Current end of track?

[Mike Fox]

And there are some stumps down that way too. Just trimmed close to the ground out of the way.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

It's worth a walk on the grade South of Cross Road to see the intact W&Q era sub-stringers in the water at the brook crossing.  There's a foot bridge you can stand on to look down and see them.  There's 4 timbers running parallel to the grade that originally supported a wood and stone box culvert.

[Ira Schreiber]

From the current end of track(EOT), how far is it to the proposed access road from Highway 218?
If not too far, it might make some sense to extend the track to that point for rail access to the reconstruction site. this would allow both vehicle and train access to those areas.
Comments?

[Mike Fox]

There is a washout between where the access road will intersect the ROW and the current end of track. It's the first washout pictured in Ed's pictures, located in another thread. This is also where I found some bolts when we were cutting it off. No remains of a culvert to be seen. I was wondering if there could have been some kind of trestle there. It will be a plastic pipe when we are done.

[Ed Lecuyer]

One of the books noted a cattle overpass near the Top of the Mountain. I wonder if that was it.

[Vincent "Lightning" LeRow]

One of the books noted a cattle overpass near the Top of the Mountain. I wonder if that was it.

If the aleged washout was in fact a cattle overpass I think we should rebuild it as a cattle overpass.  It will add to the history of the railroad and give the docents something to talk about instead of trees.  Besides shouldn't we try to represent the origional railroad?  Cattle overpasses were commonplace and are as much a piece of history as #9 is.  I think we should rebuild it as a cattle overpass, even if there are no cattle to pass over.

It's the first washout pictured in Ed's pictures, located in another thread. This is also where I found some bolts when we were cutting it off. No remains of a culvert to be seen. I was wondering if there could have been some kind of trestle there. It will be a plastic pipe when we are done.

It would be a shame to loose that piece of history about the railroad, however small.

[Dave Buczkowski]

Vincent;
  If research confirms that's where it was, I think it's a great idea and certainly in keeping with how we do things.
Dave

[Mike Fox]

A couple of years ago when we were cutting around the Top of the Mountain, I said something about the overpass. We got back to Sheepscot and got the book out. The picture that says it is a cattle overpass was actually a picture of a train at the Head Tide Station. There was a little stream there that the train passed over via a small trestle. If I recall, looking at the picture, the train is headed south. And looking through the trees, you can see the Sheepscot River.
   What someone needs to find is the kind of detailed track map that the Bridgton Historical society has for the B&SR. The location of every cross pipe, telegraph pole, station, siding (when the map was made), and even local businesses were on it. Anything like that for the WW&F?

[Paul Horky]

I thought there was a map of the line that is something like 60 ft long or so that Harry got from The Winters instatute when he purchiested the remaining property that shows the line at the time of abandenment. Any info on that?

                                                Paul Horky

[Allan Fisher]

The Wiscasset & Quebec Chairman has a copy of Harry's 55 foot map of the WW&F Right of Way - but it is only the original survey done for the W&Q with Harry's notes on all parcels of land and their status as of about 1999.

The SR&RL & the Bridgton & Saco River had detailed Real Estate Valuation maps of all of their Right of Way Property, probably originally fone for the national railroad valuation for the ICC in 1914-1917 period with updates to the end of operations. We have copies of all of these maps in our archives. (SR&RL is about 115 separate sheets and B&SR about 25 sheets)

WW&F never had this done , but there were some abbreviated ROW maps done in 1901-1907 period that are in the archives.

[Paul Horky]

Allen thanks for that info. Guess Sam never had the money to have a full set of valuation maps drawn up even in the Peck years or maybe the underpass was no longer needed by that time so was filled in.

[Matthew Gustafson]

What is a cattle overpass and what does it look like? 

[Ed Lecuyer]

A cattle overpass is a small bridge designed to allow a railroad to pass over a grazing area for cattle so that the cattle can access the grass on both sides of the track (without having to climb up and over the embankment or through the fenced-off right of way.)

I have never seen a photo of one, nor one in person.

[James Patten]

We own a cattle pass, on our ROW in Whitefield.  It's about a third of mile in from where 218 and 194 come together.  It's a concrete underpass, from what I can tell.

It would be a neat idea to put in a cattle pass on the Fossell ROW where the big hole is, but unfortunately nobody on the train would see it.  Maybe we should put it in so that the natural sunbathers can have a place to hide when the train goes by (this is a family-oriented train ride after all).

[Mike Fox]

Matt, it all depends on the railroad as to what the overpass looks like. Some are basically a trestle, others are made of stone like a stone culvert, some of the newer ones are made of corrugated steel. Of course, we would build an older style one, if any. Though I think it will just be filled in as no photographic evidence has appeared yet showing an overpass there.