Schmunk Forest G. Bunker

David §, Eskelund

George C, Cromer

Allan C. Fisher Robert B. Shaw

Robert C. Jones Charles R. Pidacks Richard L. Carroll

William E, Reed Edward L. Jones John R. Hilton

Gardner T. Brookings Patrick A. Scollin Morton R. Schoenberg Terry R. Beal Wilfred C. Chesebrough John L, Spelce

J.D, Heagney

Nelson F. Kennedy

Paul E. Kehoe Cheryl A. Sullivan Ruth L, Starrett Clara E. Radtke James N. Amato Kevin P. Walsh

David L. Graley

Walter W. Orloff Ralph E. Sweeney Merrill L. Donahue

Gary W. Kohler Brynat H. Besse

AFTER

Robert F. Lord

John E, Butler

Mason M. Phelps John P. Slattery

Mark F. Baytala

Donald E. Martin

Patricia I]. Butterworth

Robert L. MacDonald

Marcia H. Reed

Donald Tibbetts.

Ellen F, Allen Deanna G, Hilton

Charles A, Davis

C. Stewart Rhine

Thomas J, Werb

Herman R. Zapf Gurdon §. Buck

Gordon H, Fay

Priscilla R. Smith

F. Berkeley Hobart Lyman F, Brewer Russell G. St. John Ellis E. Walker

Barbara A. Donahue

Constance Pace

Walter G. Miete

Charles C. Libby Phyllis H. Patten

Marcel R. Levesque

wer a

Boxcar 309 at Sheepscot Station, September 27, 1997, after completion of restoration. Larson Powell photo.

3

W.W. & F. Musing No. 34 By Ellis E. Walker

Frank Winter was the last owner of the WW. & F. and it was on his watch that the railroad finally expired.

Most two-foot gauge enthusiasis think thal a minor derailment was a very poor excuse for abandoning

operations. If some of us had been around then we would

gladly have offered our time and energy to jacking No. 8

back on the rails. However, it didn’t happen that way and ever since, Mr. Winter has had to bear the enmity of the railfan community for letting the W.W. & F. die. Whether

or not this 18 justified is questionable.

Ifhe hadn't stepped in when he did, the W.W. & F. in all probability would have been abandoned in 1930. Sam Sewall had already sent out abandonment notices that had

to be canceled when the Winter regime took over. So we got three more years of operations that we wouldn't have had if Mr. Winter had not been in the picture. Long enough for Linwood Moody and others to photo document the W.W. & F's last years of operation.

If Frank Winter was not the villain he seemed to

be conceming the W.W. & F., the railfan community has yet

another charge to bring against him and that is forcing the abandonment of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban in 1933. The P-LI operating between its namesake cities was an intercity electric railroad of the highest caliber, equal to or

better than any of the mid-western interurbans. If you aren’t into trolleys this may not interest you very much, but I

became a trolley enthusiast at an early age while riding the cars of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Ry between Augusta

and my uncle's camp on Webber Pond, midway between Augusta and Waterville.

The P-L] was a subsidiary of the Androscoggin Electric Co, It started to lose money along with a lot of other railroads in the early 1930's, but the power company deemed it worthwhile to continue operations because they could use the value of the railroad as part of their total

investment for rate-making purposes. Under the rules of

the day the greater the investment the more the power company could charge their customers.

Now comes on the scene Frank Winter, who owned a factory in Auburn and was a big user of electricity. He

helped to form a consumer protective association with the goal of lowering electric rates. They petitioned the Public Utilities Commission to force Androscoggin Electric to delete the P-L] investment from their rate base, thus effectively lowering the amount of profit they could make and thus lowering electricity rates to consumers, Winter's group was successful and although there were many months

of litigation the new rates went into effect in early 1933. This meant that the Interurban was separated from

the power company and therefore the railroad had to pay its

own way. Losses accrued by the Interurban could not be

charged against the power company’s profits. Since the Interurban had lost money in 1931 and 1932 and since there

were no immediate prospects of improved carnings, the directors voted to abandon. The last trip was June 28th, just two weeks after the W.W. & F's unplanned last rip om June 15th,

O.R. Cummings, whose Maine's Fast Electric

Railroad provided most of the information in this Musing,

opined that if Mr. Winter and his group had not initiated

their rate action, the Interurban might have remained in

operation a few more years. There had been talk of procuring light-weight, one-man cars to reduce costs and the power company might have been content to break even or sustain

a small loss on their rail operations for the sake of the larger rate base. However, it was not to be, and the State of Maine

lost a wonderful transportation service forever. In retrospect I can’t really fault Mr. Winter in doing

what he did. The Great Depression was in full swing and

the saving of a few hundred dollars or more in electric bills

could make the difference in keeping a business going. It

certainly was his duty as a businessman to explore every

avenue to lowering costs in order bo stay in business. Frank Winter was a hard-headed businessman, except I think he

was a little soft on the W.W. & F., as I have said before (see Musing No. 7),

Now for the good news. Portland-Lewiston Interurban No. 14, the “Narcissus," which is pictured here,

has survived all these years and is now in the shop at the Seashore Trolley Museum where it is undergoing restoration to running order. Some ofus arc hoping to live long enough to see this fine old classic interurban car running again under its Own power.

Portland-Lewiston Interurban

No, J4 “Narcissus”

What does this interurban trolley car have to do with the WW & EF? See Musing No. 34 for the connection,

100 Years Ago by Harry Percival, Jr.

September and October of 1897 were interesting ones. On October 12 a two-foot gauge 2-6-0 Baldwin locomotive, an open excursion car, and five flat cars that

had arrived at Railroad Wharf on July 20 were hauled away to Portland on Maine Central flatcars. The equipment was stored at the Portland Company until February 1900, when it was sold to the Sandy River RR. The owner of the equipment apparently hacl hoped to sell it to the Wiscasset & Quebec RR. The W & Q already had three locomotives which was probably all it could afford.

The main line was extended fram Albion to

Burnham during October and November with a view to connecting with the Sebasticook & Moosehead RR at PittsHeld. This was part of a prand scheme, common to

every seaport on the Maine coast, of reaching the Canadian

RR system and becoming Canada’s winter outlet to Europe. This idea persisted from 1835, when Colonel Long surveyed a route from Wiscasset to Quebec, to 1934, when Frank

Winter had Earl Keefe take some Canadian Pacific officials on an inspection trip of the W.W. & F, Ry with a view to

selling it to them, To reach Pittsfield it was necessary to cross the

Maine Central RR, and on October 6 a petition was filed with the Maine Board of Railroad Commissioners for permission to cross the Belfast branch of the Maine Central, and to establish the nature of the crossing. Although

permitted, the W & Q never did cross at Burnham, and the Sebasticook & Moosehead became the Harmony branch of

the Maine Central, On September 7, Godfrey FP. Farley, who had

become a Director early in 1897, purchased the right of way for railroad purposes over the Whaleship Wharf property

from Daniel Stone. He deeded this property to the W.W. & F. RR in June of 1901, presumably as part of the bargain when the W.W. d& F RR bought all the assets of the W & Q

RR by exchange of 6% gold bonds for stock,

The W & Q BR bought the following pieces of

right of way in Albion during October, 1897:

Octl3 ElmerHardingetal 131rods $300.00 Oct28 Elvira Gerald 65.8 rods $ 20.00 Oct?8 Samuel Webb 37 rods $ 30.00

Oct 28 Almon G, Warren 44.7 rods § 40.00

Acquisition of the right of way was spread over a

period of many years, with very little of it obtained before

building the line, and much of it obtained after the WW. & F. RR took over.

60 Years Ago 60 years ago the track had just been taken up where

we are putting down track now, It was taken up from Head Tide to Wiscasset as part of the general scrapping of the

railroad carried outin 1937. The track from Albion to Head Tide had been taken up in the fall of 1934 to satisfy a lien placed on the main line rails by Sherwin Williams Paint Company to secure payment for paint. The paint on the

new buildings at Sheepscot Station has all been paid for so we have no fear of Sherwin Williams bill collectors.

In October 1937 the boiler from locomotive 3 was taken to Auburn where Frank Winter ran the Union Box & Lumber Co, The rest of the locomotive was scrapped at

Wiscasset. The scrapping was not total, for part of a

locomotive lank is at the water's edge of the old machine

shop area, It was during the general scrapping that locomotive 9, boxcar 309, flatear 118, a gravel tip car and a

quantity of yard rail was taken to Frank Ramsdell’s farm in

West Thompson, Connecticut, all of which is now at

Sheepscot Station.

Track Crew Update By James C. Patten

The days are growing shorter, the wind is turning

cooler, and the leaves are changing color. It's autumn, one of my favorite times of year. Why, do you ask? Because it is in the fall that activities in the Museum tum toward extending the main line, one of my most-liked occupations in life.

Preparation for it began right after the Annual

Picnic. During the last few weeks of August the crew surveyed out the land north of the rail head to the end of the current property, approximately 700) feet. Much attention

was paid to the area in which the log road crossing would be going. It was discovered that as much as three feet of gravel would need to be removed in some spots, as logging operations over the years had dumped gravel on the right of way south of the fill. Much of it was spread out on the fill,

bringing the roadbed to a nice, even grade. It was also used to create a large open area beside the crossing, where we will now dump the stone used for ballast.

Track laying began September 6, as Jeff Verney’s excavator had begun grading and stone had been brought in. We have begun using the 55 pound rail brought up from

the Narragansett pier in Rhode Island. It handles beautifully, with enough flexibility to force a gentle curve, but enough

sturdiness so it won't flop all over the place, Because of

this, we are seriously thinking about using only 55 pound

rail where possible,

The laying continued a piece at a time, Work has Bone quicker than expected thanks to new track laying

techniques learned wp to Monson, and large crews. Now, instead of spiking one rail, then immediately spiking the other to gauge, one crew goes on ahead and spikes one rail

tothe ties. The other lags behind making sure they spike to gauge.

Laying the crossing itself has taken several weeks,

because once the track is down and the crossing itself has

been built, it won't be easy to move, Much time has been

spent ensuring proper drainage and support. The crossing

spikes went in on October 4. By the end of the day, the track leading to it was well cnough supported for Jason to

bring engine #52 on to it and blow the 2 longs, a short, and along horn signal for it, something he’s been wanting to do

for along time. We have laid 183 feet of track, bringing our total to 1,557 feet (just a whisker under a third of a mile).

With the crossing laid, we can go back and ensure

proper support for previously laid track. The Ramsdall tip car has proved invaluable in this case. John Bradbury, back

at the shop, is trying to piece together a center-dump gondola car from scratch, something which would prove an even

Breater asset to our achvities.

We have also reached an agreement with Phil Sammis, and on the 18th of October went to Hancock to

retrieve some of his 55 pound rail, What we get from there

should take us to the end of the current Davis property, and

well beyond should we get an agreement. Once this rail is

delivered to Sheepscot Station, and the right of way to the

north of the current railhead is prepared, watch for the track to rapidly grow northward,

The W.W. & F Goes Online by James C. Patten

The Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington

Railway Museum has joined the online world of the Internet. The Museum now has its own homepage on the World Wide Web, as well as its own e-mail address,

It began almost a year ago, when I decided I would hke todo a webpage on the Museum. | asked the Board if I

could do this and be allowed to call it the home site of the Museum. The Board agreed, provided that they approve its final content, In August, the Board approved what I submitted, and I based the page from my homepage. In

September, the Board approved the setting up of their own internel account, with Midcoast Internet Solutions in Damariscotta, Maine.

The page itself 1 hope to keep very much up to date. In itis the history of the W.W. c& F., as well as pictures and descriptions of our engines and rolling stock, and reports

on recent developments at the Museum, My ideas for it were inspired by websites for such places as the Durango and Silverton, Maine Narrow Gauge RR, and Boothbay

Railway Museum. Rather than a static, unchanging presentation given by many other museums on the Internet, I wanted this page to reflect the enthusiasm and energy of our Museum. It’s a great way for those of you who cannot visit the Museum very often to keep visually abreast of

what's up.

Asa bonus, I get to have a great deal of fun learning new things about programming web pages and communicating with many members and would-be

members, including from such faraway places as Germany.

The address is: http:/lincoln midcoast.com/—wwiry,

The e-mail address is: wwity@lincoln.midcoast.com,

50 if you're ever on-line, or have family or friends on the Internet, lake a look at the new W.W, & F Web page!

James Patten and Pred Morse place another tie at the logging road crossing on September 27, 1997, while Harry Percival

and Les Fossel wait to move more stone ballast with the tractor, Larson Powell photo.

Directions to W. W. & F. Railway Museum

W.W.&F Fwy MUSEUM

CROSS a pea wi 2 = “es 7

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USAT.1 ££ 70 '

WISCASSET CJ POST OFFICE

BOOTHEAY RAILWAY | 1(] VILLAGE

OTICE All correspondence including contributions, bills, membership renewals and questions re: missing newsletters should be sent to:

WoW. & F Railway Museum

Sheepscot Station Alma, ME 04535-0242

Officers:

President: Larson Powell

Vice President: Zack Wyllie

Clerk: Roger Whitney Treasurer: Rick Bourdon

President's Address:

Larson Powell

836 Washington Ave., Unit #1 Portland, ME 04103

Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington

Railway Museum

Open every Saturday (9:00 AM te 3:00 PM)

Your chance to see and help rebuild a

2 - foot gauge railroad!

The W. W. & FE Railway Museum Newsletter is.

a publication of the W. W. & F. Railway Museum, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1989 to acquire, preserve, and restore the operation of narrow gauge

railroads and equipment which operated in the Sheepscot Valley and to establish a Museum for the display of artifacts for the enlightenment and education of the general public concerning the social and economic impact of railroads

on the communities served.

The W, W. & F Railway Museum Newsletter is published by-monthly for members and friends of the W.

W. & F Railway Museum. Dues are $20 per year or Life Membership is $2(X).

Submission of articles of historical interest about the Maine two footers are welcome and will be used at the

direction of the Editor. Please send any articles or photos to the Editor at the address listed below:

Larson M, Powell 836 Washington Ave., Unit #1 Portland, ME 04103

To join the W. W. & F. Railway Museum or to

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