Maps of the WW&F Museum

[Mike Fox]

Rebuilding on the old Right of way. It is in poor shape in places and will need quite a bit of work in the washouts, but will provide a very nice trip when completed. The scenery through the trees in that section is nice.

[Steve Smith]

Jock, on the way from Top of the Mountain down to the crossing over Trout Brook, there should be some nice views out of the left-hand windows looking down the slope into the gulley where Trout Brook runs roughly parallel to the right of way. Maybe the crews will have to warn passengers so they don't all rush to the left side and topple a coach! 

[Matthew Gustafson]

   We all dont want that to happen.

[Zak LaRoza]

So, when the museum builds further, which direction are they going? The 5 miles down to Wiscasset, or up to The Mountain?

[John McNamara]

So, when the museum builds further, which direction are they going? The 5 miles down to Wiscasset, or up to The Mountain?

Hi Zak,

Expanding to the north is the plan. Going south has several obstacles, including a pond on the right-of-way, a widened highway that encroaches on the right-of-way, and three houses. Here's the plan:

http://www.wwfry.org/projects/longrangeplan.pdf

-John

[Glenn Byron]

John,  Thank you for posting The WW&F Railway Museum Long Range Plan for all to see. This IS Required Reading, every one of the 48 pages.  One cannot begin to understand the magnitude of operating a faculity such as this without considering all alternatives.  Our members near and far can each find areas where their expertise can add to the pie.  It is so wonderful to see that several of the goals established in the early stages of this plan are now obtained and areas where concentration is severely needed are defined. Special thanks to the committee members Patten, Buczkowski, Lamontagne, Maguire and yourself who volunteered your efforts to lay this out for all to see.  As a newcomer to the organization, reading this gives me insight into the inner workings otherwise not understood.  To the old timers this is probably all matter of fact.  Top of the Hill or Bust!!

[Jock Ellis]

Sorry I keep thinking of questions but what is the elevation change between the museum and the highest point on the present track? If I read it correctly - again from college ROTC  44 years ago - the top of the mountain is at about 130 feet above sea level. But I cannot figure out the height of the museum. And of course, I could be wrong about the mountain part.
PS
I hope y'all have a great thanksgiving!

[John McNamara]

According to the 1957 Wiscasset USGS map, http://historical.mytopo.com/getImage.asp?fname=wisc57sw.jpg&state=ME, the elevation at the intersection of Cross Rd and 218 is 107 feet. The museum is slightly lower, so maybe 102 feet?

[Ed Lecuyer]

Here's a quick profile of the main line from Sheepscot to 218. Note that the resolution of the elevation model within the software I use is not detailed enough to account for fills and cuts. Thus, this profile is really an approximation... but it gives you an idea of how the Top of the Mountain compares to the crossing of 218 and Sheepscot station.

Some spot elevations (again, approximate)
Sheepscot Sta: 70ft above sea level.
Humason Brook: 103ft
Alna Center: 118ft
Top of "the Ladder": 150ft
End of track (2009): 100ft
Top of the Mountain: 150ft
Carlton/Trout Brook: 25ft
Route 218: 45ft

[James Patten]

Now if you smooth off the profile Ed gave us, that gives you an idea of the railroad gradients of the WW&F in that short a distance.  Except I don't believe the "Top of the Mountain" location elevation, especially if end of track is only a football field away.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Reading the USGS topo map (which is going to be more accurate than the digital model, but still not enough to show the cuts and fills of a 2' railroad ROW) gives these numbers:
Sheepscot Sta: 73ft above sea level.
Humason Brook: 70ft
Alna Center: 109ft
Top of "the Ladder": 115ft
End of track (2009): 100ft
Top of the Mountain: 85ft
Carlton/Trout Brook: 20ft
Route 218: 30ft

Interesting that the "Top of the Ladder" seams to be the highest point on the (current) railroad, much higher than the Top of the Mountain.  Regardless, a rise of 50ft from Sheepscot, and a rise of 85 feet from 218 is quite impressive.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Ed, Here are more elevations.  Most measurements are at the grade crossings and came from Google Earth.

Sheepscot Station         71ft
Jaynes Way Crossing      67ft
Brook Crossing               69ft
Sutters Crossing            63ft
Sheepscot Mills xing       80ft
Humason Brook Trestle   70ft
Trasks' Crossing            90ft
Averil Road Crossing      109ft
North AC Yard Limit       112ft
Albees' Crossing            110ft
Rosewood Crossing         97ft
End Of Track  5/2010      84ft
TOM Switch                   76ft
Trout Brook Trestle         19ft

[Ed Lecuyer]

Google Earth must be using a different elevation model than my product is. (We're hoping to update ours within the next few months with some newer data, but I digress.)

Short of going out and surveying the line, the USGS data read from the topo map is probably the most accurate you'll get. (And even then, USGS topo maps are only guaranteed to be accurate to 50'... but most are much better than that.)

[Mike Fox]

Doesn't seem like a 20 foot climb from Trask to Averil Road.  Guess it must be though.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Trasks Crossing falls right on a 90ft contour line on the USGS map. Averil Road (Alna Center) is just shy of a 110ft contour line. Unless there are cuts/fills that are not shown, I suspect that there could well be a 20' difference between the two points (FYI, it's 1300ft between Trasks and Averil.)