LOST FOOTAGE FOUND! WW&F locomotive 6 arrives at Windsor, Maine - 1920

[Ed Lecuyer]

In 1920, Augusta-based filmmaker Edgar Jones produced "In The River" a short, silent film that includes this very brief, but incredibly historic appearance by the WW&F Railway. Until this film's discovery in the Library of Congress by local film historian Edward Lorusso, and subsequent identification of the WW&F, there was no known existing footage of the WW&F in operation prior to its shutdown in 1933.

In this clip, we see the WW&F's largest locomotive, 2-6-2 number 6, arriving (southbound from Albion) at Windsor station with a mixed train consisting of several boxcars, a dairy car, and combine/RPO 7. After the train's departure, an interaction occurs between the film's main characters on the station platform. (Spoiler alert: they fall in love, chaos ensues at the lumber camp, and someone ends up "In the River".)

Watch the clip on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/B2Qp5WssS04?si=WNmGn2chNcwKaCVI

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

Nice Coat on the guy - fashion sense of 1920 on the girl.
Any info on the actors? Were they local?
How did they determine it was WW&F?

[James Patten]

I tried to figure out what boxcars there are.  It's not easy to see some of them.  I've got:

Loco 6
Box 39 or 99
Box - can't see a number.
Box 316
Box 502?
Box 306?
Box 67
Box 310?
Box 505
Milk car - can't see a number
Combine

[Ed Lecuyer]

Any info on the actors?

Here's the info as it appears in the the opening credits:

- Directed by Edgar Jones
- Cinematography Jack Young

Edgar Jones
Evelyn Brent
Carlton Brickert
Ben Hendricks, Jr.

How did they determine it was WW&F?

Here's part of the story:
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/human-interest/2025/10/03/silent-film--in-the-river--returns-to-augusta-colonial-theater-after-disappearing-for-more-than-100-years

At a recent screening, someone (mis) identified the station as being in Winslow, Maine. That prompted the film historian (Ed Lorusso) to send an email to the WW&F for confirmation. We quickly determined that it was Windsor, not Winslow (and, of course, WW&F 6, etc.) Ed gave us a digital copy of the film for our archives, etc.

[Mike Fox]

Milk car is 72. I had to screen shot all the cars and zoom in on the numbers.

[Earl Leavitt]

   We're all over the consist, but how about the engineer? We've got a fellow who smokes a particular kind of pipe and seems to be sporting a drivers or newsboy style of cap.
Knowing how folks are about their hats, I'd wager this pipe smoker always wore this style of cap. I only have two WW&F books, I know there's more. I've been looking through ID'ed crew shots and haven't had a positive hit yet. Care to break out your books and join the search? Anyone ID'ed as a fireman may be fair game as well.  Maybe we have crew shots taken by Moody et all in the archives that were too "boring" to make it into a book?

[Gordon Cook]

I noticed the fellow sitting on the platform in back of the two main actors was smoking a pipe and the cap matches too. I guess they needed an extra for that scene?

The lead actors's coat is absolutely stunning, as are his boots. LL Bean should take note. 

[Earl Leavitt]

    Ed notes that the train's a southbound from Albion. In the clip where the train is present, there are no milk cans on the platform, or the fellow sitting in the backround. When our lass and lad arrive on the scene, there's a big bunch of milk cans on the platform and our "extra" smoking his pipe.
      I suspect the two scenes were shot in reverse order and we're seeing the morning Milk Run.
 
 The crew might have done a run past for the camera after picking up the cans?    If so, photo OP run-byes  on the WW&F aren't anything new!

       I doubt the film crew came back on another day for a second shoot of such short duration.