Messages

1

Museum Discussion / Re: WW&F Sheepscot Shop

« on: January 29, 2026, 11:33:13 PM »

It sounds like the pre-1906 shop equipment on the W&Q/WW&F might have been something like the situation on the Monson RR. The Monson had a standard blacksmith's forge as Earl suggests plus some basic carpenter's hand tools for car repair, but didn't even own a lathe or drill press, so even the most basic machining work had to be contracted out. (This is according to what I recall was a 1917 inventory for the USRA in Two Feet to the Quarries.)

What kind of shop equipment did the Kennebec Central have?

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Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: Everett Brown collection at the Bridgton Historical Society

« on: January 25, 2026, 04:48:19 PM »

Now, on another subject, namely vintage two foot tickets, let me ask the following of you. Are you aware that in the 1930's, when railfans began to visit the Sandy River and the Bridgton roads, that certain tickets were stamped and dated to simulate earlier cancellation and use? This is evident with many cardstock passenger tickets, backstamped with dates from 1930 to 1935 on the Sandy River lines and later dates on the Bridgton road.

I have suspected as much, seeing some apparent mismatches of ticket designs and cancellation dates, but had never been sure.

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Massachusetts' Two Footers / Re: Edaville Railroad

« on: January 16, 2026, 01:22:36 PM »

Hi Warren, the car in question is B&SR/B&H baggage car 11 built by Jackson & Sharp in 1900, later renumbered 30. It became Edaville 11 and was converted to a combine.
 
B&SR/B&H 31 was an earlier baggage car built by Laconia in 1882 and originally numbered 10. It was apparently dismantled at Edaville.

You are correct that SR&RL combine 14 was originally F&M 3. It's a sister car to SR&RL coach 21, originally F&M 2, which was part of the same order from Jackson & Sharp in 1903. 

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General Discussion / Re: MEC Outside Frame Boxcar 35039

« on: October 21, 2025, 10:05:50 PM »

With what I believe is LIRR cabin car (caboose) 29 on the rear.

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Museum Discussion / Re: Archival updates

« on: August 22, 2025, 01:58:36 PM »

Hi Bruce, I'm sure you already know this but I was recently reminded that the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University in Texas holds a substantial collection of Linwood Moody images, both prints and negatives. The online finding aid is organized by railroad but also includes what appear to be Moody's own negative number for each image: https://txarchives.org/smu/finding_aids/00045.xml

Indeed, the George's Valley RR is on the list with negatives 3000, 3001, and 3012 showing engines 2, 3, and 1. However, it sounds like the roll of film you mention shows the ROW as opposed to locomotive roster shots offered for sale.

This raises the larger question of how much of the material we hold in the Moody Collection (among others) is unique and not duplicated elsewhere in other collections or institutions. I would imagine quite a lot.

The Archives sale at the Annual Picnic was a great success. I went home with several books I hadn't known I wanted, and saw a couple more that have been on my mind since that I should have gone back for.

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General Discussion / Re: Oil Headlights - Sourcing Information on Light Output

« on: June 30, 2025, 12:54:25 PM »

As an aside, that's a great picture I don't recall seeing before. This is a consist that could be recreated, because in addition to SR&RL No. 6, both passenger cars are also currently present at Sheepscot: combine 14 (shown with its original clerestory roof) and of course the Rangeley. (But what was the Rangeley doing in Bigelow?)

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Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: B&SR RR slide show in Waterford, Maine on April 24, 2025

« on: April 28, 2025, 01:10:20 PM »

Bruce, I'm surprised by your assertion that the Monson wasn't a common carrier. It was certainly a common carrier earlier in its history, so do you mean it had ceased being a common carrier by the 1940s?

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General Discussion / Re: Linwood W. Moody

« on: April 08, 2025, 09:51:28 AM »

With regard to Moody's Magazine, was that publication limited to the three issues released in 1941? That's all I've been able to find.

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General Discussion / Re: Linwood W. Moody

« on: April 07, 2025, 09:56:52 PM »

Hi Bruce, I'm afraid I can't help you in this quest but I've certainly noticed the numbers on Moody's photos and thought how useful it would be for the modern researcher or collector to have a catalog of all the prints Moody offered for reference. I hope you're successful and can provide copies of both lists to the WW&F archives.

10

Museum Discussion / Re: A Tree for Sheepscot

« on: November 18, 2024, 09:44:08 PM »

Beware the soil conditions preferred by the blue spruce tree and varieties, chief among them being well draining soil. That might limit where at Sheepscot such a tree would find best growing conditions.

Yes that's a very good point, and the area near the station seems to be especially poorly drained.

Balsam fir or black spruce would be much more tolerant of wet feet than blue spruce, and also have the advantage of being native species (which blue spruce is not).

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Work and Events / Re: So. African Hoppers 2806 and 2807 - Official Work Thread

« on: October 11, 2024, 06:30:33 PM »

As another member of Wayne's EBT coupler salvage team, I'd be delighted if we could find a way to use them on the new SAR hoppers.

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Museum Discussion / Re: How did you hear of the W.W. & F. Ry. Museum?

« on: September 25, 2024, 12:36:16 PM »

I first heard about the museum in the spring of 1990 when I was 14 years old from a Dick Andrews column in Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette which mentioned that someone named Harry Percival had purchased the remaining assets of the WW&F and wanted to rebuild the railroad, and was looking for members for his new organization. I was able to convince my parents to pay for my membership, and then further convinced my dad that we should visit Sheepscot on family vacation to Maine that July. So my dad phoned Harry and got directions, which brought us to what was literally just a clearing in the woods on Cross Road (I don't remember Percival house being there), but which Harry grandly referred to as "Sheepscot Station" - something my dad found amusingly eccentric. We spent a Saturday there with Harry and a couple of other volunteers helping to frame bay 1 of the shop, which was then referred to as "the enginehouse" (with a hopeful eye on No. 9) despite there being no rolling stock on the property yet.

Life intervened after that, I let my membership lapse sometime in the late 1990s when I was in college, and I didn't return to Sheepscot for many years and so obviously missed a lot of significant developments in that time. When I rejoined the museum as a life member in 2014 after I finished graduate school, Mike Fox generously put "Member since 1990" on my membership card which I appreciate.

13

General Discussion / Re: Norway, Maine Historical Society - June 2024 Newsletter

« on: August 27, 2024, 06:08:24 PM »

As a LIRR fan I appreciate the images of the PRR L1s 2-8-2s used as stationary boilers at Wheelspur Yard in Queens, NY. They were a well known curiosity that lasted for several years after the end of steam as motive power on the LIRR in 1955, used to provide steam heat for passenger coaches laid up in the yard between runs.

Here is a color photo that shows the location of the three 2-8-2s next to the coach yard http://arrts-arrchives.com/images2/002l1swsyd1.JPG

and clearly taken from the LIRR lift bridge at Cabin 'M' on the Montauk Cutoff: http://arrts-arrchives.com/images2/000Mopen.JPG.

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Work and Events / Re: Sheepscot Passenger Platform Reconstruction - Official Work Thread

« on: August 26, 2024, 10:52:22 PM »

Since the resulting castings will be slightly smaller than the original used as the pattern, shouldn't we buy 2 so we at least have a matching pair of originals that can still be used to make a bench?

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Work and Events / Re: Sheepscot Passenger Platform Reconstruction - Official Work Thread

« on: August 24, 2024, 12:23:33 PM »

I really like those cast iron bench legs. I'm in favor of more visitor seating in general around Sheepscot (the need for which was brought to my attention by my wife Kara), and I think antique benches would be an attractive way of accomplishing that.