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Alna Center in 1999 has been converted from the pre-July 2008 WW&F Discussion Forum.
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Stephen Hussar wrote:All, this photo was sent by Stewart Rhine and taken in Alna Center back in 1999. You are standing with your back to the south end of the field, on the ROW, looking north.
The switchstand for the north run-around is approximately in the center of the picture where the tree line is. Thanks, Stewart & Cindy!
Stewart Rhine replied:I took this photo on my second trip to AC. My first time was in 1998 when I hiked from Sheepscot with Bruce Wilson. It was easier in October of 1999 because Mike Trask had cut his driveway through and I drove down to the grade. This was also the day I found the remains of the original station. Zack had told me he had seen some timbers and wood up there. They were in the woods across the grade from where the station originally sat. I found a 6 foot section of the interior wall and decided to save it. I the marked the boards in the order they were nailed and then took the wall apart. I brought everything back to Sheepscot and cleaned off the boards. I found original W&Q red stain and the Carson Peck era gray paint over top of it. I re-assembled the boards as they were and that section is now inside the new Alna Center station.
Stewart
Stephen Hussar replied:This image from 2004 - was taken the day Stewart brought the reassembled wall back to Alna Center.
Stewart Rhine replied:You can't see it in the photo but there are old names and dates written on, or carved into the boards. The paper at the top left is a list of the ones I could read. One of the dates is 1917.
Stewart
Stephen Hussar replied:Ran across this picture from earlier in 2004.
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"Give me enough Swedes and whiskey and I'll build a railroad to Hell."
- James J. Hill
Stewart Rhine replied:Oh yes, back when we were still building the railroad uphill! It was upgrade from Sutters all the way to Alna summit.
Good times...
Stephen Hussar replied:Turning the knob on the "way-back machine" just a little bit further, this was No 10's first test-run up to Alna Center after the re-build. What a great day 
_________________
* * * *
"Give me enough Swedes and whiskey and I'll build a railroad to Hell."
- James J. Hill
Bill Sample replied:Seeing the Alna Center Station in its "underwear" is interesting- it shows that the building was substantially constructed in a time-honored manner, not slapped together with cheap materials. Like the trackage in front of it, I'm sure it is more substantially built than its ancestor.
Stewart Rhine replied:Bill, FYI - Zack, Gary R. and crew built the AC station using available measurements and information from the original structure. The original station lasted into the 1970's and was photographed/measured by a number of people. Zack used real 6X6 corner boards and 2X6 wall studs and top plates for the framing. I searched the antique shops and found an original door at Elmers that had the correct four-panel construction. I cleaned and painted it about a year before the station was built. The WW&F used a unique four-panel door with the lower panels being very short. These were used on the (Wiscasset to Albion) shelters and agent stations.
Another tough part was the 8 over 8 windows. I tried to find antique sashes but couldn't come up with any. Zack discovered that the company was still in business that made the original windows for the W&Q in 1894-95. That company made the new sashes for the station. It's cool to think that the re-born railroad is once again a customer of the original company that supplied the W&Q.
gordon cook replied:Here's a shot of the floor of the AC Station on May 8, 2004, before the walls went up:
And, from the first day the rebuilt 10 was in service, July 10, 2004, remember the original color of the inside of the cab?
petecosmob replied:I SHOULD remember as I got a ride in it both before and after,......what was it? And what is it now? 
gordon cook replied:As you can see in the picture, the cab interior was painted a shade of green to match the original color. It is now mostly soot black. A lot of the ceiling got an instant paint job when the lubricator decided to spit back when it was being filled late one day.
PCo622 replied:I remember priming and painting that roof just in time for the Pleasure Island event. Sometimes my arm still hurts from painting upside down.
