Scrapping the original WW&F >>Re-enactment Photos<<

Folks who follow the various threads on the WW&F Railway Museum in Alna, Maine are probably familiar with the fact that the original railway shut down back in 1933. Economic times were hard, and the advent of heavy trucks and a decent road system pretty much drew the curtain down on Maine's 2-foot railroads. In the ensuing 4 years, the little railroad was slowly parted out and scrapped. All but one of the remaining locomotives were cut up, and the wooden rolling stock was literally pushed on its side and burned to recover any metal parts. Of course, the rails were lifted as well. By the time that happened, there were no operable locomotives, so there was no work train. One of the remaining flat cars was literally hauled down the line by a team of draft horses. At least one historic photo of this operation does exist.

On April 21, 2018, the WW&F did a re-enactment of the track removal operation, as part of its Spring Photo Event. It seems that the museum has had a 300 foot section of track that has been a maintenance headache for them for some time. This section has had drainage and settling issues, requiring a lot of periodic maintenance. The museum had plans for a more permanent fix, involving some major work to the roadbed itself, but that would require the track to be removed. Thus, the museum was presented with a golden opportunity for yet another historic re-enactment. The track removal.....and the photo event, were scheduled for one week before the museum's annual Spring Work Weekend. The track would be removed for photos, then the roadbed work would take place during the following week. The track would then be replaced during the Work Weekend, when the museum typically has a large crew of folks who enjoy putting down track.

The re-enactment involved the use of Flat Car #118, an original piece of rolling stock, which was apparently involved in the original scrapping operation. Motive power was provided by a pair of large draft horses, provided by a local stable, which also provides the horse-drawn wagon and sleigh rides at the museum's annual Victorian Christmas event. Museum regulars then donned period clothing, and in the course of a couple hours, tore up 300 ft. of track.....something the membership is definitely not used to. Once underway, the operation was not specifically orchestrated for photos. None of the scenes I am presenting below were specifically posed. The photographers pretty much circulated around and documented the event. In the 21st century, when many railfans are too young to have had much exposure to black and white photography, I am often reluctant use that format, and I know that there are plenty who are far better at it than me, but in this case, I just couldn't see these scenes being rendered in color.

Here are four scenes re-enacting the removal of the WW&F. I just don't know of any other place that could have or would have gone to the trouble of re-enacting something like this. Take a look!

Scrapping the WW&F

By the way, no railroads were permanently harmed in the making of these photos. By the time that many of you see these images, the track pictured will have been rebuilt, with a brand new roadbed and brand new ties.

/Kevin Madore



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2018 12:23PM by KevinM.