WW&F to Acquire “Garratt” Locomotive NG79

[Ed Lecuyer]

April 1, 2024 - The WW&F Railway Museum, fresh off its announcement that it is importing two ballast hoppers from South Africa, disclosed today that a locomotive also will be making the journey to Alna, Maine. South African Class NG G13 2-6-2+2-6-2 “Garratt” locomotive NG79 has been purchased, and will be transported to the museum shops at Sheepscot for a full operational rebuild.

Railway Superintendent and CMO Jason Lamontagne exclaimed: “This is an opportunity to boldly showcase the worldwide pinnacle of two foot railway design here in the United States. A Garratt will easily climb our 4% mountain grade, allowing further expansion of our passenger and freight services.” Lamontagne added, “Plus, we really don’t have any stuff to do, so what’s yet another locomotive restoration project.”

The estate of the late actress Charlotte Rae, who frequently vacationed in Maine and was familiar with African railways due to her time in the Peace Corps, has agreed to finance the purchase, shipping, and restoration of the 61-ton locomotive. To celebrate Rae’s life and most beloved character from the series “The Facts of Life”, NG79 will be named “Mrs. Garrett”.

“1979 was the year The Facts of Life premiered on NBC and launched Mrs. Rae to super-stardom; so it is appropriate that NG79 be restored in her honor”, explained four representatives from Rae’s estate: Blair Warner, Tootie Ramsey, Natalie Green, and Jo Polniaczek during a joint press conference. Three of the representatives then began complaining about school and boys, while Tootie roller-skated away.

Locomotive NG79 was presumed scrapped; however, the locomotive had been simply placed into storage. Years of neglect have taken its toll on Mrs. Garrett, and much restoration work will be required. “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have to improvise”, explained Lamontagne, in a non-rhythmic pattern not reflecting any sense of melodic content.

To supplement the restoration of Mrs. Garrett, WW&F fundraising guru Ed Lecuyer has set up a social media fundraising effort. To learn more and to contribute to “The Tracks of Life”, visit www.wwfry.org/africa

[Brian Whitney]

Very exciting news!
With all of the new rolling stock coming in it may be a good idea to reconstruct the woods track. Space is already tight now.

[Tom Casper]

SWEET!  U guys know how to keep the place busy!

Tom C.

[John Kokas]

Ed,  you might want to include a disclaimer.  Following some of the discussion groups, it seems a few do not realize that it's April Fools Day.  Although I think it would be really cool to see a Garrett on the Mountain, I would rather start off with a USATC Davenport to get the learning curve going.

[Bill Baskerville]

Ed,  you might want to include a disclaimer.  Following some of the discussion groups, it seems a few do not realize that it's April Fools Day.  Although I think it would be really cool to see a Garrett on the Mountain, I would rather start off with a USATC Davenport to get the learning curve going.

SLOOF LIRPA

[John Kokas]

Thanks Bill, we needed that 

[Ed Lecuyer]

This April Fools joke (which I authored and take sole responsibility for) proved to be extremely popular, quickly reaching over 21,000 people on Facebook. It brought world-wide visibility the WW&F, gaining us dozens of new followers on Facebook and some contributions to the "Bring Trains to Maine up from Africa" campaign.

On April 2nd the main post was updated to make it abundantly clear that it is a joke (for anyone who missed the date in the first sentence, obvious implausibility of the "Mrs. Garrett" from "The Facts of Life" tie-in, and did not read any of the comments.)

I hope that everyone can recognize that exposing the WW&F (and the Maine Two Footers as a whole) to a wider audience and growing its following is a worthwhile effort any day of the year.

[John Kokas]

I must admit Ed, you did good - real good this year 

[Mike Fox]

On April 2nd the main post was updated to make it abundantly clear that it is a joke (for anyone who missed the date in the first sentence, obvious implausibility of the "Mrs. Garrett" from "The Facts of Life" tie-in, and did not read any of the comments.)

Not everyone ties the date in with the day, and could easily skip the date to get to the main body of the announcement.

[Bill Baskerville]

Don't forget Jason's slipping in that little additional task of adding track to Head Tide.

[Ted Miles]

Yes, about the April Fools Day comment about Headtide; I think it should be a real effort. The next ageency station would be an excellent stopping place for the railway. It is a destination after all!

Ted Miles WW&F Life Member Built 11 Contributor Archives Contrributor