Greetings, one and all. Wednesday has returned, and here is another episode of Midweek Photos. This past weekend, I took a trek to Alna, Maine, near Wiscasset. It was a special steam reunion at the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway. There will be another one in February, and I hope anyone going to that event will be as fortunate as I was. Three 2-foot gauge steam locomotives and two on display represented the five narrow gauge roads of Maine. The trip was about 2.6 miles, but seemed a lot longer.
The three steam engines involved are Monson RR no. 3, on the left, and Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington no. 9. Behind these is Bridgeton & Saco River no. 7. All are 0-4-4T steamers. All are unique, too.
Sitting at the turntable when I arrived around 8:30 AM were no. 4 and no. 8.
While no. 9 goes to get water and pick up the train, a little diesel is running in the background.
The train crews are much like re-enactors preserving pre-World War I railroading, in dress and operating practice.
This house on the right is actually the water tank. The cold weather (about 10 degrees F) really allows the steam to take over.
At one point on our morning excursion, we pulled our passenger train to a siding, while no. 7 pulled a southbound freight train, passing no. 3 along with 4 flat cars, 2 on each end of the engine, as per Monson RR operating practices.
With no air brakes on the train, each car on the freight had a brakeman on board. The coordination of hand signals was amazing when I saw it.
The steam emanating from no. 3 on the left blocked my sight of it during much of this photo stop. This is one of the best I saw.
In the afternoon, the clouds rolled in, changing the visibility. This trip included no. 9 leading a passenger train rugby. We walked a bit into the woods to get this angle.
At Alna Center, a milk train station stands along the line. Here, the two locos posed side by side.
Our train crews for the afternoon. No. 9 is the oldest, being built by Portland Machine Co. in 1890 or so. I will check on the photos I have of the builder's photos. No. 7 is rather new, being built by Baldwin in 1917. All of these were on Saturday, January 18, 2020.
Now, you have the thread to add photos of any real trains you have encountered. Thank you once again for anything you can add and make the winter more memorable. Have a fantastic week.
