Author Topic: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F  (Read 6125 times)

Ed Lecuyer

  • Administrator
  • Superintendent
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,485
    • View Profile
    • wwfry.org
Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« on: March 31, 2022, 09:12:16 PM »
[Moderator's Note - I have been asked to post the following announcement on behalf of WW&F Railway President, Dave Buczkowski.]


After much thought and discussion the WW&F Board of Directors has decided that it’s time for the railroad to be used for its highest and best use. Two-foot gauge has proved to be too confining for our goals. It has been difficult to find and obtain motive power and rolling stock that will fit our narrow rails. Building locomotives and coaches from scratch takes too long. As you all know, freight connections with standard gauge railroads require much labor and transfers are inconvenient for passengers.

The decision has been made to regauge the WW&F.

This will commence at the 2022 Spring Work Weekend when we will add a third rail to our current right of way. We have purchased a used GE 45 ton diesel-electric locomotive to test this concept. A test track is currently being constructed at Sheepscot under the direction of Mike Fox.

The official press release with additional details follows.

-Dave



Today, WW&F President David J. Buczkowski, Esq. announced that the route of the historic Sheepscot Valley Narrow Gauge will soon be entering the big time. Or at least as wide...

“The WW&F Railway operates under the charter of the Wiscasset and Quebec Railroad, which was initially to be built as a standard gauge road. Because of the obligation to utilize the railroad to its highest and best use, pending merger, and promise of Amtrak passenger service, the rails along the route will be re-gauged to 4’ 8.5” - the so-called ‘standard gauge’.” stated Buczkowski.

Work has already commenced with a short piece of track constructed in the museum’s parking area. WW&F Trainmaster and parking lot nitpicker Ed Lecuyer was reportedly displeased in losing a half of a parking space. The track is being prepared for the arrival of a new-to-the-WW&F locomotive, a GE-built 45 tonner.



The re-gauging is necessary to accommodate the increased traffic on the railroad, which will be operated as a bridge route connecting the Canadian Pacific mainline across central Maine to the currently isolated Rockland Branch. Moreover, the port of Wiscasset will be revitalized in order to relieve congestion at CP’s port in Searsport and to ship containers of organically grown lavender products from SeaLyon Farm to destinations world wide.

As part of a broader consolidation of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, a seamless railway from Canada and Wiscasset will be created all the way into Mexico. With the inclusion of the WW&F into this three-way corporate merger, the CPKC corporation will instead be known as WFCKP (which is pronounced <expletive deleted>).

Buczkowski is in negotiations with Amtrak to use the regauged WW&F as part of its “ConnectUS” plan to link Portland Maine to Greenville (via Wiscasset) and points beyond. Once completed, he is looking forward to using the new service to commute from Alna, Maine to Boston, Mass. on a regular basis. “Clearly, my personal travel patterns illustrate the need to connect the Sheepscot Valley with the rest of the US via convenient rail transportation.” It was noted that each train seat shall be equipped with a cup holder, purely for the benefit of Mr. Buczkowski.



The Museum’s historic collection of two-footers will be relocated to Monson, Maine, along the route of the 6-mile Monson Railroad. Part of this initiative will include the reactivation of the slate quarry, and the use of the narrow gauge trains (including surviving Monson locomotives 3 and 4.) Daily trains will run from Monson to a reconstructed Monson Junction - which is being rebuilt along the route of the WW&F extension from Burnham to Greenville, Maine.

“We felt that Alna was just too far out of the way from anywhere to create a sustainable operation,” remarked WW&F Marketing Director Stephen Piwowarski (the third in a series of unpronounceable surnames, not including WFCKP.) “Moving the railroad to the up-and-coming artist enclave of Monson fits well into our growth plans, and we do not anticipate any trouble running our coal burning, smoke belching locomotives in an area known for its unspoiled scenic beauty and lack of power transmission lines.”

Railroad Superintendent Jason Lamontagne did not offer comment, since his surname is somewhat easier to pronounce than Buczkowski, Lecuyer, or Piwowarski and gauges all of these developments as “stupid.”


« Last Edit: March 31, 2022, 09:50:58 PM by Ed Lecuyer »
Ed Lecuyer
Moderator, WW&F Forum

Benjamin Richards

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 395
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2022, 07:46:04 AM »
Not all of this announcement is false!

 ;D

ALAIN DELASSUS

  • Museum Member
  • Engineer
  • ****
  • Posts: 727
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2022, 07:52:26 AM »
I agree with Benjamin for I always read carefully the BOD report.

Bill Baskerville

  • Museum Member
  • Inspector
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,444
  • Life Member
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2022, 07:57:07 AM »
After the war of “Recent Unpleasantness” in 1867 the Southern Railroads changed all 1,500 miles of track gauge from the broad Russian 5’ gauge to the American 4’ 8 1/2” broad gauge in two days.

We should be able to change the entire WW&F rail network during the SWW.

Who ever thought 4’ 8 1/2” should be “standard” anyway.

(Benjamin and Alain are correct, the secret is hidden in there.)
« Last Edit: April 01, 2022, 08:01:59 AM by Bill Baskerville »
~ B2 ~ Wascally Wabbit & Gofer ~

ALAIN DELASSUS

  • Museum Member
  • Engineer
  • ****
  • Posts: 727
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2022, 08:02:58 AM »
As regards the track given the length of the ties you could easily lay a third rail.

Bill Piche

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 392
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2022, 08:14:23 AM »
Is that why the April 23 tie and dine was annulled, because Fred keeps cutting all of the standard gauge ties down thinking they're for more 2' track?

On a more serious note think of all the tourism dollars at play in Monson. It's always been the gateway to Katadin and Baxter State Park for people coming from the south on the AT. Now they won't have to walk all that way when they can just take the train!

Engineer/Fireman, MNGRR/WW&F/Essex
"Any day with steam is a good day." - me

Graham Buxton

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 471
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2022, 09:11:17 AM »
Ed let the Cat Out of the Bag ;) prematurely with this earlier comment in another thread:
The bridge would even hold up if we were to decide to re-gauge the railroad to standard, as the W&Q originally intended.
That bridge, is, of course, the Trout Brook Bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge will have to be entirely rebuilt as its too narrow for standard gauge equipment. ::) From the Official Trout Brook Bridge thread:

Inside dimensions are going to be 10 feet, which is the width of our shop doors. This puts the exterior width at about 14 feet, with exception to the two longer timbers that hold the bracing.


Graham

Ed Lecuyer

  • Administrator
  • Superintendent
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,485
    • View Profile
    • wwfry.org
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2022, 09:25:49 AM »
A minor detail.

The plan is to jack the bridge back up again (the timbers for doing so are still there), place new wider beams across the deck, pull out the sides, then lower the trusses onto the new beams. Easy.
Ed Lecuyer
Moderator, WW&F Forum

John McNamara

  • Operating Volunteers
  • Supervisor
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,620
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2022, 09:27:41 AM »
As regards the track given the length of the ties you could easily lay a third rail.
The words "third rail" get me wondering about electrification...

Benjamin Richards

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 395
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #9 on: April 01, 2022, 09:48:46 AM »
The words "third rail" get me wondering about electrification...

If the "Sub-Standard Railroad of the World" could send encoded cab signals through (sometimes current-carrying!) running rails, we can surely wire up our lineside telephone in a similar fashion.

(I'd like to see the mowing crew cut THAT with a weedwacker!!)

A minor detail.

The plan is to jack the bridge back up again (the timbers for doing so are still there), place new wider beams across the deck, pull out the sides, then lower the trusses onto the new beams. Easy.

One of the most important things I learned in college was, "Never trust a man who begins a sentence with the word 'just'." Some clever wording has avoided explicit usage, but I see no fewer than four implicit uses of "just" in that sentence!!!
« Last Edit: April 01, 2022, 09:51:53 AM by Benjamin Richards »

Graham Buxton

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 471
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2022, 10:59:34 AM »
Yes!  :) "Just" consider that while the timber supports are still in place under The Bridge, the steel I-beams that facilitated the bridge installation are no longer available. Those I-beams were welded up to form Elmer Gantry, who presumably will be very busy elsewhere rebuilding The Gap(s) - north of Hwy 218 and south of Sheepscot.  :P
« Last Edit: April 01, 2022, 11:04:00 AM by Graham Buxton »
Graham

Ed Lecuyer

  • Administrator
  • Superintendent
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,485
    • View Profile
    • wwfry.org
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2022, 11:28:24 AM »
Per WFCKP standards for Class 4 railroad, continuous welded rail will be used. So Elmer is getting retired.
Ed Lecuyer
Moderator, WW&F Forum

Graham Buxton

  • Museum Member
  • Fireman
  • ****
  • Posts: 471
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #12 on: April 01, 2022, 02:31:37 PM »
Per WFCKP . . .
I heard that there was a plan to include the UP in this conglomerate, but that has been delayed due to some issues concerning where the "U" would be placed in WFCKP.  :-X
Graham

John Kokas

  • Museum Member
  • Supervisor
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,751
    • View Profile
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2022, 02:50:32 PM »
I see on the Internet that the State of Maine and the WW&F have a memorandum of understanding (MOU), that when the WW&F conversion is complete, that the State DOT/Rail will turn over the Rockland branch for WW&F operation from Freeport to Rockland with direct connections with Amtrak. :o
Moxie Bootlegger

Mike Arnold

  • Museum Member
  • Switchman
  • **
  • Posts: 54
    • View Profile
    • Twin Forks NRHS
Re: Bigger Plans Announced at the WW&F
« Reply #14 on: April 01, 2022, 07:55:17 PM »
See it would have been better if instead of a 45 tonner a Belfast and Moosehead Lake 50 tonner would have had history in Maine and Deer Island #3 returning home to the railroad. Happy April 1st!
Mike
United States Merchant Marine.
Cadet at NY Maritime College