WW&F Winter Photo Shoot 2024 >>>Photo Album<<<

Two weeks ago, on February 3rd & 4th, I had the pleasure of leading the 2024 Winter Photo Shoot at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum. Although we had done a couple of single-day photo events at the museum over the past couple of years, this was our first, multi-day winter event since 2020, just before the pandemic. Unlike some of our previous events, which focused on gatherings of visiting equipment, this event was an opportunity to showcase the recently completed mountain section of our line, with a focus on our own equipment.

On Saturday the 3rd, we re-lettered WW&F #9 in the livery of her first owner, the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad, where she carried the number 6. The consist that day was a mixed train with a pair of unlettered boxcars and Frankin & Megantic Coach #2, which ran on the SR&RL both as F&M #2 and later, as SR&RL Coach #21. On Sunday, we ran with an all-WW&F mixed train, with #9 as herself, along with Flatcar #118, Boxcar #309 and Wiscasset & Quebec Coach #3, all of which ran on the original WW&F at various times. The event included a fast-paced night photo session on Saturday evening, led and lighted by my friend Dak Dillon. We really could not have asked for better weather for the event, which included clouds for about the first 2 hours.....and completely clear skies for the rest of the weekend. The air was cold and we had a nice layer of snow on the ground. We had the opportunity to run trains facing both north and south, with a variety of lighting. If ever anyone wanted to capture the WW&F in just one weekend, this was about the best opportunity I can ever remember, in which to do it. After reviewing the photos, I ended up counting a total of 51 run-bys, and probably 8 different night scenes.

Before moving on to the photos, I have to give credit where credit is due. The volunteers at the WW&F did an amazing job preparing for and executing this event. They cut the brush, put together lunch for the photographers, assembled the operations plan, did a bunch of switching in advance, and then rolled with the inevitable changes that we made on the fly to make sure we hit all of the spots at the right time. The engine house construction crew also made miracles in the last couple of days, getting the last doors built and hung, finishing up the exterior trim, painting it all, then cleaning up the construction site just in time for our night session. Working with this team is a pleasure!

After sorting through the roughly 2,300 frames that I shot, I selected a few dozen that will give you just a taste of what it all looked like. If you have a couple of minutes, please take a look. Check out the captions as well, as a number of them add some historical perspective to what you're seeing.

WW&F Winter Photo Shoot 2024

Thanks for looking, and I hope to see some of you in Maine, the next time we do this!

/Kevin Madore