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Wiscasset, Waterville &Farmington

Railway MuseumRebuilding Maine History

SHEEPSCOT STATION, PO BOX 242, ALNA, ME 04535-0242

May / June 2020

Visit us at: http://www.wwfry.org; join a discussion at http://forum.wwfry.org. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Sheepscot DispatchWe Live in Interesting Times

Since the March/April 2020 edition of the Sheepscot Dispatch, which I wrote at the end of February, our world has been turned upside down by events outside of our control. I have received word and reports from many members that, so far, they have avoided contracting the COVID-19 virus. This is certainly true of those of us in the greater Sheepscot area. I hope that none of you have been sick and that you are able to stay safe.

Like all of you along with the rest of the world, the WW&F

has had to put the brakes on our plans and operations. On-site volunteer work has come to a virtual standstill with only work to close in and secure the car barn extension proceeding along with emergency culvert repairs. The car barn should be nearly complete by the time you read this. Only those who can walk or are a short commute are authorized to continue working but only by practicing social distancing and observing recommended practices.

Before the closure mandate stopped work, Mike Fox,

Waiting for better times. Stewart Rhine took this photo at milepost 8 looking north across Trout Brook bridge on our Mountain extension in early March, before the global coronavirus pandemic led to the closure of our Museum to nearly all volunteers March 18th. While the postponement of Spring Work Weekend and the delay of our operating season are great disappointments, we look forward to a time when our Museum can reopen under safer conditions for our volunteers and guests.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many non-profits and businesses across the US and the world. The WW&F is not exempt, unfortunately. As you have read in Dave’s Sheepscot Dispatch, our Museum is not expected to open for public operations until the Annual Picnic in August. To discover what effect this has on us, I prepared a “pandemic budget.”The Bad News:

As you may guess, the pandemic shutdown has a huge effect on our bottom line. For four months we will be without more than $21,000 in budgeted income, including tickets, at a time of the year when such revenue is most needed. Additionally, in preparing the numbers for our Board, I decided it would be prudent to cut our donations and dues payments in half, in light of the economic hardships many people are no doubt going through right now, which accounted for another $6,000. I then cut all non-essential expenses as much as I could from April to July. This left a $20,000 hole in our General Fund.

Even though people don’t visit to ride our trains, certain expenses such as mortgages, insurance and utilities keep going. Mid-year is when many of our insurances renew, and so the money is due then—$14,000 between now and July. The mortgage on the Percival house is $756/month, through one of our members and thus does not fall under the CARES Act mortgage forbearance program (the mortgages for the Clark and Fossel properties are paid via the Annual Fund Drive). We still have to keep the lights on, the heat going, and pay for telephone.

The WW&F and COVID-19: Help Us “Keep the Lights On”

Fred Morse and a small crew finished work on the east half of the pavilion at Alna Center. In June, when the state currently plans to open back up, we hope to proceed with pouring footings for the western portion of the building.

Since our public operations are closed and will not open until at least the Annual Picnic in August, our revenue has dropped precipitously. I would be remiss if I did not mention the $300 tax break for charitable giving to qualified charitable organizations for those who do not itemize included in the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in March. We would greatly appreciate donations by those who are able to supplement our 2020 operations budget. Our projected need, based on current assumptions, is about $20,000. This may very well change as the year progresses if we are unable to open by the Annual Picnic. Members of the Board and other generous members have already stepped forward with donations and a no-interest loan.

If you need some good news, Portland WCSH’s 207 program did a segment on our railway that was broadcast on March 3, 2020. You can find it posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/wmHiYSqXVjc. Our own Steve Piwowarski is prominently featured on camera.

Would you like to help us save money during the pandemic? If so, please change your delivery of the Newsletter from U.S. Mail to email going forward. The Newsletter is also posted on our forum, where it can be downloaded long before it is mailed. Not only will you help keep our costs down but you’ll receive it much sooner. In another cost saving move,

for the near future the printed Newsletter will revert to black & white. Our emailed PDF version and the version posted on our forum will retain the color pages. If you are interested, please email membership@wwfry.org, where Membership Secretary Mike Fox will add you to our email list.

There is also other good news to report as Stewart Rhine notes that our gift shop sales are up. He informed me one person bought the full six-volume set of Narrow Gauge in the Sheepscot Valley. That is a great way to make sheltering in place not only bearable but also downright enjoyable!

In May 2nd Annual Meeting news, I would like to welcome Board members Mike Fox and Randy Beach back for another three-year term, along with a warm welcome to Alan Downey as a new Board member. It should not take me long to assign Alan to a committee. He will have big shoes to fill as Zack Wyllie leaves a great legacy on the Board and as past president.

Finally, please read the article in this issue regarding the possible sale of our steam locomotive No. 10 to a sister museum in Maine. If you are a follower on our forum, you no doubt are already aware of this important matter. Please feel free to contact me with your opinion and/or vote on the matter soon if you do not have access to the forum.

I hope that the pandemic will be in our rearview mirror soon and we can all gather for a postponed Spring Work Weekend at Sheepscot. Please stay safe and, with apologies to the late Michael Conrad as Sgt. Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues, “Let’s be careful out there.” Dave Buczkowski

As for the non-essential expenses, all general fund appropriations to marketing, the Archives, building and equipment maintenance, track maintenance, and machine shop tooling have been cut until August or September—another $13,000 or so. While many of those departments have funds appropriated during prior periods, without your help we’ll have to dip into those accounts, and possibly use funds from other projects, to get us through this period.

We have also applied for the $10,000 Small Business Administration (SBA) “loan advance” grant, but this now appears to be a grant for organizations with employees, which we do not have. On May 1st we received a $1,000 advance grant (we applied April 4th!), which while good news the low amount is disappointing. It remains to be seen if we will receive any SBA loans. The Good News:

Whenever a member dies and leaves us a bequest from their estate, we generally send it to Maine Community Foundation for investing in our Reserves account. “Fortunately,” some estate funds that had arrived in February had not been sent to MCF, and by the time I realized I had not sent the funds the stock market was in free-fall. So those funds, some $8000, are on hand for immediate use.

At our April “virtual” (online) Board meeting, a member offered a one-year $10,000 loan at no interest. It would appear that our immediate financial future is taken care of, but this only gets us through May.

Should it be necessary, we have additional investments in our Reserves account that we can draw from. However, with

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Our Museum has had many opportunities and challenges in the last couple of years. We have accomplished a great deal toward our goal of restoring a spectacular piece of the WW&F with the construction of the Mountain extension and Trout Brook bridge. Our historic collaboration with Maine Narrow Gauge and Maine Locomotive and Machine Works is a notable success.

We have expanded our car storage along with creating a heated and capable machine and car shop. Coach No. 9 is being built. Vacuum brakes are almost ready to test. The 21 Campaign was successfully executed. Our event pavilion is going up. We organized and ran several spectacular winter events as we continue to make history.

We have been stretched, but the result is that we are well on our way to creating the railroad that we have all dreamed of. The current national emergency simply means a delay in finishing these projects and starting more.

With the extension of the track down the Mountain, there is an issue that will become acute as we try to expand our operations and take advantage of this beautiful but challenging section of the railroad.

When the Mountain extension is finished, we will want to run from Sheepscot to our terminal at Route 218. Both

Making Maine History—Continued

the recent stock market activity, the amount that is available to us will be much less than it was at the beginning of the year.How You Can Help:• Renew your membership, and donate: The recent Federal

CARES stimulus act changes the tax laws so that now individuals who do not itemize deductions on their taxes may donate $300 and deduct it from their 2020 taxes before applying the standard deduction. In light of this, all WW&F Board members who could afford to do pledged to donate $300 from their stimulus check. I would encourage all members who are able to do so as well. You can donate via PayPal (see the Donate link on the website) or mail it in to WW&F Railway Museum, COVID-19 Relief, P.O. Box 242, Alna, ME 04535-0242. The $300 is cash-only (not stocks/etc.), and can be doubled for joint filers. Also if you are currently sending automatic donations for a project (such as the 21 Campaign), please consider allowing us to re-route that to the General Fund until the crisis is over.

• If you have internet access, consider receiving your newsletter electronically: We are committed to continuing to provide our bi-monthly newsletter, but in order to cut costs the newsletters for the remainder of 2020 will go

back to black-and-white printing. You can help with the newsletter by receiving it via email and foregoing having it mailed to you. This will save the cost of postage and allow us to print fewer newsletters. Your PDF newsletter will be full color. Please send your email address to Membership Secretary Mike Fox at membership@wwfry.org. You can also get it online at our discussion forum, forum.wwfry.org, but please let Mike know that you are doing this and to not mail you a newsletter.

• Purchase from our gift shop: The new edition of Two Feet to Tidewater came out in January, the new 2021 calendar may be out by the time you read this, plus we may have DVDs or other books that you haven’t seen yet. Visit https://giftshop.wwfry.org for all your mail order needs. You can also donate via the gift shop as well.Remember: the goal we need to just “keep the lights

on” is $20,000. Loans (such as one member did above) are welcome, but donations are better. Further donations beyond that will allow us to restart budget funding for our various departments. We realize that many of you may be struggling to keep your own lights on, and that there are many other worthy causes out there that have the same issues that we have. Whatever you are able to do will be most welcome. Thank you. James Patten

A Proposal to Sell Locomotive No. 10 to the SR&RLThe WW&F Board of Directors has asked our membership to provide feedback on the following proposal. Moderator Ed

Lecuyer has posted a poll on the proposal on our forum (forum.wwfry.org) under the “Museum Discussion - MEMBERS ONLY” section. Contact Ed at ed.lecuyer@wwfry.org if you don’t have forum access. Before voting, please read the following proposal (Making Maine History—Continued) outlining the necessity to build locomotive No. 11, which could be funded (substantially) by the sale of locomotive No. 10. While non-binding, we want to gain the “pulse” of our organization in a transparent and open manner before moving forward with a possible sale of such an important asset.

Anyone who wishes to comment on this proposal privately is encouraged to do so with WW&F President David J. Buczkowski at david.buczkowski@wwfry.org.

locomotives No. 9 and No. 3 can reliably and literally “make the grade” with two full coaches. However, once No. 10 is back, and if No. 3 is not available, only No. 9 can run over the entire railroad with more than one coach. Our experience with No. 10, which is backed up by her rated tonnage calculation on the Mountain’s grades and curves, shows that she can haul only one loaded coach up the Mountain in good weather. She and her crew will be working hard to do that. We also know that winter conditions make even one coach a difficult haul to Alna Center for No. 10.

In short, our operational flexibility will be very limited with No. 10 as our second steam engine, especially for large events. Furthermore, this situation means we will be unable to schedule steam for some important events if No. 9 is unavailable for an extended time. With the Mountain in service we will need a more powerful steam engine to ensure reliable and historically accurate operation for years to come.

This situation was not unforeseen and is one of the reasons that a replica of WW&F No. 7, to be numbered 11, has been planned. This engine will be faithful to the original Baldwin design and built entirely in our shop. No. 11 has been a long term Museum goal and is necessary for operations on the

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Mountain when the extension opens.Building No. 11 will be a multi-year project and will

require several hundred thousand dollars in materials as well as many volunteer hours, but fortunately much has already been done. The complex task of organizing, scheduling, and cataloging all the material and components required has been done. Most parts are already designed and ready to be created. The boiler was part of the 21 Campaign, and its major components are already at Sheepscot waiting to be finished and assembled. Beautiful patterns have been crafted by our dedicated volunteers.

We’ve been slowly preparing for years and now we are ready to roll.

The major barriers to building No. 11 are money and time. It’s estimated that the remaining materials will cost about $250,000. We will need more skilled labor time to fabricate parts and erect the engine over about 4½ years from start. Additional funds should allow us to shorten that time.

As we’ve experienced in recent years, an unforeseen opportunity has appeared. Some members of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad are looking to acquire a steam engine. They have tentatively expressed an interest in purchasing No. 10 if it is available and complete. This could fund much if not most of the remaining materials for No. 11. However, we would still need to devote our time to finishing No. 10, which would take another one to two years. So the start of No. 11 would still have to wait and we would still not have a second steam engine.

Enter another opportunity: Brian Fanslau of Maine Locomotive and Machine Works is interested in building No. 10’s new boiler. WW&F volunteers would then reassemble the engine at Sheepscot. Brian’s cost for the boiler would be added to the purchase price for No. 10. With this scenario, we would still realize the funds to purchase materials for No. 11 but not have to devote the next year plus to building the boiler for No. 10.

Eventually we would complete the boiler paid for with 21 Campaign donations and use it to power the sawmill and shingle mill at Top of Mountain.

Therefore, we would be able to buy materials and get started a year sooner on No. 11. In addition, several members have volunteered to devote extra time to this project. Our new machine shop is now ready for this job. The down time due to the national emergency is providing us the opportunity to complete all drawings and documentation. We are generating a project plan that is well thought out and credible.

With this plan and the commitment of the museum, we could be running No. 11 in 2025!

While many details of this proposal have yet to be worked out, a difficult part of this plan is the possible sale of No. 10. We know that No. 10 is an important touchstone for many members as well as a big piece of the history of the WW&F Railway Museum. Far from her native Louisiana, she has been the focal point of our Museum for years. Many of us worked on her and learned to fire and run a locomotive in her spacious cab. While small, she “made all the right noises,” providing thousands with their first taste of coal smoke and hissing steam. How fitting if she could assume the same importance and place in a fellow Maine 2-footer museum while enabling us to build a genuine WW&F design locomotive. Even so, it would be hard to see her leave Sheepscot.

Like most organizations, the pandemic has limited SR&RL funding resources since this proposal was first contemplated. Therefore, any potential sale would be many months if not years away. Nonetheless we are using this opportunity to gauge our members opinion on the matter.

If we do decide to keep No. 10, it is vital that we get started on No. 11 as soon as possible and make her construction a priority. The need will not go away, and we now have the people, the plan, the facility, and the commitment to make this a reality. Building our own locomotive would be yet another spectacular accomplishment for the WW&F Railway Museum and our members. These projects all take us towards our common dream of experiencing the Sheepscot Valley and the railway as it was, thereby inspiring future generations to continue to keep history alive.

David J. Buczkowski, President; Gordon Cook;Wayne Laepple; and Jason Lamontagne

1907 Baldwin Locomotive Works builder’s photo of WW&F locomotive No. 7. A sale of our No. 10 would provide much of the funding needed for our No. 11, a planned replica of No. 7. Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Archives photo.

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30 Years Ago: Our first Annual Meeting is held Saturday, May 5th at the Alna Fire house. M. Starr Edgerton, Roger Whitney and Elaine Austin are elected directors. Elaine Austin is elected secretary, Arthur C. Ray clerk and Richard Bourdon treasurer. A barn raising is held for shop bay 1 on Saturday, June 9th (photo, right).

20 Years Ago: No. 10 hauls its first paying passenger trains on the WW&F May 6th, the day of our eleventh Annual Meeting. 740 feet of track is built from Sutter’s crossing northward in cockeye curve the weekend of May 13th and 14th.

10 Years Ago: About 1900 track feet of 56-lb rail is delivered to Sheepscot June 21st. Bath Iron Works had donated 60 tons of crane rail to our Museum, which we, in turn, traded to Kovalchick Salvage to largely pay for the 56-lb rail.

Our Museum, Years Ago...

Alna Center PavilionOn March 21st, Mike Fox led a small group of volunteers

to finish the roof for the eastern end of the pavilion. As the pandemic and funds allow, Mike plans to finish the wall sheathing in this section and set the footings for the rest of the posts for the building. In the meantime, Mike is performing repair work to two failing culverts around Sheepscot Mills.

Photo by Stewart Rhine

Car Barn ExtensionAs seen in this April 25th photo on the right, the car barn

extension is nearly entirely enclosed. Windows, boards and battens have been installed. Remaining work at this time to secure the building was a small section of the eastern roof and the two new doors along the south wall. A small group of local volunteers, following social distancing guidelines, have been working on the project to secure the building.

Photo by Brendan Barry

Gift ShopOur Sheepscot gift shop, located in our replica Weeks

Mills freight house, is getting a major remodeling during the shutdown. The floor has been cleaned and painted, the guest aisle has been widened, and the merchandise areas will be upgraded. In this mid-March view (before social distancing rules were put into place), Cindy Rhine (left) and Linda Zollers review plans for the displays. This view looks toward the north end of the freight house. Photo by Stewart Rhine

In MemoriamWe are saddened to learn of the passing of member and friend

Winford T. Nowell LM 184 4/24/2020

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Volunteer Hours for 2019Thank you to all of the following WW&F volunteers in 2019:

Laurence Babcock, Jim Barker, Pete Barrington, Brendan Barry, Cassie Barry, Kathryn Barry, Ryan Barry, Daryl Barta, Jay Barta, Scott Barta, Bill Baskerville, Lynne Beach, Randy Beach, Ralph Beaumont, Dennis Bergstrom, Erik Bergstrom, Jill Berlo, Ken Berlo, Alvin Bicker, David A. Bisson, Zachary Bisson, Virginia Blake, Philip Blauvelt, Craig Bolton, Eric Bolton, Eli Boothby, Mia Branco, Guy Brandes, Hans Brandes, Grace Brodeur, Charlie Brogan, David Brydges, Dave Buczkowski, Gail Buczkowski, Tyler Bullock, Larry A. Burridge, Steven Butterworth, Graham Buxton, Ben Campbell, Ted Campbell, Liz Canella, Wes Carpenter, Richard Cavalloro, Robert Cavanagh, Jon Chase, Tom Chase, Mark Cheetham, Fred Clark, Gayle Cluro, Ride Cluro, Ryan Cochrane, John Comeau, Robert Comeau, Gordon Cook, Dean Copeland, Allan B. Cox, Paul Crabb, David Crow, Richard Currie, Brian Currier, Candice Currier, Edwin Darling, Dana Deering, Chuck Denlinger, Carlo Digiantommaso, Lauren Digiantommaso, Jeff DiManna, Dan Ditullio, Alan Downey, Harold Downey, Hunt Dowse, Wayne Duffett, Martha Duncan, Steve Earle, Richard Edling, Mark Edry, Tom Evans, Brian Fanslau, Don Fenstermacher, Daniel Ferden, Jon Fink, Allan Fisher, Ellen Fisher, Adam Fletcher, David A. Fletcher, Bill Fortier, Dawn Fox, Jarrett Fox, Joseph Fox, Leanne Fox, Mike Fox, George Gaige, David Gallahger, Joan Geisler, Catherine Geren, Larry Gessman, Joseph Gilbert, Susan Hackett, Bob Haines, Ross D. Hall, Ralph Harris, Trevor Hartford, Robbert Hecker, Wesley Heinz, Galo J. Hernandez III, Alexander Hernandez, Francis Hernandez, Bob Holmes, John Hunt, Paul Hunt, Kyle Irving, Rosanne Jameson, Larry Jensen, Chris Johnson, Dave Johnson, Sara Johnson, Travis Johnson, Stephen Kelly, Teagan Kelly, John T. Kennedy, Matt Keonghan, Weston Keyes, Kevin Kierstead, Greg Klein, Frank J. Knight, Richard N. Knight, Stephen Knobloch, John Kokas, Don Konen, Ron Kurtz, Kitty Laepple, Wayne Laepple, Dante Lakin, Jason Lamontagne, Ed Lecuyer, Michelle Lecuyer, Steve Lennox, James Lent, Jacques LeRow, Vincent LeRow, Cindy Longo, Robert Longo, Susan Longo, Joe Lupinski, Barbara Mackiewicz, Duncan Mackiewicz, Dan Malkowski, Emily Manteo, Philip Marshall, Richard Mauser, Edward McCreery, John McNamara, Joan Meehan, Jon P. Meierhoff, Tom Meierhoff, Al Michelis, Glenn Miller, Christian Montgomery, Jay Monty, Joe Monty, Fred Morse, Pete Moxley, Greg Nazarow, Sven Neale, Tucker Neale, Ewa Nelson, Russell Nelson, Manny Neves, Dave R. Newton, Krista Newton, Mike Nix, James Nobilini, David Oliver, Cliff Olson, Patty Osmer, Fred Otto, Elizabeth Palmer, James Patten, Bernie Perch, Larry Perkins, Les Perry, Duff Peterson, Lisa Peterson, Dick Picard, Bill Piche, Charlie R. Pidacks, Janet Piwowarski, Stephen Piwowarski, Kevin Propst, Megan Propst, Christopher Quigg, Joshua Recave, Ben Rechel, David Reed, Bill Reidy, Cindy Rhine, Stewart Rhine, John Robertson, William Robinson, Laura Rochette, Ben Rockney, Michael Ross, Bill Sample, Donald F. Sanger, Andrew Schade, Eric Schade, David Scheidcrich, Dan Schruefer, John Schruefer, Jeff Schumaker, Glenn Schwass, Amy Scott, Cooper Scott, Matthew Scott, Shelby Scott, Andrew Seredinsky, Nick Simoneau, Richard Sisson, Skip Small, H. L. Smith, J. B. Smith, Richard D. Smith, Eric Snyder, Jonathan St. Mary, Ken Steeves, Carlos Steinke, Jerry Steinke, Pete Stevens, John Stone, Sr., Brian Strait, Rider Strano, Stan Swanson, Keith Taylor, Don Thomas, Jan Thomas, Charles Waldron, Josh Wathis, Bryce Weeks, Jared Weeks, Leon Weeks, Nancy Weeks, David West, Roger Whitney, Bruce Wilson, Dwight Winkley, Ralph Wood, Sonja Wyllie, Zack Wyllie, Linda Zollers, Joshua Zuckerman, and an unreadable volunteer log signature. In 2019, 251 volunteers donated 23,991.28 hours to our Museum. James Patten

Nominations Open for Our 2020 Legacy Honorees ProgramOver the last 30 years, volunteers have been both the

pilots and the engine room crew of the WW&F. To honor this history, last year we started a program to recognize them in the WW&F “Volunteer Hall of Fame.” We honor our supremely dedicated volunteers—long-time, current, posthumous, and even future—in a unique manner. We dedicate brass engraved plaques in a visible location on the railroad for all to view and appreciate.

This program is sponsored and promoted by our Board of Directors, which has final approval of volunteers to be honored. The Board has delegated its promotion to a special Legacy Honoree committee, consisting of Bob Holmes, James Patten and John McNamara.

Our first year (2019), we honored Fred Morse, Dwight Winkley, Roger Whitney, Zack Wyllie, John McNamara; and John and Jane Robertson—all names familiar to most of you. The awards were presented at our last Fall Work Weekend.

Going forward, a key part of the program is to solicit nominations annually from our Museum membership. We want you to help us consider who should be selected and why. The goal this year is six (6) new Honorees.

Since there are many over the years (including those who have passed away) who deserve such remembrance, we

offer the following ideas as suggestions for recognition, but certainly other factors may be in your thoughts:

• Years of service;• Hours of service;• Contributions of skills and labor;• Legacy of contribution;• Impact on the forward progress of our Museum; and• Other intangibles.So we now invite and encourage all members to submit

nominations in one of two ways: By email to honorees@wwfry.org; or by U.S. mail to WW&F Railway Museum, 2020 Legacy Honorees, P.O. Box 242, Alna, ME 04535-0242. If there are questions, please contact our committee through my email: holmesbh@fast.net. We look forward to hearing from many of you.

Later this summer, our committee will tally all nominations and make recommendations for the Board to review. The Board will then make a final determination of 2020 Honorees. The process will be anonymous so that the finalists are surprised and the other nominees don’t know they have even been suggested. The awards will be announced and presented at this year’s Fall Work Weekend. Thank you. Bob Holmes

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WW&F Railway Museum June & July 2020 CalendarDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Museum is closed to the public and to nearly all members. At this time

(early May), we plan to reopen our Museum August 8th to the public for our Annual Picnic and hope to allow our volunteers to return sooner, under guidelines set by the CDC and the state of Maine. Please watch wwfry.org, forum.wwfry.org and our Facebook page for future updates.

Two Foot Gleanings

The Grand PlanThe following article comes from the Boston Herald, by

way of the Pittsfield Advertiser of March 15th, 1894. It is the first newspaper article I’ve found to report on the grandiose plans of the Wiscasset & Quebec railroad. I hope you find it as interesting as I have. Jeff Schumaker

The Wiscasset & Quebec.A few days ago, an article on the proposed Wiscasset

& Quebec railroad appeared in the Boston Herald from the pen of its well-informed Augusta correspondent. This is a matter of great moment to many towns in this vicinity. The Herald, among other things on the subject says:

As laid out, the road runs northerly from Wiscasset to Burnham a distance of 52 miles. Leaving the former place, for 26 miles it follows the Sheepscot river valley, passing through flourishing villages in the towns of Wiscasset, Alna, Whitefield and Windsor to China. Then the line runs along the easterly side of the large and beautiful Lovejoy and China ponds, which elsewhere would be called lakes. Then it crosses the Sebasticook river, and passes through Albion and Unity plantation to Burnham, where the Maine Central is intersected.

This is as far as the road will be built this spring, but

the contract for 3,500 tons of steel rails which has been made, includes a sufficient number to carry the road 8 miles further to Pittsfield, where the Maine Central is again struck, and where is also the terminus of the Sebasticook & Moosehead railroad, which runs 8 miles through Pittsfield and Palmyra to Hartland. From here a survey has been run 18 miles through St. Albans, Ripley, Cambridge and Parkman to Guilford, where the Bangor and Piscataquis division of the Bangor & Aroostook is tapped, and a connection formed with the Canadian Pacific.

If the season permits the six miles of rail to Pittsfield will be laid this fall, and the S. & M. railroad acquired, for the latter road is controlled by the friends of the W. & Q. and is ready to drop into the latter’s hands. Then, within three years, the 18 miles from Hartland to Guilford, will probably be built.

Early in 1895, a branch road will be built from Weeks’ Mills in China, then west by China pond through the villages of South China, East and North Vassalboro, down the Sebasticook valley to Winslow, opposite Waterville on the Kennebec. These sister towns are the seat of great manufacturing plants and are the fastest growing places in that part of the state.

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Swapping a wheel set between B&SR boxcar No. 51 and WW&F No. 9 March 7th. One of No. 9’s wheels on its tank truck had developed a flat spot. As the tank truck wheels are chilled cast iron, turning the flat wheel was not a practical option. No. 51 has the same type wheels, and owner Brian Fanslau kindly let us switch a wheel set with No. 9. Photo by Bill Reidy