I have been a volunteer at the WW&F Railway Museum www.wwfry.org for several years now. During most of that time, there has been a locomotive being restored…someday. Well it seems the day is coming up pretty soon.
The Train Department will be offering a 7/8" scale model of this engine…coming out soon Jason’s 7/8th scale page
Here are some photos of the first time I saw her at the museum in 2005, before restoration had started:
Here is how far we got as of last weekend:
The two foot gauge Forney locomotive was built by the Portland (MAINE!) Company in 1891 for the Sandy River Railroad.
She worked for the Sandy River (#5) until it merged with fellow two foot gauge lines to be come the Sandy River and Rangely Lakes Railroad (#6). She served there until the late '20s when she was sold to the Kennebec Central (#4)which ran a short line hauling passengers and coal to the Old Soldier’s home in Togus Maine. In 1933 she was sold to the Wiscasset Watervile and Farmington Railway (#9) were she served a very short time before the end.
Her days at the SR RR and the SR&RL RR were hard…she saw a lot of use and her share of accidents. Within months of delivery she was involved in a collision with a standard gauge train with the expected results! She needed a new cab and a good bit more. In february 1917 she tumbled down an embankment with both driver axles busted. She also survived an engine house fire.
The SR&RL did maintain her as well as they could. they added Janey automatic couplers and electric headlights. they did not add Westinghouse air brakes though. by that time she was too small and old to get the equipment and Retained the Eames Vacuum brakes.
The Kennebec Central was in need of new equipment by the 1920’s and purchased two Portland Company Forneys to replace their old engines It looks like the SR&RL gave #6 a coat of paint but didn’t do much mechanically before sending her out. After a few years on the Togus line, the engine the WW&F purchased was pretty worn out.
The WW&F shop guys did what they could to her, she was “better” than their existing engines. one change that is noticable is the addition of brakes on the drive wheels. before that only the rear truck had brakes.
when the line closed in the depression, a railfan from Connecticut purchased the engine, a flat and a box car with dreams of a tourist attraction at his farm…well they all stayed where they landed but were preserved from the scrappers. In 1995 she was moved to the WW&F railway Museum, given a little paint and even run on compressed air. her boiler was beyond service and she had some other issues needing attention.
I’ll post some photos and describe some of what I have been doing to restore the engine.