In October of 2019, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the WW&F Museum's Fall Work Weekend (FWW) and watch as our membership built 2100 feet of new track, crossing Trout Brook and essentially completing the railroad, for the foreseeable future, at least. The railroad now stretches about 3.5 miles, from Cross Road in Sheepscot, all the way to the old Route 218 crossing, just south of Head Tide. Although the entire ROW is now complete, there is still much work to be done before the line can be placed in service. Some ballasting was done in the weeks following FWW, but more ballasting, leveling and tamping will be done in the spring of 2020. In addition, a passing siding will be built at end of track, the far end of which will include a small turntable, big enough to turn the locomotives. Some type of station structure will also be included. The museum is currently forecasting that the new trackage, known as the "Mountain Extension", will be placed in regular passenger service in 2021.

Watching the track-laying process was fascinating. Clearly, a lot of engineering had been done behind the scenes, to prepare the equipment and procedures, so that when the masses of volunteers descended on Alna, things would go like clock-work....and they did....in spades. Central to the operation was the new gantry car, affectionately dubbed "Elmer." This car supported a traveling crane and carried bundles of ties, each of which was sized for the placement of one length of rail. As each bundle was dropped, gangs of tie placers would quickly lay them out ahead of the work train. Then, the crane would grab a length of rail from an idler flat behind the gantry car and bring it forward, placing it on the tie bed. Crews would then attach joint bars and gauge clamps, known as "Insta-Track" to hold the rails together as the work train passed over it. Behind the train, a spiking crew went to work securely spiking the newly laid track, removing the gauge clamps and bringing them forward for re-use. Not only was it a very efficient operation, but the folks doing it seemed to be really having a good time. All of the heavy lifting was done by "Elmer."

I've created a short photo essay, so folks who could not be with us that weekend can see what it all looked like. I've also posted a few views showing the new, Howe Boxed Pony Truss Bridge that now spans Trout Brook, including photos of some of the first steam operations to cross that bridge. If you have a few minutes, take a look and see how we build the narrow gauge in Maine.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112261457@N06/albums/72157712058692221

/Kevin Madore

What a great group! Doing fantastic and creative work.

Great pics, thanks for posting. Visiting the WW&F is a fabulous, almost incredible, experience. It's simply amazing what that group has accomplished.
I'm glad to note that they have done away with their "square" rail joints and gone to far better staggered joints.
Ned

Which are correct for the original line?

The Maine Two-footers preferred the use of square joints, at least on tangent track, in order to reduce the chance of oscillation - and thus reducing the risk of derailment. Our current preference is to continue the use of square joints on tangent track, and to let the joints stagger naturally on curves. The Mountain Extension has several S curves, so we did not square up the joints during this latest track-laying effort.

Nicely done, I shared on my FB group, "Railroading Rambler."

It would be interesting to compare the ride on the square joints vs. staggered joints at the same speed and track bed conditions.

Simply the best railroad restoration in the northeast, if not the entire country.
Remember, WW&F is rebuilding an entire railroad upon the original fabric of the two-footer line. If you haven't visited the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Ry. yet, you are depriving yourself of a significant experience and series of lessons.

To experience "square" joints on a standard gauge railroad, may I suggest the East Troy Trolley Museum in Wisconsin? The Milwaukee Electric was a proponent of square joints (also Weber joint bars) and I doubt the line has been relaid since the museum took over. As I recall, low joints induced a strange bounding sensation rather than the usual side to side rocking.

Thanks to Kevin and everybody involved with this continuing project. It's always been a welcome and great read for me. A tip of the hat to you all.