Re-enactment Fund Raiser?

[Tom Casper]

Heaston Steam Museum has all the Zoo equipment that was bought by RR Donnelly and they have 2 under steam the last couple of years.  Their web site doesn't have details of the equipment..

[Brett Goertemoeller]

There are some very good ideas floating in.  Thank you for the imput!  I have some plans to run by everyone that I am working on.  I think that if it is marketed right, the railroad could bring in a lot of new prospective people and some needed funding as well. 

The equipment at Heaston does list 1 locomotive from this time.  It's a 2-8-0 from the brookfield zoo built for the German Army in 1918.

[Ira Schreiber]

I believe the 0-8-0 in California was the one at Heritage Square in Golden, Colorado. I was at the auction when it was sold to the California owner.

[Brett Goertemoeller]

I hadn't heard that.  All I was told was it was there....   I know a friend of the owner and he is going to find out for us.

[James Patten]

All this talk of a locomotive makes me slightly nervous - we're talking about potentially borrowing an operating locomotive, correct?  We're not discussing purchasing a locomotive that needs lots of work, I hope.

[Ed Lecuyer]

I think Brett has a great idea in bringing a WWI re-enactment to the WW&F. That in itself is something we should strongly consider - maybe starting as a *small* special event in 2012.

If that goes well, we could consider making it an annual or semi-annual event. Maybe it grows, maybe it doesn't.

IF (and that's a big if) it grows to the point of a major event with lots of interest from outside of the museum, we could start looking at begging/borrowing operating equipment from other museums. Boothbay may (or may not) want to do this. The other outfits/collectors mentioned may as well.

Maybe this would motivate another group to make more WWI equipment operable for use at this sort of event. The locomotive at Ft. Benning immediately comes to mind. I would *not* suggest that the WW&F attempt to acquire or otherwise fund its restoration. That would be outside of our mission statement. However, educating the public about the WWI era, does fall into our mission - I think. It's a happy coincidence that not only does WWI fall into the WW&F operating era, but also that (foreign) 2ft railroads had a specific role in fighting that war.

So, in short, I think we should start small. Then see if it grows. If so, and someone else wants to restore/operate authentic equipment, that should be "in the back of our heads".

[Wayne Laepple]

My thought is that, at least initially, a World War I re-enactment scenario could be a training camp for recruits. This would eliminate the necessity of a battle, since no such battles ever occurred in the continental USA. Recruits could drill, learn how to handle their weapons, march, etc., etc. There would be lots for visitors to see.

[Brett Goertemoeller]

James,
  The locomotive talk about the locomotives is more of a WAY in the future thing if someone with a lot of disposable income can acquire the locomotives and equipment to put together a "period correct" military train set.  Due to this discussion, we have found a lot of cool equipment that we never had talked about before.  Maybe wrong thread, but cool to have documented equipment.  I don't think that it hurts us to discuss that as a possibility if the event gets approved and they go well.  The first and foremost is to create a good environment for the railroad, public, and reenactors.  It has to be beneficial to the railroad first, reenactors second, and the public will follow.  As we say in the military we need to crawl so we can walk so we can run. 

  Starting with a living history event as Wayne has put forward is a very sensible way to "get your feet wet" in the historical realm. There are a lot of different things to consider with a situation like that, and I think that a scenario like that is a great idea.  So to expand on that.....I am looking at the sites on the railroad that will accept a living history camp.  The that I make to pitch to the board will be based upon the gear that we "reenactos" are going to have to bring.  There are two locations that I think would be good, because of location, proximity to the ROW, and ability to use the railroad for what it was intended to do. 

  During this time the National Guards didn't have one specific place that they went for training, the moved around the state, so to say that there may have been a training site along the original WW&F is not to far off.  They would have had to use the transportation networks that were in place and with the ramp-up in 1917, there were camps all over the place to train everyone.  An event idea like that is the closet thing you will be able to get to with-in the confines of what the WW&F would have been doing to help the war effort.  Bang up call for the event idea Wayne!!!  So thinking about that, I'll write something up for everyone to look at, and send it to the board.....I think we could have something very special with this,  and there seems to be a lot of interest which is very nice to see.

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

Ed and Wayne,you guys are pretty much right on with what I was thinking.

[Brett Goertemoeller]

I think a "small" living history is a great idea too.  I'm banging away on a tentative plan for people to look over.  I'll let everyone know what I come up with when I get word back on it. 

[John Kokas]

For the state of Maine, the main training and mobilization area has been Camp Keyes which is just outside Augusta next to the Augusta airport.  I cannot tell you at this time whether it ever had a narrow gauge rail system but I will look into it.

[James Patten]

For the state of Maine, the main training and mobilization area has been Camp Keyes which is just outside Augusta next to the Augusta airport.  I cannot tell you at this time whether it ever had a narrow gauge rail system but I will look into it.

Considering there was a pretty good trolley system in Augusta, which ran up Western Ave (right below where the airport is now) - probably no internal rail system.

[Brett Goertemoeller]

I'm going to agree with James, to the point of there may have been some sort of rail access there, but there was never any of the 2' equipment there.  The only places that got it were Ft. Dix, Ft. Benning, Ft. Benjamin Herrison, Ft. Sill, Camp Humphreys and an arsonal in Alabama for a short time.

[Ira Schreiber]

The book on WWI Trench locomotive has an almost complete roster of where the locomotives wound up, including two at my old home base of Lincoln, Nebraska. I will try to look up the dispositions later today.
Ira

[Joe Fox]

How popular are these re-enactments in Maine? I know Maine Narrow Gauge does Civil War re-enactments, but how popular is this, and would it be worth the time and effort?