Riding the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway
10 August 2026 – Sunday
1025 72,442 miles 77°F Alna, Maine
Arrived in plenty of time \to get our choice of parking spots. Beth relaxed in the van while I went to explore the railyard.
Followed the smoke plume to find Engine number 9 fired up and getting ready to leave the roundhouse.
The brass builder’s plate shows that she was built in 1891 by Portland (Maine) Locomotive Company.
It was great fun to see her pull out onto the turntable.
No fancy motors here. Just a bar at each end and manual determination.
After watching the engine turn, I picked up our tickets at Sheepscot station.
Lots of good reading material was for sale inside.
This G-scale train model was tempting, but I resisted.
A couple of old Ford vehicles were interesting. The railcar does run and rides can be reserved.
The crew added water so we could make steam for our trip.
By noon we were ready to go.
Our train awaits…
And we’re off to SeaLyon Farm.
Volunteers here have restored the old wooden passenger cars like this Wiscasset & Quebec coach #3. The railway had unfulfilled hopes of reaching north to Canada.
Along the way we learned that distance between the rails here is only 2 feet, not 3 feet like many other narrow gauge railroads. The conductor informed us that frugal Mainers said that “if others can build it three feet wide, we can make do with two.” As a reference point, standard gauge is 4 feet 8.5 inches.
No one was waiting for the train as we passed Alna Center station.
Crossed Trout Brook on this (un)covered bridge.
Our destination was SeaLyon Farm where concerts are held during special events.
Reaching the end of the line, we found another manual turntable.
After the engine was rotated, it ran around the train and coupled to the caboose before pulling us home.
Condensation reveals the water level in the locomotive. We had plenty to make the return trip.
The return trip was downhill and we arrived on schedule.
After unloading the passengers, the engine was turned again and readied for another run.
Before leaving we were invited to visit the engine and car shop where we got up close to heavy duty lathes and presses.
There are more engines and rolling stock to work on.
Thanks to the volunteers that keep this historic railroad running.
We had a great time and hope to return!
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