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.
