Historical Engines of the WW&F

Engine #1

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #1
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1883* 1894 1912 1916 14 tons H. K. Porter 565 0-4-4RT

Notes: Built in 1883, for the Sandy River Railroad as their #3. There, it was converted to be a wood-burner, then back to being a coal-burner again. The rear drivers have been thought to be blind (flangeless), but that fact is debatable. It was prone to frequent derailments; thus it was not well-liked by either railroad. On the WW&F, it was used mainly on construction and switching duties in Wiscasset Yard. Note the angled cylinder and driving rods, which was old and out-dated technology even when it was built.

Engine #2

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #2
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1894 1894 1933 1937 18 tons Portland Company 626 0-4-4RT

Engine #3

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #3
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1894 1894 1932 1937 18 tons Portland Company 627 0-4-4RT

Notes: Favorite engine of the WW&F engineers, especially Earl Keef, who built a model of it after retirement. #3 ended up being the "Old Faithful" of the fleet, running right up until 1933, even running sporadically after the arrival of #8 and #9. Its last known run was the morning down train on June 11, 1933.

Engine #4

WW&F Museum collection
WW&F Engine #4
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1902 1902 1933 1937 28 tons H. K. Porter 2497 0-4-4RT

Notes: Bought for Franklin Construction Company for construction of the line from Weeks Mills to Winslow, then turned over to the WW&F. Originally it had a full steel cab, but this was cut back and after Mason's Wreck and eventually replaced with a wooden cab. The boiler was set higher than normal on two-foot gauge engines, making it top heavy but an excellent snow fighter.

Engine #5

Walker Transportation Museum collection
WW&F Engine #5
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1882 1907 1912 1912 15 tons Hinkley 1564 0-4-4RT

Notes: Built 1882 as for the Bridgeton and Saco River Railroad as that road's #2, and served the B&SR for 25 years. In 1912 it was retired from a burned crownsheet, but the boiler was continued to be used in the WW&F's Wiscasset shops (for heating and keeping other engine's boilers warm) until the railroad ceased operations in 1933.

Engine #6

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #6
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1907 1907 1931 1937 26 tons Baldwin 31691 2-6-2

Notes: A powerful freight engine, this was the only engine on the railroad with 6 drivers and outside frame valve gears. The engine arrived with Stephenson, but later was converted to Southern valve gears. #6 was retired after being burned in the Wiscasset engine house fire in 1931; she wasn't greatly damaged but she was never repaired or moved again.

Engine #7

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #7
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1907 1907 1931 1937 28 tons Baldwin 31692 2-4-4RT

Notes: Retired after being heavily damaged in the Wiscasset engine house fire in 1931. It sat next to its sister #6, until scrapping in 1937.

Engine #8

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #8
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1892 1933 1933 1937 18 tons Portland Company 624 0-4-4RT

Notes: Built 1892 for the Bridgeton and Saco River Railroad as their engine #3, then it was sold in 1924 to the Kennebec Central, becoming #3 on that railroad as well. Frank Winter bought the KC for both this and #4. It ran for two days on the WW&F, in June 1933, until it derailed in Whitefield on June 15. It was abandoned there, and later cut up on the spot.

Engine #9

E. Sproul collection
WW&F Engine #9
Built Bought Retired Scrapped Weight Builder Builder's # Wheels
1891 1933 1933 never 18 tons Portland Company 622 0-4-4RT

Notes: Built in 1891 for the Sandy River Railroad as #5, the "N. B. Beal", later re-numbered 6 after the Sandy River's consolidation with the other two-foot railroads in Franklin County. It was sold in 1923 to the Kennebec Central as their #4. Frank Winter bought the KC for its two operational engines in early 1933, and it was renumbered to 9. Nine ran off and on until June 8 that year, when it was sidelined for a broken frame member. Sold to Frank Ramsdell in 1937, who kept it in Connecticut. The last time this engine was under steam was in 1934, when engineer Earl Keef ran it to the Top of the Mountain for prospective buyers of the railroad.

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This page modified Wednesday, 29-Mar-2000 20:33:54 EST