WW&F launches boiler campaign

The WW&F Railway Museum in Maine last week kicked off a major effort to raise $130,000 to construct two new boilers. The "21 Campaign" will raise funds for new boilers for workhorse No. 10 and for No. 11, a planned reconstruction of the original WW&F's No. 7, a 1907 Baldwin 2-4-4 Forney scrapped in 1937. The numbers of the two locomotives equal 21, thus the name of the campaign.

As funds come in, the two boilers will be constructed sequentially. The nearby Boothbay Railway Village, which is a code-certified boiler shop, will construct the boilers. The WW&F will lend its two riveting machines to Boothbay, and through a cooperative partnership, museum volunteers will participate in parts of the project. Donations are being accepted through www.fundrazr.com/21campaign.

No. 10 has been the primary motive power at the museum since its arrival in 1999. A recent ultrasonic inspection of its boiler revealed multiple defects, which were confirmed by additional testing, dating from its manufacture in 1959, necessitating its immediate replacement. We will concentrate on No. 10 first, and once it is returned to service, all efforts will concentrate on the second boiler.

The Build 11 Project has been underway informally for several years. Numerous drawings and patterns have been produced, and the pony truck wheelset and several small components have been manufactured.

Read more about the project at www.facebook.com/wwandf21campaign



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2016 02:28PM by Wayne Laepple.