Author Topic: A few stories ...  (Read 320064 times)

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #345 on: June 07, 2016, 01:35:06 PM »
Story #128

A while back we heard a story describing how fast the WW&F ran in the old days:

A newlywed couple boarded the narrow gauge in Wiscasset, by the time they reached Albion, their son helped carry their bags.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2016, 10:49:28 AM by Stewart "Start" Rhine »

Keith Taylor

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #346 on: June 07, 2016, 01:50:45 PM »
A while back we heard a story describing how fast the WW&F ran:

A newlywed couple boarded the narrow gauge in Wiscasset, by the time they reached Albion, their son helped carry their bags.
That reminds me of a story my father used to tell. He was stationed in Newfoundland for part of the Second World War. The local railroad was The Newfoundland Railway, a narrow gauge line. He told a story about the conductor on the train bringing his three legged dog to work with him. The dog, as the story goes, would get bored at the slow pace of progress and he would hop off the train and hobble on three legs to the next grade crossing where he would wait for the train to catch up with him!

Keith

Ira Schreiber

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #347 on: June 07, 2016, 02:30:05 PM »
Everyone was amazed when the "Cannonball Express" arrived at the depot five minutes early as it was always notoriously late.

It was then discovered it was yesterdays train.

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #348 on: June 07, 2016, 04:58:07 PM »
The joke about the WW&F came from a long time Alna resident who heard it from his father.  It's the type of saying that followed shortlines and narrow gauge operations all over the country.  Posting it here reminds us of how important the railroad was to people 100 years ago, important enough to generate humor.

Here's one that I heard about the Maryland & Pennsylvania RR (Ma & Pa) years ago:

A very pregnant lady stops the conductor as he walks through the coach.   She asks "Sir, will this train ever get to York?"  He looks at her and says "Ma'am, why did you ride the train in your condition?"  She replies "I wasn't in this condition when I got on the train."  

 
« Last Edit: June 08, 2016, 05:41:26 AM by Stewart "Start" Rhine »

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #349 on: June 22, 2016, 01:49:24 PM »
Story #129   Honk -

Last Saturday the 1:30 train had just left Sheepscot and I staged the railcar at the south end of the main to run as the second section with two passengers.  The steam train had just rounded Davis curve when a car with PA plates pulled into the parking lot.  A fellow got out and walked over towards the depot.  I said "sorry, you just missed the train but there's time to get a ticket for the railcar"  He smiled and said "the railcar is why I stopped by".  He purchased his ticket and climbed into the front seat.  There were still a few minutes before our departure so I asked him where he lived in PA since I spent a lot of time there when I lived in northern Maryland.  He replied that he lives in King of Prussia.  I told him that our Executone voice mail training center was in that area and I had been there a number of times.  He said "it's a nice area, been there about 30 years but I'm not originally from Pennsylvania, I grew up in Colorado".  I asked if he had lived near any of the Colorado narrow gauge lines and he said he lived outside of Denver.  He added "I like the Colorado narrow gauge lines.  I especially like the galloping goose and have ridden one, that's why I wanted to see your railcar".  I smiled and said "well, the Model T is not as big" then I asked where he had taken a goose ride figuring that it was on the Cumbres & Toltec or at the Colorado Railroad Museum.  He said "it was a long trip, the trestles at Ophir were really high".  It took a second to sink in ... my passenger had ridden a Galloping Goose on the Rio Grande Southern.  I asked him when he rode the RGS and he said that his father had taken him in 1951.    
« Last Edit: July 21, 2016, 10:53:29 AM by Stewart "Start" Rhine »

Carl G. Soderstrom

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #350 on: July 08, 2016, 12:45:52 AM »
Just wanted to say a friend was at the Museum June 25 with his grandkids

He was very impressed with the dedication of the volunteers and what has been accomplished.

The kids (beside the train) rode the hand car from the car barn to the shop - the girls were so
enthused it was a good thing there are brakes on the car or they would have gone through the shop.

Thanks to the crew from him (and me) for making it a memorable experience.

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #351 on: July 08, 2016, 10:30:07 AM »
Hi Carl,

 The weekend crew is happy to hear that your friend enjoyed his visit to Sheepscot.  Thanks for letting us know and for the kind words.

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Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #352 on: July 28, 2016, 12:36:58 PM »
Story #130   Vision -

Last weekend a visitor named Henry came to Sheepscot to fulfill an interest. Henry told us that he has lived out of state for decades but lived near Bridgton when he was a child.  He remembered a day when he was riding with his mother in the family auto as they were driving through town.  He described it this way: "Being small, I stood up on the seat for a look around.  I looked over and saw some railroad cars that got my attention.  I asked my mother if I could go play on them but she said no, it was not safe since the railroad had shut down.  I was some disappointed at not being able to go look at them and they were gone by the time we took our next trip to town."  He said that at the time he didn't know what narrow gauge was and found out later that it was the B&H.  He added "I never forgot seeing the cars and I've wanted to visit a Maine Two-Footer for years.  My son told me about this place last year and promised that we would visit on the next trip to Maine so here we are.  It's nice that this time I can ride the narrow gauge instead of just seeing it through the car window."   

John McNamara

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #353 on: July 28, 2016, 02:46:06 PM »
...and he will soon see a B&H car!

Pete "Cosmo" Barrington

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #354 on: July 31, 2016, 07:33:51 PM »
Technically, if he saw the visiting caboose he DID!  ;)

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #355 on: August 07, 2016, 07:35:39 PM »
Story #131   The Saw Mill -

Note: The story was told by Tom Albee, grandson of Mr. Everett Albee.

In the early years of the 20th Century, Mr. Everett Albee owned a farm that was adjacent to the WW&F Railway's Alna Center station.  He had a good relationship with the railroad as he shipped milk on the line.  One day Mr. Albee was contacted by the railroads freight agent regarding a piece of equipment that was being shipped on the narrow gauge.  The agent advised that there was a saw mill rig on a flatcar in Wiscasset and the shipper wanted it unloaded at Alna Center but didn't have a crew to unload it.  Mr. Albee agreed to unload the mill and the agent advised that the flatcar would be in the next days northbound train.  Arranging the meet was important as the saw mill had to be unloaded on the mainline while the train waited because there was no siding for a set off.

The following morning Mr. Albee took his horse team down to the station to meet the train.  He set some blocking to pull the rig onto and had the crew spot the car north of the station.  Mr. Albee tied his team on and pulled the rig off the car in a few minutes.  With his task complete, he said goodbye to the train crew and took his team back to resume the farm work.

A few days passed and no one showed up to claim the saw mill.  One afternoon there was a knock at Mr. Albee's front door.  Upon answering, Mr. Albee was surprised to see the Sheriff on his front steps.  The Sheriff greeted him and asked if he had unloaded a saw mill from a flatcar.  He stated that he had and told him him where it was.  The Sheriff told him that the rig was stolen and that they traced it to Alna Center by the railroad way bills.  The two men went down to the field so the Sheriff could examine the mill and make a report.  After confirming that the mill was the stolen rig, the Sheriff made arrangements with the WW&F to have an empty flatcar on the next southbound train.  He asked Mr. Albee to bring his team down the following day to reload the saw mill.  Mr. Albee did as requested and loaded the mill back onto the car.  It is doubtful that Mr. Albee ever received any pay for his work but it is known that he was happy to have helped solve a crime.   

Steve Smith

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #356 on: August 07, 2016, 10:03:50 PM »
What a great story! Thank you Start and thank you Tom Albee.

Philip Marshall

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #357 on: August 07, 2016, 10:52:16 PM »
That is a remarkable story. I wonder, where was it stolen from, and by whom? I'd imagine a stolen sawmill would be a difficult thing to hide, but shipping it to a rural flagstop would be a clever way to keep it hidden for a few days at least until the coast was clear.

It reminds me of those stories about freight agents intentionally routing carloads of lumber around the country by the most circuitous route possible in order to give the lumber company more time to find a buyer for it -- better to keep the wood in transit indefinitely (and hidden from the market) than to let it pile up unsold at the mill.

Stewart "Start" Rhine

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #358 on: August 08, 2016, 07:39:38 AM »
Hi Steve and Philip, Thanks for the comments. 

We put the story up because there will be a special all original WW&F train operated during the Annual Picnic.  The mixed train will have box car 309, flatcar 118 and coach 3 as the consist.  Flat 118 will have the shingle mill machinery as a load.  This will be the first time in many decades that this type of freight has been carried on the WW&F.   

Wayne Laepple

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Re: A few stories ...
« Reply #359 on: August 08, 2016, 09:22:36 AM »
That's a great story, Stewart. If nothing else, it sets a precedent for unloading or loading freight from the main line. As for cars of lumber wandering around the country, that is still done to a certain extent today. Mills on the west coast load cars and bill them to a broker in Chicago. The hope is that by the time they reach there, a buyer will have been found and the car can be re-billed to the consignee. If not, the broker gets stuck paying daily demurrage or storage charges until a buyer is found. The system must work pretty well, as I haven't heard of many brokers paying for storage.