I've been following the progress of the fine people in Maine for some time now. It's been on my list to get up there and I finally pulled the trigger and made the trip for their 2-foot gauge winter weekend.

I was solidly impressed on so many levels. The quality of work that has been taking place up there is simply amazing and the spirit of cooperation between the various organizations around Maine is remarkable. The folks were as nice as can be and made my visit extra special. Out of everything that I took in, the one thing that I really liked the most was the collective ambition and drive of everyone involved. We all have dreams of how things can be preserved or recreated, the folks at the various museums in Maine all seem to be making those visions into reality.

If you are one of those people who have been putting off a visit to Maine, I suggest not putting it off any longer. Make sure you have hit as many of the 2-foot gauge museums as you can. The 2-foot gauge is captivating.

What you have to understand is the seminal nature of the WW&F organization, and the commitment to preserving and rebuilding something out of American memory. Everything is done using the original plans, or using newly drawn plans, made to mirror the technology of circa 1900. When these people build of restore, it's entirely in keeping with what was in place a century ago. There is no experience quite the same as slowly piking up the line, into the fir forest, in the original equipment. Steam in the summer is intoxicating, but in the winter, it is a dream experience.

It was great to meet Tom and so many other names I had only seen on the Internet at the WW&F this past weekend. It was a lot of fun for all of us to host everyone, and put on a "show" that exceeded everyone's expectations.

Last I heard, there are still tickets available for this weekend's (Jan 21/22) repeat performance. Send an email to reservations@wwfry.org. (We are currently having email server issues, so if you don't get a response within 24 hours, please PM me.)

The Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts is also sponsoring a 1-day (afternoon) charter on Feb 11th. I understand that it may be sold out, but check with them to be sure.

I believe the email server issues have been resolved.

I met Tom and asked if he were the same person with "that tagline on RYPN". Which I promptly got backwards.

I heard that everyone had a great time. Thanks to all who came!

Tom, I was there on Saturday...sorry I missed you!

Stephen

Tom
I see you marked that wonderful pic as "old truck"-- well the old truck is a Model AA truck, can't tell for certain which gas cap it has, but looks like the early '30 version, if not then it's a '29.
GREAT picture! If I ever get "back east" it's on my bucket list!

According to Stewart Rhine, it is an early '30 model.

SH

Ah, I thought so. The only real visible difference is the gas cap and the headlight buckets (The '30s are shallower) so it was hard to be certain from the picture. I check their website now and then, they've done some amazing things; the latest being installing a period correct turntable for the future roundhouse. (Well, the boiler sheet flanging machine is pretty amazing too!)