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Wiscasset, Waterville &Farmington

Railway MuseumSHEEPSCOT STATION, PO BOX 242, ALNA, ME 04535-0242

September / October 20��

Visit our web page at: http://www.wwfry.org

Railway Express agent Stewart Rhine converses with engineer Dana Deering and fireman Joe Fox.Photo by Stephen Hussar

The Annual Picnic went well. Ticket sales topped $1,000 on Saturday, and the gift shop did a brisk business. Sue Longo and her crew did a great job serving everyone delicious food as Bob Gabriel worked the grill. Richard and Jeff Verney had a nice display of vintage hit-and-miss engines out front, and our own Roger Whitney brought one of his restored engines. Two old John Deere tractors rounded out the equipment display. Sunday started a bit slow, but picked up by 11 AM with a lot of visitors coming in the afternoon; some stayed past 4 PM. The passenger trains and railcar were well patronized both days.

The highlight of the weekend was the running of two special mixed trains to benefit the purchase of coach 3. The first one ran Saturday evening and featured a museum “first” — the presentation of a Railway Express transaction.

The mixed, pulled by locomotive 10 with coach 3, box 309, and flats 118 and 126, took photographers to Alna Center at 6 PM. Dana Deering and Joe Fox were in the cab; Gordon Cook

The Annual PicnicStewart Rhine

was conductor, and Roger Whitney and J.B. Smith were the brakemen. The guests alighted from the train and assembled in the field at the direction of Stephen Hussar. The mixed was then backed past the north yard limit. With the train in the clear, the “WW&F in 1932” scene began.

The sun was bright with a few red-silver clouds in the western sky. The Model T railcar came in from Sheepscot with a track crew of Jason Lamontagne, Josh Recave, and Dwight Winkley. The railcar took the siding, pulling just past the crossing. Next, a Railway Express truck (a Model B Ford owned by Stewart Rhine) came down Averill Road with Stewart at the wheel. The truck crossed the tracks and parked next to the siding. The driver (sporting a “Ship via WW&F Ry” apron) got out and walked over to talk to the track crew. As they conversed, the mixed train came in from the north and made a station stop. Conductor Gordon alighted from coach 3 with a Railway Express parcel and handed it

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to the driver. Greetings were exchanged, and after a couple of minutes, Gordon boarded the mixed and gave Dana the proceed signal. As the mixed rolled south, Jason started the railcar and worked north. Stewart got back into the Railway Express truck and drove away. The scene went well and the photographers asked for more.

Preparing for a second scene, everyone reset to their original positions. The second photo setup was the same as the first, except the railcar was turned at the crossing to follow the mixed south at the end of the scene. Things went well, and there was still plenty of light, so the crews decided to have a third shoot, assembling everything at the crossing. Locomotive 10 and its consist were on the main just north of the crossing while the railcar was adjacent on the siding. The REA truck was turned and placed on Averill Road just west of the crossing. All of the crew members gathered at the west side of locomotive 10’s cab for a few minutes and a conversation started. Subjects included using the new gasoline tractors versus horses on the farm, the effects of the Depression, Franklin Roosevelt’s possible election, how the WW&F was surviving in hard times, hunting, SR&RL agent Frank Dyer’s dance band playing at the Grange Hall in Strong, and the new Ford Model B truck the Railway Express driver was using. The driver remembered using a horse drawn wagon just 15 years earlier. The unscripted conversation was really fun!

Most of the photographers who had ridden Saturday evening’s train also rode Sunday morning’s mixed train. The power was locomotive 10, and the consist was box 309 and coaches 8 and 3. Again, visitors were taken to Alna Center, where the locomotive did a run-around and pushed the cars out of sight north of the yard limit. The scene was run with the mixed working south and making a stop at AC depot. The engine then set out 309 on the siding by the crossing. The WW&F’s Model A flatbed truck was parked at the siding, and workers transferred milk cans from the truck to the boxcar. It looked very good, but we didn’t take as much time on this shoot due to having to be back at Sheepscot to switch cars for the 10 AM train. We wrapped things up at Alna Center, but left the railroad’s truck there for people to see when they came up on later trains.

I heard many good comments from the photographers about our special mixed trains. They had a great time getting nice photos, and we got more funds to pay down our loan on coach 3. Thanks to everyone who made the specials go so well!

A Few StoriesEditor’s Note: Living a few hundred yards from the Museum, and being a qualified railcar operator, Stewart Rhine has ample opportunity to interact with our visitors. He has published a few stories about these adventures on the WW&F Forum (http://forum.wwfry.org). For the benefit of WW&F Newsletter readers who have not seen Stewart’s stories, here are a few of them:

No Steering Wheel!A couple of weeks ago I had the railcar on the Bay 1

lead getting ready for the next Saturday afternoon trip. As

I was checking the gas tank, a lady and her grandson came over to look at the car. I explained the basics of the Model T conversion and why the two-footers used them. The grandson listened intently and said, “Hey Gram ... let’s get tickets to ride this car!” The grandmother looked everything over and said in a solid downeast accent, “I’m not gettin in that cah—it doesn’t have a steering wheel.”

I explained how the flanged wheels keep the car on the track. She listened for a minute, but stuck with her decision not to ride. She and her grandson took the 2 o’clock train and waved to the people on the railcar when we met at Alna Center.

 Praise for 1915 Wiring

Saturday we had a fellow from Canada visit the railroad. I spoke to him on the station platform after he had done some shopping in the gift shop. He told me that this was the first time he had been to Sheepscot and how nice the Museum is. He also commented on the period light fixtures on the buildings. I told him that Josh Recave, our talented electrician who has an interest in old electrical technology, did the installation. He told me that he is also an electrician, and that he recently did a repair and re-wire of an old building near Quebec. He said that the structure was wired in 1915, and that there were changes and additions made through the late 1960s. He added that it was quite a job getting things straightened out so that the breakers weren’t tripping all the time. The funny thing was that the 1915-era knob-and-tube wiring was in good shape and caused no problems, but the 1950s and 60s wiring was worn out and had shorts. He said that he got the building rewired, but saved some of the old knob-and-tube system because the owner wanted to keep it. The fellow advised that Canadian codes allow historic wiring to stay in service if it was installed new in the building, and it is in good condition. Smiling, he said, “You gotta love 1915 technology.” I told him that I couldn’t agree more—sounds like a good motto for our museum.

    Good Neighbors

Two local young people were walking along the north end of the railroad today around noon. The train crew consisting of Gordon Cook, Steve Zuppa, Fred Morse, and J.B. Smith stopped the train and offered them a ride down to Sheepscot. They accepted and climbed aboard. At Sheepscot they thanked everyone as they detrained and headed towards 218. We didn’t think much more about them until 4 PM when the two young ladies showed up with a fresh plate of homemade brownies. They were so happy to have been noticed and given a train ride that they went to their home and baked enough brownies for everyone at Sheepscot, including other visitors. They just missed the 4 PM train, so we put them in the railcar and took them to Alna Center where they handed the plate to the engine crew, and then walked through the train handing out the treats. Our last trip became a dessert train! Needless to say we gave them a free railcar trip to End of Track and back. I think we’ll be seeing them again—soon.

Stewart Rhine

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Stewart Rhine covers a terminal block on the new telephone system.Photo by Stephen Hussar

New Telephone SystemRrrring! A call comes in on the Museum’s telephone line

(207-882-4193), and Linda answers on the cordless phone in the gift shop. The call is for Zack, so Linda takes the handset and searches the yard for Zack. This is how calls were handled until the installation of a business telephone system last spring. The system, made by Executone, is similar to systems at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg and the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. It supports multiple extensions and has multi-line telephone sets that allow calls to be put on hold and transferred. Most of the sets have a line button to dial out and an intercom to call between phones and buildings. There is also an “all-page” feature for use in case of an emergency.

The main system equipment is in the machine shop, with phones located in all buildings that have power available, thus excluding the oil house, tool house, and water tank. Calls can be answered in the gift shop, station, shop addition, second floor, machine shop, and Percival house. They can then be transferred to any other phone if necessary. The line button will flash when a call is on hold and light steady when a call is in progress; this prevents the call from being interrupted. The credit card machine is on the system so that gift shop transactions will go through without being cut off. All telephone sets have an extension number, and a directory is posted by each set. The system will be expanded for future buildings such as the roundhouse and car shed.

Stewart Rhine donated and installed the system. New voice cables were run in the shop building and over to the gift shop and station. The Percival house was wired for voice and data. The donation included a service manual, program terminal, spare parts, and telephones.

Stewart Rhine

Brian Gottlieb CharterEarlier this year, life member Brian Gottlieb passed

away. His widow Martha wanted a special event by which to remember him. After some discussion, we developed the idea of a memorial service at Alna Center, with the WW&F providing train service for the memorial attendees.

On Saturday, July 30th, about fifty people enjoyed light refreshments in a large tent in the field at Alna Center before the memorial service began at 1 PM. The event concluded by 3 PM, at which time everyone returned to Sheepscot Station.

Trains ran with an extra car, the caboose, to provide service for handicapped visitors. Many attendees were quite taken by the train and the atmosphere, and many promised to return.

Brian was a frequent visitor and occasional volunteer, although in later years he was less able to help. His enthusiasm and support will be missed. We are grateful to Martha for allowing the WW&F to help provide this last fitting tribute to Brian.

James Patten

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Museum Hires EmployeeThis July, the Railway took a big step in its evolutionary

development: hiring an employee. This decision was not reached lightly, but came about after months of discussion at the Board level, and repeated discussions among individual Board members. The employee is somebody most readers know of: our Master Mechanic, Jason Lamontagne. Jason is working one day a week. At this time, he is working as a contractor; it is expected that we will eventually transition him to an actual employee relationship once paperwork requirements have been worked out.

Earlier this year there was some discussion about the amount of time the locomotive 9 restoration project was taking, and if there was some way to speed up the work. The idea of having Jason working for us one day a week was floated and agreed upon, providing we could find funding. Two Board members, James Patten and Gordon Davis, spent many weeks in fact-finding, consultation with our CPA, and discussion amongst themselves, before presenting to the Board what this could mean to us. Finally, a limited appeal was sent to certain donors, and one offered to fund the entire year. Others offered smaller amounts of funding. We are very grateful to these members for their generosity. We did not wish to undertake this without a dedicated funding stream.

The need for an employee has been around for a while. It was first formally identified in the 2005 Long Range Plan. To quote from page 29 in the Personnel section of the plan:

”The organization should at some point hire an employee, who could help ease workload congestion in several areas and would allow smoother growth for the Museum. Many important tasks that are currently being deferred out of necessity, such as equipment maintenance and presentation of our facility, could be given attention. The utmost care should be given to reduce the impact of this action on the organization as a whole, including volunteer relations, finances, and membership opinion.”

Jason’s primary work is on the locomotive 9 project; however, if needed he’ll work on maintenance tasks (such as repairs to locomotive 10 should it go down). This is specialized work, and it made sense to hire the person heading the project. Jason continues to volunteer his time on other days, most importantly on weekends.

We’re very excited about this new step in our growth. This should bring the restoration project to a close much sooner, and also help with maintenance issues around the property.

James Patten

Missing MembersWhile the US Post Office forwards the WW&F Newsletter

when possible, there are three long-time members who have had their mail returned marked “return to sender” with no forwarding address. They are:

Capt. A. J. Anderson Jr. (Charter Member 19)757 S E 17th St. #325Fort Lauderdale FL 33316-2960

George LaRue (Life Member 80)245 LaRue LnCorpus Christi TX 78411

James E. Taggart (Life Member 109)Applegate Ln 1 - #14Falmouth ME 04105

If anyone has information on any of these members, please write to John Robertson at the Museum.

WW&F “On the Waterfront”During the summer, Steve Zuppa and Jason Lamontagne

proposed to the Town of Wiscasset that the WW&F put an exhibit down at the water front, adjacent to the Maine Eastern tracks. The town has approved the idea, and we will be building a replica of a Turner Centre Dairying car and putting it on a small bit of track next to the former Turner Centre pier. The car will have displays about Maine railroads, the Wiscasset waterfront, the Maine two-footers, and today’s two-footer museums, including the WW&F Railway Museum, of course.

We have a pair of vintage trucks that we can reassemble and use underneath the car. Siding lumber has been donated by NC Hunt Lumber, and we have most of the other parts that we need. What would have been the biggest items, journal boxes, are on hand thanks to a find by Josh Recave many years ago. We’ve got some oak trees on our property that will also serve the project well. Between the NC Hunt Lumber contribution, the journal boxes, and the oak trees, the cost for this project will be pretty minimal.

We do need one pedestal, eight queen posts, four bolster end caps, and a few other odds and ends, so patterns for these castings were brought to the foundry in mid-August.

WW&F Annual Capital Fund LaunchedThis year’s goal is $55,000, divided as follows: $21,000 to complete the payback of the coach 3 loan, $10,000 toward the restroom project, $7,000 toward the new parking lot, $5,000 to finalize road access to the right-of-way on The Mountain, $5,000 for track material, $4,000 toward the completion of Locomotive #9, and $3,000 to pour a concrete floor in the Percival House basement. We thank you very much for your continued support and look forward to another great year of progress on our Long Range Plan.

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Dave Crow, Dwight Winkley, Steve Zuppa, and Fred Morse load a wheel set for the Turner car.Photo by Richard Crow

Mike Ross assembles an old truck set for the Turner Centre car.Photo by Dave Crow

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2-Foot Musing No. 56The subject of this month’s Musing is potatoes. Why

potatoes? You may recall in WW&F Musing 64 (Nov/Dec 2001) we talked about how Carson Peck put the WW&F back on its feet after he took over in 1907. One of the things he did was to look for new sources of revenue. After Peck took over, total tonnage handled actually declined slightly, but the ton-mile revenue grew from $.035 in 1906 to $.098 by 1912. This was done in large part by going after higher rated freight.

Peck was an astute business man, and he realized that forest products were already in decline. In looking around for new sources of business, he hit upon the idea of promoting the growing of potatoes along the line. Potatoes moved on a much higher rate than forest products. I wouldn’t be surprised if the idea originated with Sam Sewall, who was much more familiar with the territory.

Anyway, potato houses were erected in Albion, South China, Weeks Mills, and Palermo, so that potatoes could be stored before being shipped to the Boston and New York City markets. For several years this was a good source of revenue.

Somewhat later, in 1916, the Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway, whose main trolley line ran between Lewiston and Waterville via Augusta, was looking to increase their electric freight business. They may have seen what a success the WW&F was having with potatoes, so the A&K decided to promote potato growing in the area they served. A large potato house was erected along the line at Day’s Corner in the town of Monmouth, and farmers along the line were encouraged to plant potatoes. Incidentally, this was the same outfit that stole the coal-hauling business to North Vassalboro from the WW&F as told in 2-Foot Musing No.11 (Mar/Apr 2004).

Unfortunately, the growth of potato farming in Aroostook County overwhelmed small farmers in central Maine who couldn’t compete with the Aroostook’s good soil and large farms, so potato traffic eventually dried up on the WW&F. The A&K came in so late that their plans never got off the ground, and the potato house at Day’s Corner never held a sack of potatoes.

Perhaps I have put too much emphasis on the potato traffic as a big reason for the improvement in the WW&F’s revenue, but I believe it was a major factor.

Ellis Walker

Mark Your Calendars Now!The business meeting of the National Narrow Gauge

Convention has approved a proposal to return the national gathering to Maine in 2016. The 36th National Narrow Gauge Convention will be held at the Augusta Civic Center on September 7-10, 2016. The central location in Maine’s capital city will facilitate visits to four operating steam prototypes: the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum, the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway, the Boothbay Railway Village, and the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad.

Enhancing Your Financial Support of the Museum

There are a number of ways you can further your support of the WW&F, and for internet-savvy members it’s especially easy. Here are some of the ways that you can either boost your cash donations or donate in another way:

Employer matches: A number of companies do this, although perhaps not so many as before the recession. Check with your Human Resources department to see if your employer has a foundation or some other charitable giving program. Some companies will match an employee’s or retiree’s charitable giving dollar-for-dollar; other companies donate money for an employee’s volunteer hours. A few that I know about are Amica, Exxon/Mobil, IBM, and UnumProvident. For us to best respond to the inevitable paperwork, we ask that you physically mail a check to us with either a note reminding us about the match or with your employer’s required paperwork.

Online fundraising sites: Visitors to websites iGive (www.igive.com) or Goodsearch (www.goodsearch.com) can designate the WW&F as their preferred charity, then use the website for common tasks such as searching or shopping. Each activity generates a small donation. Any member who uses the internet on a regular basis is encouraged to use these sites to effortlessly raise donations for the WW&F; so far we’ve raised over $200. Note that iGive and Goodsearch both offer to install a “search bar” to your browser, but these features are not required.

eBay: Sellers can designate a non-profit to receive from 10% to 100% of an item’s sale proceeds. The WW&F has been set up as a non-profit through MissionFish, which handles the non-profit transactions for eBay. So far, over $300 has come in through eBay sales.

Used printer cartridges: Even if you don’t search the internet much, a large majority of people today have computers, and with computers come printers. The WW&F has partnered with ThinkRecycle (www.thinkrecycle.com) which will recycle your unwanted printer cartridges, cell phones, and various other used electronic gadgets (check their website for the full list) and give the proceeds to the WW&F. There’s a drop-off box at the Museum, in the gift shop. If you are unable to visit and use the drop-off box, you can mail them to ThinkRecycle. This requires a mailing label, which we will be happy to provide. Erik Missal has volunteered to administer this program; you can either email him at ecycling@wwfry.org, or call him at 207-882-4106; he’ll send you a label that you can attach to a box and send in to ThinkRecycle. Ask your employer to see if they would be willing to give you their discarded toner/ink cartridges, and you can forward them to us. Again, please check the ThinkRecycle website for acceptable brands.

Doubtless there are even more ways to financially support the WW&F; I’m sure we’ve only scratched the surface. If you know of any similar programs that might benefit us, please let us know.

James Patten

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To join the W.W.&F. Ry. Museum or to send a contribution (tax deductible) please use the form below.

Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway MuseumSheepscot Station, PO Box 242, Alna, Maine 04535-0242

Please sign me up as follows: Additional Contributions:

Life Membership .................. $300 #9 Fund _________________________Annual Membership ............. ..$30 #�0 Fund ________________________ Rail Fund ________________________ Endowment ______________________ Unrestricted ______________________

NAME ________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________ ZIP/POSTAL CODE _______________ Please make all checks payable to “W.W.&F. Railway Museum.”A receipt will be sent for all contributions received.

The WW&F Newsletter (ISSN 1547-9293) is published bi-monthly by the WW&F Railway Museum. Editor: John McNamara, Publishers: Allan & Ellen Fisher, John & Jane Robertson, Laurie McBurnie. Printed (1500 copies) by Lincoln County Publishing. Please send any correspondence to Newsletter c/o WW&F Railway Museum, PO Box 242, Alna, ME 04535-0242.

WW&F Railway Museum Fall 2011 CalendarOctober 7-10: Fall Work Weekend

November 5: Albion Day

December 17: Victorian Christmas

Summer Season Wrap UpThe 2011 summer season is coming to a close here in Maine, and the WW&F has held its own this year. The summer started out

with a slow June, but really picked up in July, with record July attendance. August was strong, and Annual Picnic attendance was moderate. The WW&F seems to have become a standard stop-over for many families on their yearly summer trip to Maine. The Museum had to close for one day, Sunday, August 28th, for Hurricane Irene, but the storm did almost no damage to the railroad.

This year the Museum introduced a 10-ride pass, in addition to the all-day pass. Ten-ride passes are $50 for non-members and $40 for members. We also raised our ticket prices by one dollar for adults, so ticket prices are now $7 for non-members, $6 for members and seniors, and $4 for children 3 through 12. Adult all-day passes are $20, and child all-day passes are $10. With the railcar now a regular part of the timetable, riders can add a railcar ride for an extra $4. Space on the railcar is, of course, limited.

Most trains are pulled by steam locomotive 10 with a two-car train of a coach and open car 103. Trains are rarely full, but oftentimes trains have around 20 people. For events, we’ll usually haul a three-car train by adding either the second coach or the caboose. The railcar departs five minutes behind the train, arriving at Alna Center as the train has completed its run-around and is preparing to depart to the End of Track. The railcar waits for the train to return southbound before heading north to Rose Wood Crossing, near the End of Track, where it is turned around and returns to Sheepscot.

Although we don’t usually have many events in the summer, this year we had the Hebron Academy charter on June 10th, BIW Day on June 11th, the Gottlieb Memorial service on July 30th, the Annual Picnic on August 13th and 14th, and the Fall Family Day on September 24th.

James Patten

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Wiscasset, Waterville & FarmingtonRailway MuseumSheepscot StationPO Box 242Alna, ME 04535-0242

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Roger Whitney, Joe Fox, and Dana Deering recreate a late 1880s photo from the Franklin & Megantic.See page 90 of The Maine Two-Footers by Linwood Moody, edited by Robert C. Jones.

Photo by Stephen Hussar