Mapping the W&Q and the WW&F

[Reg Gilbert]

Concerning  the ROW Albion to Burnham:It shows up on; "Satellite map of the World :google. From Rt 100 go East on Troy Rd to
Battle St. ,which is as far as I've travelled on ROW.Loggers have it blocked to stop 4X4 rutting, etc. You can follow  ROW South. Crank up resolution and scroll along...If it fades back off resolution  and you'll be able to pick up the line.As you go further South ROW is easier to see as it sees more use for logging. North of Leonard Rd (County or Winnecook Rd.) crossing the bog shows some of the work, though it
can't be seen from South side of bog .This lot is owned by Bingham Land Company, which has used ROW  in its' operations for years.
 South of Leonard Rd. a mile or so the land is owned by EDBessey to Rte. 139. Some sections are impassible due to water,but brave souls do try, and have found passage around the bad spots. Blowdowns are usually gone by Nov.
Bessey crews cut East of ROW Accessing By extending Palmer Rd to the West.
Permission required for Bessey and Bingham Properties.
The ROW has been used by skidders and although rutted has a sound base after all these years.Most signs of wood bog crossings have disappeared.
Another point: From Rte 139 crossing about half a mile South on left a small farmhouse used to have a rack with a few lengths of
rail. Years ago owned by Wiggins . Related to lady who wrote books??? I don't know about 139 to Albion stretch .Could be open in places
for ATV & sledders.
I wonder if any landowners used RR to haul logs from this area in the few years the line was there.It would have been a good easy way to ship in those days.  Any records would probably be iin Bullwinkle's hat with the rabbit.
A hunting pal says he saw a pile of rail iron in the woods , but has been unable to find again.

[Mike Fox]

Reg,
Where was this rail pile? I have heard of one in Alna that was removed when the land was logged..

[Reg Gilbert]

He's been hunting the area for 60years..Been unable to relocate and gave up looking.
Cutters may have taken them. Or over 30 years ago on a very dry year ROW was passable.in 4 wheel
drive..
Hard to believe they would leave iron behind since. they. were using on Winslow spur.
Has anyone heard. about. rails at Wiggins' ?They were on display in front of farmhouse. on. A rack.

[Jason M Lamontagne]

Hi Paul,

Is your map still available?  Google maps keeps bouncing me.  Same as in the other thread- I’m wondering if the details of the Farmington connection have been mapped, including the SRRR siding that was built south of the station.  Very little reference to it...

Thanks
Jason

[Gordon Cook]

Hi,
I was just looking at the map from the link posted on May 25, 2106.

A minor but fun observation:
There is a "Wye Farm" in Weeks Mills just south of the original Y.

[Benjamin Richards]

Is your map still available?  Google maps keeps bouncing me.

I was able to access it today without issue. Both Chrome (v72) and Opera (v58) browsers worked for me.

All three links posted by Paul in the thread are identical, and all worked (most recently in post #20).

[Jason M Lamontagne]

Yes, it came up on my computer, in Chrome.

I found Paul's other thread "Franklin County Connection- The Surveyed Route," and note his caution here of the time and frustration it's taken to locate and process this data.  Paul, I don't mean to be flippant in my request or otherwise disrespect your effort; in fact THANK YOU for undertaking this task.  The results are fascinating, and the data is absolutely worth cataloging in an accessible way.

In any event, I look forward to your continued efforts,

Thanks,
Jason

[Vincent "Lightning" LeRow]

I was just looking at the map from the link posted on May 25, 2106.

He's from the future!!!

[Brian Strait]

What are the meanings of the different colors?  I’m guessing the major colors are different branches, but what are the small red changes?  Especially the ones just north of Wiscasset.

[Graham Buxton]

What are the meanings of the different colors?

There is a "Legend" pane to the left of the map itself that has explanations of the various colors.  (The various colors in the Legend pane are shown as upside-down teardrops.) Additionally, if you are unsure what the various "branches" and "sections" titles (shown in the Legend) refer to on the map itself, you can click / unclick the various checkboxes in the Legend area and watch the effect on the colored segments of the map.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The map link appears in several earlier posts in this thread, but I am including it here again as a convenience:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1CADkRMDCf9yHz9x8rhuLtGZb8aI&usp=sharing

[John Kokas]

I know this would be a big project, but is it possible to produce a map similar to the W&Q alignment map that would show ownership, easement, overhead rights, etc?

[Paul Levesque]

So this definitely got shelved for a while!

I will upload it as soon as I can and create another Google Map for it. The mapping is complete from Wiscasset to Pittsfield and from Weeks Mills to Farmington. I had to make a few tweaks here and there to correct for obvious errors in the surveys, most of which were probably made when the plans were being copied into the record books.

There are a few places where the map was clearly drawn freehand (Waterville from the Kennebec River to Western Avenue, and through the village in Oakland) the scale, station marks (cumulative distance notations), and landmarks are incredibly far off.

As for current property ownership, that wouldn't be too difficult at all, especially for the original ROW (Wiscasset - Albion, Winslow). All of the towns involved have their tax maps digitized. The difficulty would lie in connecting the lot to the current owner but the map, without further analysis and processing, would at the very least show the local Map/Block/Lot numbers for the parcels the ROW passes through.

For historical property ownership I have partial records that detail the land takings that list:
Property Owner
Description of the land taken which includes the distance along the center line, acres, and ROW width.
Damage amounts
The ROW maps show the abutting land owners that the ROW passed through, my information on this is incomplete (I just wasn't collecting it at the time but it is out there.)

[John Kokas]

Dave,

I believe our President as well as a couple of other board members can fill in much of the missing data.  Dave, being an Attorney, would probably be your best guide.  And don't completely trust the township tax maps.  They have been found to be outdated in the past and I wouldn't be surprised now.  Plus we have added parcels and ROW that may not have been updated on maps.

[Jason M Lamontagne]

Paul,

I CANT WAIT!!!!

Very very excited to see the results of your efforts.

Would you be willing to share your data with Ed?  He’s a mapping specialist by career, and could catalog the info into a permanent map record of similar style to those hes done for us already.  Then the museum would have a formal “copy” of the location, if not the data behind it.  I want to respect your privacy and that of your sources, however it’d be lovely to at least have the formal record of the location once you’re done, if you’d share.

Thank you!  CANT WAIT!!!

Jason

[Dave Buczkowski]

In the past I accumulated information (deeds, easements and leases) on the R.O.W from Cross Road to Head Tide Church Road including plans where available. I also have some deeds south of Cross Road for property that we own. about 7 or 8 years ago I did some research for Albion Station south to Winslow Road (I think that's the first road south) but hit a huge roadblock on one section of the old ROW with no information whatsoever on how the WW&F gained the legal right to cross that piece.
I had a surveyor friend here in Massachusetts plot the title documents from Cross Road to Head Tide about 15 years ago on a map.
Finally, I have a copy of an old title abstract dating from sometime in the 1930's that covers much, if not all, of what remained in title at that time. I haven't spent anytime analyzing that document.
There are also two Val Maps (IIRC) about but I've never seen them. I think Cliff Olsen had or has one.
I'm happy to share what I have but it would have to be in person due to the size of the plans and the fact that some are here in Massachusetts and some at the Presidential Residence in Head Tide.
Dave