The WW&F and Boothbay Railway Village announce "The Narrow Gauge Connection"

[Mike Fox]

Mouse Trout ???

Jeff S.

Marty Jr..

[Ed Lecuyer]

Micky the Mouse Trout.
Marty the Moose Trout.
Whatever.

[Gordon Cook]

Ed, that map looks very familiar..
Are you sure it isn't one of the Wiscasett bypass maps from a few years back?   

[Ed Lecuyer]

Hi Gordon,

Actually, the route chosen for the Narrow Gauge CONnection is completely compatible with the Wiscasset Bypass proposed several years ago. Please refer to the attached map showing the ByPass and the CONnection.


That said, due to local opposition to the now-dead bypass proposal, I suspect that the Narrow Gauge CONnection would actually stand a better chance of being built.

[Wayne Laepple]

I thought the by-pass project crashed and burned when a bald eagle nest was found along the route.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Yes, the by-pass project is dead. I think the cost of the preferred alternative (N2a on the map) coupled with the lack of local support outweighed the benefits. So, instead they put in a traffic light at the Fire Station/Rte 27 and took away all of the parking on Rte 1 in downtown Wiscasset.


The Narrow Gauge CONnection, however, lives on in the hopes, dreams, and feeble minds of those who concieved it.

[john d Stone]

I have a thought! (First one this year)
In view of the failed bypass proposal, I can see a narrow gauge park-'n-ride revenue producer just waiting to be harvested or jumped on or slaughtered!
A parking lot and auto-train loading facility could be constructed at the 218 crossing, with a similar setup on the east side of the Sheepscot at the route 1 crossing.
Daily departures from either end could whisk trainloads of impatient auto folks around that pesky highway bridge!
We could avoid the common carrier complications by pointing out that such service on a two footer is quite uncommon!
In keeping with "Precission Railroading", which is all the rage these days, I think distributed power is the way to go, sprinkling Henschels and tiny Baldwins throughout the train. Throttle commands would be transmitted via state-of-the-art bell cord, or chord, if multiple bells are employed.