Building new rolling stock for WW&F!

[John Kokas]

Ahh - guys,  think we have "splintered" this subject enough 

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

I agree!
BTW: Was there ever a 2' shingle car?
**DUCKS!**

[Matthew Gustafson]

Although I know you guys are focusing on bathrooms and other projects - but, once the tankcar is finished then what's the next piece of rolling stock are you guys are planing to really build next? Is it another freight car or passenger car? it must not include any steam, diesel, or railcar projects.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Hi Matt,

I don't think there are any firm plans - just lots of opinions.

We tend to think of things in 5-10 year increments and it will be at least 10 years (barring one of us hitting the lottery) before we will need to decide what piece of rolling stock (if any) we should build next.

[Ted Miles]

Before we leave the subject of the B&SR tank car that needs a new flat car under it; I think that is should be a correctly sized B&SR flat car.

There are are several possible WW&F cars that can be replicated. Perhaps helping the Albion historical Society re-built that flanger would be a good thing. It sure looks like it would get a lot of use at Alna these days.

I would rather see cars that once existed on the WW&F not something like a tank on the wrong size flat car such as proposed. The wW&F did not have any tanks; that is the historical recod weather we like it or not.

By the way I just rad that the National Railway & Locomotive Historical Society just gave the Boothbay railway Village a grant to built a car barn to protect their historical equipment.

Last time I was there several years ago; therewas no lettering on their WW&F box car. how about loaning them the stencils to put the WW&F name and #312 on the car?

Happy New Year,


Ted Miles

[Mike Fox]

While in Bridgton, the tank was on a 30' flat. When built, the car is going to be a 30' flat. Exact positioning of the stake pockets will be left up to the design team, but most likely it will resemble a WW&F car.

[Matthew Gustafson]

Mabye the next car after the tankcar is finshed, can be a lumber car! Did the WW&F ever haul lumber like the SR&RL did?

[Mike Fox]

Lumber cars were just flatcars with stakes in the pockets on the WW&F. SR&RL built sides on some of their flatcars.

[Steve Klare]

Did any of the other Two Footers log with disconnects the way the SR&RL did?


In a day when we don't even have catwalks on freight cars anymore it's tough to imagine brakemen walking along a 6 inch wide stiff-shackle between two moving log bunks on rough logging track the way those guys did. It's almost as if they extpected to get hurt here and there as part of normal working life. I guess it was no big deal to guys who also worked with link and pin couplers and rode inside a wooden snowplow with three engines pushing as hard as they could on the coupler. Sometimes I think the fact that so few of them were killed is a miracle.

[Keith Taylor]

Steve, you mention it seemed as though the men were "expected" to get hurt. You need to remember that things were looked at differently back then. The story is told about Philadelphia and Reading CEO Franklin Gowan, when he was told that the mine at Tamaqua, PA was on fire. His first response was "Rescue the Mules!" When asked what about the miners, his reply was..."forget the miners, I can always hire more miners, I have to BUY mules!
Keith

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Matt,  The WW&F did not use rack style cars like the Sandy River line.  The SR&RL had high side boards on some of their flatcars, it resembled a fence or the horizontal sides used on cattle chutes.  The side boards were tied together with iron rods at the top.  The rods kept the sides plumb if the load shifted.  There was a small inset at the brake wheel for the brakeman.  The load was usually 4,5 or 6 foot logs stacked across the car.   There is a replica rack car at Phillips.  It was built for the National Narrow Gauge Convention in 2007. 

The WW&F didn't often carry short logs.  As Mike said, the WW&F flatcars had long side stakes.  The stakes were often cut from Birch and were used for carrying logs or lumber.  The wood was stacked length-wise on the car.  On rare occasions a rope was tied to the top of the stakes for extra bracing across the load.     

[Matthew Gustafson]

Does anyone have any photos of WW&F Boxcar #309 when it was a flatcar before rebuilding it into a boxcar? 

[John McNamara]

Does anyone have any photos of WW&F Boxcar #309 when it was a flatcar before rebuilding it into a boxcar? 

According to The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway - a Technical and Pictorial Review by Peter S. Barney, boxcars 314 through 319 were rebuilt flatcars, but there are no such notes concerning 309. Therefore, I would guess that 309 has always been a boxcar.

[James Patten]

Does anyone have any photos of WW&F Boxcar #309 when it was a flatcar before rebuilding it into a boxcar? 

According to The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway - a Technical and Pictorial Review by Peter S. Barney, boxcars 314 through 319 were rebuilt flatcars, but there are no such notes concerning 309. Therefore, I would guess that 309 has always been a boxcar.

However, one of Gary Kohler's Narrow Gauge in the Sheepscot Valley series covers freight cars, and 309 is specifically discussed.  He believes it was probably W&Q flatcar 28, but he acknowledges that the outer stringers when we tore it apart 10 years ago did not have tell-tale signs of flatcar-ness (holes for the side brackets).