Author Topic: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)  (Read 236257 times)

Glenn Byron

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #105 on: November 27, 2010, 04:00:42 PM »
Wow!  I've just finished "Titanic Railroad"  and will be returning it to the library shortly. I could study details here forever.  Anyone who enjoys railroad history, and you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't, will be imursed in the extent of Mr. Lowenthal's research, all well footnoted and documented.  Though many details of this failed venture remain a mystery, this volume examines every aspect of the facts surrounding The SNE.  My mind frequently wandered to The FS&K and found comparisons  galore.  Only the difference in landscape and populace seperate the two stories.  I can't wait to find newspaper accounts of the MCRR threat noted by James P. above. One passage by Mr. Lowenthall really stood the hair up on my neck: Pg. 82 (About Mr. Hays, President of the GT, death on the Titanic).  "Hays was not one of the celebrities who crowned the passenger list of the Titanic---------Many of the darlings of the society columns were essentially idlers, or beyond their productive years, so their deaths, however poignant, had surprisingly little impact."  Imagine a Titanic decendant reading that!  Find a copy, you'll not put it down.

Glenn Byron

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #106 on: June 06, 2011, 07:41:16 PM »
A field trip this beautiful Monday morning with two other true FS&K enthusiasts resulted in locating the actual Eastern end location of the 1000' trestle over Bridge, Main Streets and onto the high bank on the High Street side in Farmington.  Seems when you get in the neighborhood, the local folks can still tell you a bunch.  Will need to return in the fall with special equipment to plot the Western end more specifically.  Actual landforms are still right there to observe, even with all the construction over the 110 year period.  One of our group went into the office of the prominent Farmington person where the actual blueprints hang proudly on the wall, and sketched landowners and other pertinent information.  This allowed the three of us to follow the roadbed right on location across High Street, around the Franklin County Fairgrounds, thru the current Farmington Town Garage, (Yes,nearby the roadbed is visable) along a steep valley wall and across the big fill previously discussed toward the Cascade Brook crossing. ( Which we didn't get to today).  A major discovery of a, previously unseen by me, deep cut behind the power station still shows a 100+' wide at the top, 16' at bottom, probably 40' deep and more than 200 yards long trench that one can only imagine how a train could manage in a heavy snow year.  Shovelers would have had to terrace several levels to get the snow cleared.  Farmington Chronicle, March 2, 1898: "One feature has been demonstrated during the record breaking snow storms of the past month, and that is, along the whole route from here (Farmington) to New Sharon, there is only one place where the locality of the track affords a very bad drifting of snow and the proper means can easily be taken to prevent that."  Now, we looked closely at this cut, and you can also.  There is no way to get this cleared "EASILY".  An eye opening day in Farmington along the FS&K.

Mike Fox

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #107 on: June 08, 2011, 07:26:54 PM »
Any pics Glenn? Every time I am through the area, I don't have time to stop. Always on the clock with the GPS locator telling HQ my location.
Mike
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Glenn Byron

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #108 on: June 09, 2011, 09:15:47 PM »
I have three of the trench, but I'm not happy with them as I was standing on a fill the power line had put in to cross .  Somehow the trench doesn't show very well.  If anyone is in the Farmington neighborhood on Route 2 beside Good Times Unlimited, the RV Dealer, the main power line has a substation with a good road to it.  Just walk past the substation to the top of the second hill, a 5 minute walk.  The huge trench is very visible and you can see what a problem snow removal would have been.  The posts here last winter making Alna Station ready for a charter run early, told of the frustrations as snow piled upon snow.  There was no place to put it.  Well they never had to face the problem, but those mule and oxen teams along with many strong backs sure did to make it.  Our visit was an eye opener and a tick catcher.  Most had visitors chowing down when we got home.

Mike Fox

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #109 on: June 12, 2011, 07:39:02 PM »
Glenn, about how far is this from the big fill that used to be in Farmington? This could be where the fill came from. And I like to look at this type of find from another perspective. There was no heavy equipment back then, so this was all done by hand. Picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and dump carts. Oh, and dynamite. Worked great on removing stubborn stumps and loosening hard pan.
Mike
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Glenn Byron

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #110 on: June 14, 2011, 10:15:48 AM »
Mike,  I've asked another member to consider your question and hope he will post his answer as he is more familiar.  Your perspective on the situation is perfect.  There was no construction train, there was no huge equipment. Just farmers with their teams after haying was done.  Lots of strong backs manually working each problem by whatever method Oxen, Mules, Horses, Laborers AND dynamite could provide.  This one trench must have been a massive undertaking.  Please post the pictures even though they are not the best.  I encourage any FS&K enthusiast to personally visit this site.  Reading these posts can't begin to paint the picture, but for members far away it may be the only way you have. When large railroads built right of way, the situation was much different.  Farmington Chronicle, Sept. 1,1898    "Work on the Franklin Somerset & Kennebec railway is progressing well.  Two hundred and twelve men are now at work between this village (Farmington) and the Falls.  It is hoped the road bed will be in order and rails laid from this station in time for the county fair.  The long trestle is, however, no small task to complete."  Now, That was some serious wishing!!!
« Last Edit: June 14, 2011, 10:18:10 AM by Glenn Byron »

Mike Fox

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #111 on: June 23, 2011, 06:45:46 PM »
Ok. Finally got some pictures. Having trouble with my original photo host (village Photos) so I am trying a new one out. Hopefully it works out.



Mike
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Bruce Mohn

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #112 on: December 08, 2011, 08:35:58 AM »
Peter Barney's book on two foot Prairies for BHI Publications has a proposal drawing of a 2-8-0 that was sent to the WW&F.  He claims it was a proposal by Baldwin, not Porter.  The domes have a Porterish look to them.

Glenn Byron

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #113 on: December 13, 2011, 07:36:26 PM »
WOW!!! This is great stuff.  If we could  only impose / match this view with the Farmington Historical Society painting of the Farmington Falls Station posted previously in FS&K topics, where locals were " Waiting for a train". We could help fulfill the Leanord Atwood dream of connecting the SR&RLRR and the WW&F for a trip from the Mountains to the Sea.  He built 9 miles of railbed, much of which exists today, and all we are lacking is a locomotive to take Mr. Atwood for the ride, only 110 years after the fact.  Let's get these posts together for historians to work with. Previously, we've only had a little rail, some horse drawn rail equipment for construction, and slight references to equipment aquisition.  This is progress.

Pete "Cosmo" Barrington

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #114 on: December 19, 2011, 12:38:59 AM »
Where was this roadbed built, and was it on the original FS&K row?

Dylan Lambert

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #115 on: October 18, 2013, 02:59:20 PM »
Alright, to bump this back up, I came across a locomotive that looks similar to the Porter that Eric drew...
http://steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=1485
Alright, undersized cab and lack of wagon-top boiler aside, that Jung is a close hitter for those 2-8-0s...

Jason M Lamontagne

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #116 on: March 15, 2014, 07:01:01 PM »
Hello,

This may well have been discovered by some of you here already, by I just found this on google books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=jJg-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA125&lpg=PA120&ots=D6tVjDUtVO&focus=viewport&dq=franklin+somerset+and+kennebec+railroad&output=html_text

Hope it works.  Starts near the bottom of this page (129) and continues for some length.  Fascinating account of the FS&K trying to condemn MEC's station grounds to gain access to SRRR's north yard- which was their southern most legal location.  Apparently the commissioners' deciding with MEC spelled the end for Leonard Atwood's dream. 

FS&K already had permission to cross MEC and the somerset rr in Oakland- from a report earlier that same summer.

Hope this works for all...

Jason

Dave Buczkowski

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #117 on: March 15, 2014, 10:18:47 PM »
Jason,
By coincidence I picked up Clinton Thurlow's third book at Ed's house last night. He (Thurlow) mentioned what you informed us about this issue.
Dave

Glenn Byron

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #118 on: March 30, 2014, 06:36:24 PM »
Wow!  The Railway Commissioners Report recently listed shows the battle royal between Mr. Atwood's FS&K and MCRR went head to head from here, October 1900 to the decision July 1901.  Why, when he lost access in the MCRR yard, Mr. Atwood didn't skirt around Farmington and join SR&RL north of town is a mystery.  Already a huge expenditure had been used in developing the line to New Sharon. Surely Little Blue School would have been happy to be rid of that pesky 1000' trestle.

Mike Fox

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Re: The Franklin, Somerset & Kennebec Railway (FS&K)
« Reply #119 on: May 08, 2014, 07:54:58 PM »
Well, actually Pike Industries does. We are setting up a portable asphalt plant in New Sharon, and as near as I can figure, the grade stakes pictured are within feet of the original grade, possibly running in the same direction.
Mike
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