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

Thanks for thinking of us. I think the cost of shipping would render it prohibitive. But one can always dream.

What's the biggest "if it fits we ship for one low price" boxes from the USPS?

Well, if you don't mind cutting the rails into 12-inch lengths...

Actually, you can get 23-11/16" x 11-3/4" x 3" in a large flat rate box. There is a 70 lb maximum however.
Somehow, if your base is larger than 3", you'd have to go with the 12" x 12" x 5-1/2" which is good for 107# rail, BTW.

Much easier to get a 40' shipping container. The Royal Mail is much more expensive than the USPS.

(90% of line is with new steel sleepers, 10% is wood)
Installed between 1990-2007
Offers in excess of £100.00 per ton (weighbridge on site)
Situated at the former Munitions storage depot: Eastriggs near Carlisle
Exceptional condition hardly used
Closing date for offers end February 2016 (after this date all will be scrapped)
To be uplifted by end of July 2016
Buyer to uplift

Love to see pictures of the rolling stock! Steel sleepers - how long would that last in New England? Note all the "British Steel 1995" rail. Why did they install or rebuild the railroad in 1990 only to rip it out now? Apparently this munitions depot was allowed to become rundown and apparently unsafe. They should commission some new Maine 2' steam engines & open the line to tourists!

The WW&F's Spring 2016 Work Weekend marked the official "kick off" of The 21 Campaign. This is a targeted effort by the WW&F Railway Museum to raise funds to construct TWO locomotive boilers.

You can find details at:
https://fundrazr.com/21campaign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.facebook.com/wwandf21campaign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Like the Car 67 campaign we conducted over the winter, we are hopeful to attract new donors and members through this effort. Members who donate to our annual Fall Fundraiser should not feel pressured or obligated to participate. Instead, we hope to reach out to our many virtual friends and followers as we embark on this exciting next phase for the WW&F Railway Museum.

Meanwhile, we just acquired 1.5 track-miles of 60# rail. This will ensure the continued expansion of our mainline over the next 5-10 years.

Updates on the 21 Campaign:
1. We are now over $5000 - thanks in part to a large "anonymous" donor! Thank you - whoever you are!

2. Updates on the project can be found on the 21 Campaign Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/wwandf21campaign/

If everyone reading this post gave just $21, we would have the boiler tooling paid for. Please consider helping however you can (especially if you are not a member - heck, you could make a donation AND become a member - check out the "perks".)

Thanks,

The 21 Campaign Committee

Details and Donate at: https://fundrazr.com/21campaign

5 Big News Items from the WW&F:

1. The "21 Campaign" could use your help. We're tooling up to build the first of two new boilers, and would like to see #10 back in steam for 2017. See details at:
https://fundrazr.com/21campaign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2. We're hosting a special Two Steam (maybe even 3) Winter Snow Charter in January 2017. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event to catch WW&F #9 (KC #4, SR&RL #6) AND Monson #3 in steam in winter operating conditions. Limited to just 50 participants per weekend, you'll be guaranteed great shot on our private, secluded ROW. Details at:
http://wwfry.org/?page_id=1211" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

3. Turntable? Did you know construction of our replica turntable is well underway (and will certainly be ready in time for this winter, if not sooner.) Follow our progress at:
http://forum.wwfry.org/index.php?topic=2628" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

4. We're actively participating in the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Augusta Maine, this September. Find out how you can attend at:
http://nngc2016.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

5. We Won An Award!
We are the recipient of a 2016 grant from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust which we will be using to continue the northward expansion of our mainline track.
http://emeryrailheritagetrust.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For two weekends in January, the museum will host equipment from Boothbay and Maine Narrow Gauge to create a truly unique experience. This is going to be a cold weather photographers dream. This event will be used to raise funds for projects from each museum. More info can be found online http://wwfry.org/?page_id=1211

Major News from the WW&F

The Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway Museum is pleased to announce a significant donation to the Museum’s 21 Campaign by the estate of Dave MacDonald. The $18,000 bequest will be applied to the construction of boilers for locomotives 10 & 11.

Dave was a lifelong resident of Weymouth, Massachusetts where he owned South Shore Hobby. In addition, he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and life member of the South Shore Model Railway Club in Hingham, Massachusetts. He passed away on June 9th of 2015.

Dave had a keen interest in Maine’s narrow gauge railways and was an enthusiastic supporter of the WW&F. He was a life member of the WW&F, having been a member since 1998. Dave was also an active volunteer with the museum. According to his sister "He took delight in being a part of the Museum' s progress. In particular he enjoyed coming up for work weekends when he loved to sleep in one of the boxcars." Thus, it is fitting that Dave's contribution will help to ensure the museum's progress going forward.

As of this writing, Dave's $18,000 bequest brings the WW&F to a total of over $43,700 (of a $130,000 goal) for the 21 Campaign, which aims to build a new boiler for WW&F locomotive No. 10 and a new boiler for WW&F No. 11, a new-build reconstruction of WW&F No. 7, an 1907 Baldwin 2-4-4T.

However, more help is crucial to ensure the success of the next several steps of the project, while keeping it on schedule. Should the WW&F is able to reach $50,000 in total contributions by the end of September, they will be able to order materials for both No. 10 and No. 11's boiler at the same time, which will save considerable costs by buying in bulk. Both boilers are fully designed, and awaiting a code review scheduled for next week.

Those wishing to donate may send checks to:
WW&F Railway Museum
21 Campaign
PO Box 242
Alna, ME 04535

Donations are also accepted online at: http://www.fundrazr.com/21campaign.

For more information on the 21 Campaign, please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/wwandf21campaign.

The Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway Museum is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible.

A copy of a Portland Company Designed truss type turntable is nearing completion, and may be complete as I type this. Here is a link to a couple of pictures from the progress yesterday afternoon.

http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m57 ... vm3jdj.jpg

http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m57 ... xe0b10.jpg

A Portland Company locomotive on a Portland Company designed turntable, 10/10/16


http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m57 ... bezgi5.jpg

Here is a shot of just a few of the folks that helped make it happen

The things that are happening at the WW&F are nothing short of amazing. It is great to see such a significant part of Maine's rural, social, and industrial history preserved and brought back to life.

The future will be very interesting over the next few years. Hopefully the roundhouse will be built around the time #10's rebuild is complete.

WW&F Receives Railway Heritage Grant

The National Railway Historical Society has selected the WW&F Railway Museum as a recipient of a Railway Heritage Grant. This award of $3000 will be used to help equip the locomotives and rolling stock of the railway with an Eames Automatic vacuum brake system. Automatic vacuum brakes are an important safety feature as our railroad expands, as they will engage automatically if the cars in the train become separated. Moreover, the single control in the cab will give the engineer greater control over the train.

The original WW&F used straight vacuum brakes on their locomotives, and the restored Number 9 now utilizes these as independent (engine) brakes. To protect the entire train, Eames patented an automatic vacuum braking system, but it was never fully developed in the US, due to his untimely death. As the Museum is a continuation of the original WW&F railway, it is fitting that we fully develop automatic vacuum brakes – which is likely the choice the original WW&F would have considered had it been required to install an automatic braking system.

Already WW&F museum coach 8 and Number 9 have been equipped with this system; but testing was not completed in 2016 due to other projects. Testing will be completed in the coming year and the system added gradually to the remaining locomotives and rolling stock.

The WW&F thanks the National Railway Society for choosing this project to receive a Railway Heritage grant. The NRHS has been very supportive of past projects at the WW&F, including funding the recreated Planished American Rolled Iron (also called "Russia Iron") jacket on Number 9 and our continued mainline extension.

In other WW&F news, the "21 Campaign" to build two new locomotive boilers is well underway with nearly 60% of the needed funds raised. The raw boiler materials have already arrived at the museum, and shaping #10's boiler will begin shortly. However, funds are still needed to complete both boilers. We invite our friends and followers to support this effort at https://fundrazr.com/21campaign.

Finally, our "Easter Eggspress Spring Steam Up" is next Saturday, 4/15/17. Details at: http://wwfry.org/?tribe_events=special- ... ggspress-3