Work on the interior and exterior continues. Exterior work is mostly on the underside equipment. See photo captions for details. Thanks to your generosity we have unlocked a matching grant of $16,000 furnished by the Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation. We continue to seek the support of such foundations to help bring this coach to completion…

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Last month, we reported on the installation of the windows for coach 9. This required replicating the hardware used to operate the windows, hardware that is no longer commercially available. The new hardware was made by the investment casting, or lost wax, process. Examine the photos for details on this process. We are well underway…

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Father-son team Jerry and Carlos spend every Tuesday working on the new trucks for coach 9, lately assembling and painting parts. This photo shows some of the major components, the springs and truck frames are partially visible at the upper right. Remember, we need a total of $120,000 to Finish Coach 9 to the Nines!…

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For this month’s report we’ll look at the installation of the windows in coach 9. Each window has four steel leaf springs, two on each of the shorter sides. These springs hold the windows in place, once they are inserted into the openings in the sides and ends of the coach. You can see the…

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To the delight and surprise to those in attendance for the 2025 Annual Picnic, Coach 9, resplendent in its completed varnish and gold leaf lettering and trim, was revealed to the public on Aug. 9, 2025. Tours were hosted throughout the day by project manager and Master Carpenter, Eric Schade. Thanks to Christopher Hauf for…

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For those who would like a booklet on the project to Finish Coach 9 to the Nines, we have this special PDF available for download. Printed copies of the book are available by visiting the WW&F Railway Museum, or can be mailed to you by special request. To date, only $9561 of the $120,000 needed…

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We are pleased to announce that the Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation has selected the project to Finish Coach 9 to the Nines for a $ for $ matching grant! They have pledged $16,000 towards the project. Please, help us unlock this fantastic opportunity which doubles your donation to the cause. Meanwhile, here are some more…

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The protective enclosure was removed today, allowing fuller views of the recent varnish work. The exterior coating has now set up well enough that Eric, Ron, Lou and Harold can begin working on the interior hardware. Donations are needed to help cover the cost ($30,000) of the gold leaf work and professional varnish application. To…

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For this month’s report we’ll look at some of the interior details of coach 9, particularly the decorative artwork on the ceiling panels. Research on how it was on the original cars, such as coach 3, revealed that water slide decals were used. This was big business in the 1890s, with catalogs dedicated to the…

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In this month’s Finish Coach 9 to the Nines report we’ll take a look at some of the decorative details that have been added to coach 9 during the past couple months. The exterior of the car is having its lettering and striping applied. Tom Fish has been hired by the museum to complete this…

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Recent work on Coach 9, being built by the volunteers at the WW&F Railway Museum in Alna, Maine. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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WW&F Railway Launches “Finish Coach 9 to the Nines” Campaign which aims to raise $120,000 to complete the construction of its new coach! The new coach 9 is a carefully researched and faithful reconstruction of a car built by Jackson and Sharp in 1894 for the WW&F’s predecessor, the Wiscasset & Quebec Railroad. Painstaking detail…

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More gold leaf work this week. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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Today’s work on the new coach… truck construction by Carlos and Jerry Steinke include forgings for springs… lining and lettering with real gold leaf starting with door panels, and proceeding to the car end. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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Master Carpenter Eric Schade reports: “I spent quite a bit of time researching the details of coach 3 at the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum. In order to fully understand those details I have made a number of models.” “As I am a Garden Railroader, I have built a number of scale models of…

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Master Carpenter Eric Schade reports: “I wanted to post some photos of Coach 3 which we are using as a guide for building our new coach (9) at the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum. The Wiscasset and Quebec Railway had two coaches, a baggage/mail/express combine and a smoking car built for the opening of…

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Work continues on windows and interior panels. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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Interior woodwork continues with sanding / prepping the clerestory ceiling panels and trim. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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The new coach was brought outside yesterday 8/17 for inspection of the finish + cleaning the wood shop. Eric and Ron noted that the car will receive line and lettering work later this year, followed by two coats of gloss varnish. Thanks to our friends at Epifanes Yacht Coatings for donated products and much guidance for interior…

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Today’s project at the railway was to put the color onto the coach. Yesterday, Ron Ginger put the first brush strokes of paint on. Today, Jason from Epifanes Yacht Coatings offered some professional advice to help us get the best possible finish. We got one coat on about 3/4 of the coach. Some was done…

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Master Carpenter Eric Schade reports: “I went into the shop today to make hardware for the screen frames on the clerestory of the coach. Each set of two clerestory windows has a frame with screen to keep the cinders and bugs out of the coach when the windows are opened. Steel bolts will be screwed…

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A short video of Master Carpenter Eric Schade working on the end of Coach 9. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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Reporter ‘Gman’ writes: “We took a visit over to the Wiscasset Waterville and Farmington railroad to get our calendars and take a closer look at the construction of the new railroad coach built on the same Jackson and Sharp blueprints as original surviving coach number 3. The fit and finish in these building stages is…

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The long timbers for the coach arrived at the railway today. We got them settled into the shop…a tight fit until other projects are finished. Thanks for your continued support and interest in the WW&F!The Coach 9 Team

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August 2018 Update Harold Downey reports: “I am adding all the details to the top side mold. I thought this would be easier. But many of the edge pieces have 3-D curvature, and I couldn’t just bend them out of thin pieces. For example, here is one of them. I start with a cube that…

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November 2017 Update Harold Downey finished the working drawing and bill of material for the base frame. There are four castings needed for the base frame: And since the design needed to be completed in combination with the center pivot, the corresponding female center casting which mounts on the truck. Nearly all of the patterns…

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