W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
The Maine Narrow Gauges (Historic & Preserved) => Kennebec Central => Topic started by: Mark Hendrickson on February 03, 2012, 12:37:08 PM
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After reading Two Feet to Togus, which I recieved for Christmas, I find it odd that there are so few photographs of No. 1. The line ran with just the one engine from July 1890 to Jan. 1891. I would think someone would have document the opening of the line. Was the Portland no.2 a better steamer? No. 1 was a copy of No. 2 from the Franklin and Megantic, built in 1886, if there where issues with this design why would they have ordered this engine.
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The photographic age for the two footers started in the teens. More and more cameras were around. This is the same unfortunate tale for all of them. Few photos in the early stages.
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Wonderful side shot of KC #1 in the latest issue of NG&SLG Mar/Apr 2016 along with plans for F&M #2 and KC #1.
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Part of the early photography question has to do with region. There are quite a few photos around Wiscasset from the 1890's since it was a concentrated place for travel by road, water and rail. Likewise, the Sandy River and later SR&RL carried wealthy passengers to nice resorts. They had cameras so there are lots of photos of engines, trains and depots from that era. The KC on the otherhand was near a well traveled area and carried lots of passengers but the clientele was different. Part of it is that people took day trips on the KC to see a ball game or concert and were less likely to have a camera than someone going to Rangeley for a couple of weeks.
Some of this is just my thoughts derived from talking to people like Harry Percival who knew the history of Maine.
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I used to wonder why there are so many photos of derailments and collisions and rollovers on the SR&RL in the 1910s and 1920s. Then I read that the SR&RL's master mechanic Wilfred Caswell (son of B&SR master mechanic Mel Caswell) was also an amateur photographer -- photography being a hobby that appealed to the tech enthusiasts of that era, much like radio was a generation later -- and most of those wreck pictures were taken by him. I think somewhere in Two Feet Between the Rails it's mentioned there was a joke on the SR&RL that when a report came in to Phillips that a train was on a ground, Caswell would grab a block and tackle in one hand and his camera in the other. :)
The photographic record is always biased in favor of what the photographer happened to find interesting.