Dana,
Thanks for the response. I would certainly be interested in reading what you have come up with, whether it be in the newsletter or on the forum. The failure of the F,S&K certainly caused the loss of what could have been another interesting chapter in the history of the Maine 2-footers. I doubt that it would have been a financial success though as most of the pulpwood traffic as well as a lot of the other wood products from the Sandy River would have tended to go south of Farmington over the MEC. It looks to me like the line would have had to exist with local farm produce and timber products. I doubt there would have been much bridge traffic over the line but I do feel that it would have provided considerable boost to the WW&F traffic with lumber going to the ships and possibly coal that would have been going to points west of Waterville. I really have to wonder what business the branch to Augusta would have brought to the F,S&K. Perhaps if the F,S&K had been completed, the demise of the WW&F RR and the Peck purchase would not have happened and the 1908 Franklin County merger might have included a lot more miles. That would have meant that the traffic would have been routed as far as possible on the narrow gauge and would have provided bridge traffic over the F,S&K mainline. It all probably makes for some interesting what ifs on a cold winter evening.
Dave