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| Locomotive #5 pulls a mixed freight across the Whitefield Iron Bridge. |
This bridge across the Sheepscot River in Whitefield was the only all-iron bridge on the WW&F. At this the point the railroad, which had followed the Sheepscot River from Head Tide up the western bank, crossed the river to the east side and continued north to Whitefield. The bridge was also the longest on the railroad.
The bridge remained standing after the railroad shut down until the Flood of 1936, which wiped out the bridge and collapsed it into the river. What was left was cut up in 1937. Today, only the stone abutments remain, and can be seen during canoe or hiking trips down the Sheepscot.
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| The bridge's abutments in 1991. Photo courtesy of Marcel Levesque. |
Several hundred feet north of the iron bridge is the spot that #8 derailed on June 15, 1933. This wreck is the one that ended operations on the railroad.
The grade follows the Sheepscot all the way into Whitefield. Today, route 194 runs over the grade for approxmately a half-mile, up to where it meets route 218. It's important for the prospective history student to note that Whitefield (formerly known at this location as Kings Mills) had two bridges crossing the Sheepscot at one point: the upper one, which is where 218 now crosses the Sheepscot, and north of which the station was located, and the lower bridge, which is where what is now 194 used to cross the river. Where 194 drops down toward the river today, and turns northward to join the WW&F, it used to instead drop down, cross the tracks, then cross a bridge to the other side. There was a mill at this spot, on either side of the river, which is why the area is called King's Mills. Without knowledge of this second bridge, trying to match old photographs with today's topology can cause great confusion.
In the later days of the railroad portions of the track were so bad that the Albion-bound trains would frequently lose one or more of their cars. If they uncoupled anywhere between Head Tide and Whitefield, it would usually result in the lost cars rolling back down the line to Head Tide.
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| The WW&F's roadbed along the Sheepscot in Whitefield (King's Mills) is buried underneath this section of Rt. 194. This picture is from the junction of Routes 218 and 194, looking south toward Wiscasset. |
The picture, above, displays some of this grade. Here, Rt. 194 was built on top of the railroad's grade. Beyond the curve, 194 climbs back up a hill while the roadbed (a good ten feet below the highway) continues to follow the river south.
The ascent tops off at the station, which is just north (geographically west) of where routes 218 and 194 meet today. The grades both north and south of 194 are quite intact. From Whitefield station, the railroad continues north, leaving the Sheepscot river and recrossing Rt 218 before heading on its way to North Whitefield.
Go back to Sheepscot to Whitefield Map (Map 2).
Go back to Railroad System Map.
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