A Grand Reunion of Maine 2 Foot Steam: Wiscasset Waterville and Farmington Railway: 1/17-18-19/2020

In the midst of Maine’s harsh but beautiful winter, a celebration of railroading was held, the Maine 2 Foot gauge had spanned across the state in 5 different railroads: the Wiscasset Waterville and Farmington, Bridgton and Saco, Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes, Monson, and the Kennebec Central. Equipment ranging from all 5 of these historic roads were represented in a Grand Reunion, while the Monson and Kennebec Central weren’t given quite the same coverage due to the lack of remaining rolling stock, WWFRY 9 (which was also dressed as SR&RL 6, the locomotives first service life), was originally also KC 4 before being bought by the WWFRY in the 1930s, in both physical presence and spiritual, all 2 Footers were accounted for.

This program details what would’ve been daily sights to the people of rural Maine, an itinerary of the weekend’s happenings shown on video is provided below:

Day 1: Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes #6 - 1/17/2020:
Top of the Mountain: 0:40
Rosewood Crossing: 2:04
Alna Center: 2:42
Humason Trestle: 3:25
Sheepscot Water Tower and Station: 3:37
Day 2: WWFRY Passenger & B&SR Mixed - 1/18/2020
Sheepscot Water Tower and Turntable: 4:33
Top of the Mountain: 5:30
Monson 3 & Bridgton & Saco 7 doublehead the TotM grade: 6:26
Alna Center: 9:20
Humason Brook and Trestle: 12:08
Day 3: B&S 7 and WWFRY 9 lead 13 car mixed - 1/19/2020

Albee's Field: 14:16

Alna Center: 15:39
Milepost 6: 18:14
Humason Trestle: 19:32
Final Scene: all 5 locomotives around the Sheepscot Turntable w/ whistle sound-off from the 3 locomotives in steam: 20:17
 About the Maine 2 Footers:
100 years ago, the state of Maine was a different place, the area beyond the seacoast was hardly considered developed, while the coast saw its bounties from maritime commerce and resort locations, outside this bubble of prosperity, only mill towns thrived beyond, with the yearly onslaught of winter leaving farming a harsh occupation. 4 railroads served the state during the 20th century, the Maine Central, Boston and Maine, Bangor and Aroostook, and the Grand Trunk, however despite the amount of road names, various communities were still left with a link to the outside world, citing the difficulties of building railroads in such uneconomical sectors and with the geography of the necessary routes being incredibly difficult to work with for standard gauge. With this, the Maine 2 Footers were born.

Riding on rails 2 feet apart instead of the usual 4 feet and 8 1/2 inches of standard gauge, the 2 footers made a name for themselves, riding RoWs that would have proven too costly to tackle with the larger standard gauge trains. Providing service to those who lived beyond the reach of major economic routes, these trains would never reach true financial success, most being killed off with by the Great Depression. But for those that managed to survive the purge by the scrappers torch that followed their railroad's closure and the onset of World War II, they found refuge in various places. Edaville Railroad is one of the most notable examples, 4 out of the 5 steamers shown here found refuge on the cranberry farm-turned tourist attraction. WWFRY 9 being the only one to not land there, rather a farm in West Thompson after being saved by preservationist in the last 1930s. All Maine 2 foot locomotives was moved back to their home state as well as rolling stock, Bridgton and Saco 7 and 8 as well as Monson 3 and 4 being housed by the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum, WWFRY 9 was returned to home rails on the newly rebuilt RoW over the original roadbed. As of 2020 the MNGM and WWFRY entered into a partnership to share custody of the extensive collection between the 2 locations, most now residing in Alna at the WWF, this partnership made this event possible. Both organizations are non-profit, and rely on donations and ticket sales to continue their incredible work, please consider supporting them if you enjoy their efforts in preserving these unique pieces of Maine history.
Please enjoy the sights and sounds of the 20th century ingenuity that was the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads!

Видео A Grand Reunion of Maine 2 Foot Steam: Wiscasset Waterville and Farmington Railway: 1/17-18-19/2020 канала Merrimack & Saco Productions