Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum Rebuilding Maine History SHEEPSCOT STATION, PO BOX 242, ALNA, ME May / June 2018

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1 Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum Rebuilding Maine History SHEEPSCOT STATION, PO BOX 242, ALNA, ME May / June 2018 Two horses pulled flatcar 118 to tear up the railway in Photo from WW&F Railway Archives Two horses pulled flatcar 118 to tear up a section of the railway for replacement in Photo by Stewart Rhine Visit us at: join a discussion at Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

2 Spring Work Weekend From WW&F Forum postings It is said that, A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is a pictorial summary of the 2018 Spring Work Weekend: New stairs added safe access to both floors of the Percival House. Photo by Stewart Rhine Moving machines from Bay 4 to Bays 3 and 2 required the crane and rollers. Photo by Stewart Rhine In addition to necessary mechanical improvements, Jay Barta added creature comforts such as a sun shade and a water bottle holder. Photo by Bill Reidy 2

3 Summer Concert Series This summer the railway will be hosting a new event series which puts the railway at the heart of community building and outreach in the Sheepscot Valley. Our Summer Concert Series includes three concerts over the course of the season featuring some of the best acoustic music in Midcoast Maine. Concerts will be held rain or shine underneath a large tent at the Alna Center station. Kicking it off on July 28 th will be Married with Chitlins, an acoustic music duo that performs traditional American music, old time country and blues, some jazz standards, and Celtic reels and jigs, with guitar and fiddle with a strong female lead vocal with harmonies, but you ll also hear sprinklings of mandolin and harmonica. Find them on Facebook and on ReverbNation. Our second concert, on August 25 th, features Rough Sawn. This local string band is composed of farmers and carpenters true salt of the earth people. They are renowned for their excellent covers of classic country, bluegrass, folk and Western swing as well as timeless originals. They ve played local farmers markets, breweries, and other events. Their four-part harmonies are not something you re going to want to miss. You can find Rough Sawn on Facebook. Closing out our concert series on September 8 th is the Indie-Soul-Folk band GoldenOak fronted by sibling duo Zak and Lena Kendall. Originally from the Sandy River Valley in Western Maine and now based in Portland, they began to write music and perform in Winners of an EP of the Year award from the Portland Music Awards, GoldenOak has also received acclaim as ambassadors of the Maine folk scene, and was nominated by Dispatch Magazine as one of Portland s best up and coming bands ( com). Each concert train will leave Sheepscot station at 5 P.M. and return at 7:30 P.M. Parking and round-trip train fare are included in the price of the ticket. Ticket price is $16 advance/$18 day of the event. Sales are limited to 100 tickets per concert, so get your tickets soon! Advance sale tickets are available at wwfrytickets.simpletix.com. Steve Piwowarski Two Foot Gleanings Another Maine Railroad, perhaps The above title comes from an article I found in the September 1, 1893 issue of The Gardiner Reporter Journal. It reports on the prospect of a new railroad being built from Wiscasset and gives the newspaper s opinion on the merits of the endeavor. As you will see, some of the area newspapers were not supportive of this idea. The following item has been going the rounds for a week past: Wiscasset by a unanimous vote on Saturday, ratified the contract made by W.&Q. R.R. directors and Geo. H. Crosby, whereby the latter with other prominent men of means, when the subscribe stock amounting to $50,000, are to commence the construction of a railroad beginning at tide water in Wiscasset, and running through Alna, Whitefield, Windsor, China, Albion, and Unity to Burnham station. Somebody must know some reason for building such a road, but we confess we can see none. Probably that provision about raising the money will prohibit its building. It certainly cannot expect to get any business from the Maine Central, for that road has all the winter ports now that are necessary, and there is no other chance for it. Perhaps they expect to extend it to Quebec, but they would be still worse off then. There would be some reason for building a road to Gardiner, for when the narrow gauge road is built to Farmington, which it will be before many years, there would be some lumber freight for it to carry to Wiscasset for shipment, as well as a good deal of other freight, but they won t need any railroad to carry all they can get at Burnham. The Waterville Democrat says: The new railroad projected from Burnham to Wiscasset is another scheme of a few men to divert a railroad line running to Waterville or some [place] central, to cow pastures and swamps, where the coast towns will receive no benefit. A road from Somerset County to Wiscasset has been talked of for years, but the project will probably be swamped and a road if built run into some out of the way locality as was the Belfast and Moosehead road, which was planned to strike Waterville or Fairfield and tap the Kennebec lumber regions, but was side tracked and fenced in at Burnham by Seth Milliken and R. B. Dunn for a consideration. The new road from Wiscasset is to be switched off to Burnham and be located just far enough from Togus, Gardiner, No. Vassalboro and Waterville, to starve. Wiscasset has a splendid harbor and a road from there to the lumber manufacturing towns above Augusta would have a good freight business to start with. The Reporter Journal followed up with the following article on October 11, 1893: Augusta and the New Railroad Under the heading of Augusta Doesn t Like It, the Lewiston Journal has the following from its Augusta correspondent. We know nothing of the intentions of the Kennebec Central company, but some of the suggestions in the article appear to be good ones, and if they are doubtless our business men will see that they are carried out: The proposal to build a new line of narrow gauge railway from Wiscasset to Burnham is not received here with very good grace. The people of a large territory through which the line would run, come to Augusta to do their marketing and transact business, 3

4 besides taking the train here when traveling. The new road would of a necessity take the patronage of many of these persons, diverting trade and travel in another direction and away from the capital, a circumstance which would be severely felt by our business men. At various times, there have been agitations over the building of a railway from Augusta into this eastern country, but nothing ever developed from them and no road was ever built. Mr. Lendall Titcomb of Augusta, who is one of our enterprising young capitalists, has been deeply interested in this matter and advocated an Augusta line, and even went so far as to have a route surveyed to Togus, but the scheme fell through as capitalists did not give it sufficient support. Gardiner got the plum, and her rustling young men have a nice piece of property, which is paying them handsome returns as well as being of material assistance to that city in a business way. Pretty soon, says one of our citizens, if the Wiscasset and Burnham line is constructed, the Kennebec Central Co. will extend their road on from Togus to connect with it, and the current of trade will flow into Gardiner from this fertile eastern Kennebec region. Augusta will be left out in the cold. And then we shall hear that the Farmington and Gardiner line is going to be started and Augusta will be still more isolate[d]. We have a well-organized board of trade. Why do they not look sharply after the railroad question and see to it that we are not squeezed. Jeff Schumaker In Memoriam We are saddened to learn of the passing of the following Museum members and friends: M821 Harold Mitchell February 2018 Carl Buitta December 2017 Carl Buitta The Albion Historical Society has reported the passing of Carl Buitta on December 17, Carl, along with Phil Dow, was instrumental in helping to save Albion Station just before it was about to be blown over by a hurricane. While he was in good health, Carl supervised and entertained WW&F Ry Museum volunteers at our annual Albion Day each November. Carl was a great friend of the Maine Two Foot preservation community. Carl was predeceased by his wife, Laura. David Buczkowski Phil Dow (left) and Carl Buitta at the Albion Station during a visit by RC4 Photo by Stephen Hussar 4

5 Museum Receives Approval from Alna Planning Board In 1998, the Alna Planning Board asked the Museum to provide its expansion plans. As there were no ordinances specifically dealing with railroads or museums, they decided to apply part of the Subdivision ordinance to our situation. After reviewing our application and approving it, the Planning Board requested that we return to them every five years to provide updates to our plans. Our last review with them was If you ve just done the math and come up with more than five years since our last submission, you d be correct. Museum officials missed setting up the next review, and there was no reminder from the Planning Board. It wasn t until discussions about the Mountain Extension between US Army Corps of Engineers and Planning Board member Peter Tischbein in early 2017 that the subject came up; we immediately moved to correct that. I did most of the preparation for the plan update, as I had the 2008 application documents available and could review those and the ordinance. I visited the Planning Board in June to verify what the Board was looking for, in August with a partial draft, and in October to hopefully present a completed document. Jason Lamontagne did our Shoreland Zone permit for the Trout Brook bridge work zone in parallel with this effort. The scope of each five-year review is primarily a presentation of any expansion plans that the Museum has, and to a lesser extent a review of the entire operation. From the beginning, it was clear that we were under some additional scrutiny, not only for the Mountain Extension (somewhat environmentally sensitive because of the nearby brook), but also for the general operation and quite specifically for parking and traffic control. With our parking lot to the west of the Percival House, onstreet parking has dropped significantly. However, for our large events, on-street parking can become quite a problem. Cross Road is a busy town road with no shoulders and not even a center yellow line. If cars are parked on both sides of the road, it becomes a single lane road with little room to maneuver. The October submission was not deemed complete, as the Board had requested that we have a traffic study performed during one of our events, and the study was to be during one of our Victorian Christmas weekends. The Board wanted to see the outcome of the study before determining the submission complete. The study was completed by Maine Traffic Resources of Gardiner, Maine. After receiving the report, at the February meeting the plan was again submitted with the hope that it would be considered complete; it was not, as the Board wanted additional information with our submission. At the March meeting the Board accepted the plan. However, it needed a public hearing, which was scheduled for the April meeting. I recall that one of our first plan-submission public hearings (it may have been in 1998) was mobbed with people filling the meeting room at the Alna Fire Station. In contrast, this public hearing was almost a non-event, with a few local Museum members coming for moral support and only a few members of the public. We were required to send out letters to all property owners within 2000 feet of the work zone, which was 2000 feet from the Sheepscot Station campus, and 2000 feet in a line from Top of Mountain down to where the railroad originally crossed Route 218. We sent out about 100 letters. The plan was approved with some stipulations. The plan is available online on our website: go to wwfry.org/?page_id=2033 to download it. Our plan covers the remaining building construction left at Sheepscot (roundhouse and coal bin), plus the construction of a new parking lot to the west of the existing lot, construction of accessible pathways around the campus (to keep people off the road), and the erection of No Parking signs along the south side of Cross Road. Additionally. volunteers will be encouraged to park in the lot at the corner of Cross Rd and Route 218. Our plan for additional clearing and sawmill/shingle mill erection at Top of the Mountain was approved, as was our track construction plan down the Mountain. The requirement that the new parking lot take priority and be substantially complete by Victorian Christmas 2019 was made a stipulation of the passing of the plan by the Board. We also need to have a storm water management plan by the time we start on the next plan. If any member is a civil engineer with expertise in this area, and would like to volunteer their services for this, we would love to talk with you. James Patten Two Wonderful Grants Thanks to the Mystic Valley Railway Society (MVRS) and the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust (ERHT) for each bestowing grants to the WW&F Railway Museum for the restoration and placement of the historic boxed pony B&M Moose Brook Bridge on the Museum s Mountain Extension at Trout Brook. We are very grateful to these organizations; the W. Russell Rylko Memorial Award (administered by the MVRS) granted $6100 toward the project, while the John H. Emery Memorial Award (administered by the ERHT) granted $5000. These awards were announced within days of each other, total $11,100, and will be used for the placement and site needs for the bridge project. The bridge is one of only six boxed pony truss bridges remaining in existence. Saved by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, then gifted to the Museum, it is slated to be installed before Spring 2019 at Trout Brook, with the rails extended down the mountain to reach it shortly thereafter. Alex Harvilchuck 5

6 Treasurer s Report, 2018 Annual Meeting A big thumbs-up for 2017! We had another spectacular year on many fronts. Much of that is because of the support that you, our members, gave us last year. It was with great trepidation that we set the goal for our Annual Fund Drive at $100,000 well beyond what we ve ever asked for before. Our membership came through, with over $130,000 donated by year end, crushing the goal and donating more than twice as much as our previous year s annual goal. The major goal of the Fund Drive was to raise money for rebuilding the former B&M RR Moose Brook bridge, reconstructing the railroad right of way down the Mountain, as well as repayment of some debt and funding of some other projects. Membership is in good shape as well. At the end of the year we had 1127 members: 34 Charter, 632 Life, and 461 Annual. We gained 13 members as a whole during the year. Annual members please be sure to renew your membership on time, and I encourage everybody to find a friend or family member and get them to join. We did very well with ridership. Ticketed riders were just a bit below the record year of 2016, at 4,501 paid riders. Total ridership was the highest ever! We had 6,294 total riders, beating the prior record year of The next time you come and ride, please bring a friend! They ll no doubt be hooked. Mortgages and Loans We hold two mortgages and two multi-year loans. One mortgage is for the Percival House for $81,425; the other is for the Clark property at $60,000. The loans are for rail purchased from a seller in the US Midwest, each for $6,907, to be paid off with this coming year s Annual Fund Drive. Our total indebtedness is $156,631, or 7.8% of our assets. Thank you, everyone, for your continuing support of your railroad museum. James Patten A 21 Fund Challenge The Museum has some exciting news to report on our Endowment and on the 21 Campaign. A generous member has issued a challenge. If $15, is donated to the 21 Campaign between the April 27-29, 2018 Spring Work Weekend and the Annual Picnic on August 12, 2018, he will donate $1, to the Museum s Endowment Fund. Our member hopes to draw attention to both funds in an entertaining way. His hope is that not only will the amount in the 21 Campaign Fund increase but awareness of our endowment will encourage others to donate to it as well. Please be generous in helping us reach our goals! Using steam motive power and hand tools, Work Weekend crews replaced several hundred feet of roadbed. Photo by Bill Reidy

7 WW&F Railway Museum Summer 2018 Calendar July 7: July 28: August 11-12: August 25: To join the W.W.&F. Ry. Museum or to send a contribution (tax deductible) please use the form below. Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum Sheepscot Station, PO Box 242, Alna, Maine Please sign me up as follows: Additional Contributions: Life Membership... $300 Annual Membership.....$30 July Ice Cream Social* Evening Concert Annual Picnic. Yard Sale, WWI Living History Weekend August Ice Cream Social* and Evening Concert *At the Ice Cream Social events, the ice cream is free, but regular train fares apply. Trains depart Sheepscot Station on the regular timetable (10:30 AM, Noon, 1:30 PM, and 3:00 PM). Yard Sale for the Archives During the Annual Picnic on August 11 th and 12 th, the Museum will be holding a yard sale for the WW&F archives. Please bring standard yard sale items, but please do not bring appliances, computers, or televisions; clothing should be clean and without stains or tears. Storage space is available at the Museum if you wish to bring items over beforehand. Please call the Museum at or Linda Zollers at Linda Zollers The Yanks Are Coming Living History Reenactors to Revisit After a successful visit last summer, Tucker Goodwin of the 103 rd Regiment Living History Reenactors said that their goal for next year (2018) was to have at least 10 people in uniform, if not 12 or more, and an increased number of period-dressed civilians as well. Their unit represents the 103rd Infantry Regiment of the 26 th Division AEF (American Expeditionary Force). The 26 th Division, also known as the Yankee Division, was made up of volunteers, National Guardsman, and draftees from all over New England including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Many have relatives who served with the Yankee Division in France during the War, and a few had relatives who were even in the same regiment (the 103 rd ). Like last summer, their circa 1917 camp will be at Alna Center Station. #9 Fund #10 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.

8 Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum Sheepscot Station PO Box 242 Alna, ME PRST STD US Postage Paid Permit #11 Newcastle, Maine Address Service Requested The recently-acquired large forklift was used to place roof supports on the Trout Brook Bridge. Photo by Stuart Rhine 8