On January 21st and 22nd, three of Maine's 2-foot gauge railroad museums conducted the second of two winter photo events at the Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Alna, Maine. The event featured the WW&F's collection of rolling stock and infrastructure as well as visiting equipment and personnel from the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company & Museum in Portland and the Boothbay Railway Village in Boothbay. Only two of the 5 surviving 2-foot steam locomotives are currently operable and both were used extensively at this event. WW&F #9, was built by the Portland Company in 1891, and Monson Railroad #3 is a 1913 product of the Vulcan Locomotive Works. Both are roughly 18-ton engines. Passenger, freight and mixed consists were run, featuring meets as well as passing scenes. On Sunday, a single, large mixed train was assembled and powered by both locomotives, with Monson #4 leading and WW&F #9 pushing on the rear. A flying cut-off of the pusher was also demonstrated. In addition, numerous yard scenes were created, including some scenes at night with professional lighting. It was an interesting and fun event for all who attended and really highlighted a lot of the excellent preservation work that is being done by these mostly volunteer organizations. It certainly generated a ton of photos.
I've assembled a photo album depicting some of the highlights of the weekend. I've included a direct link below for those who would like to see what it all looked like. When the album is displayed, you can click on individual photos to display larger versions with data and captions. On these detail pages there is also a small expansion icon in the upper right-hand corner that will allow you to display the photos full-screen, if desired. If you go full-screen, the arrows on the right and left will allow you to page through the album.
Maine Two-Foot Winter Weekend
For those narrow gauge fans who have never been to Maine, you really owe it to yourself to pay these folks a visit. It is amazing what they have been able to accomplish.
Thanks!
/Kevin Madore
