Museum Milestones 2015

Locomotive 9 steams again!!

Sorry, that was a big deal.  The engine was steamed up and first moved under its own power on December 5.  It was a long road getting there.  The boiler was insulated with mineral wool at the beginning of the year, and work began on polishing the jacket in-house.  Ultimately it was decided that in-house wouldn’t work, so the polishing was out shopped and then the jacket was taken to Cleveland Black Oxide for treatment to become “American Rolled Iron”.  Work continued on the cab, and sandblasting the tank.  The tank, cab, and engine were re-united on Fall Work Weekend, then final preparations were made for the steam up.  First steam up was December 4, with a number of issues found that were quickly resolved.  The Dec 5 steam up resulted in the first move.  Subsequent steam ups resolved remaining bugs and the engine was put into service for Victorian Christmas.

Car Barn: Roof trusses were put up at the end of May, with a crane donated by McGee Construction of Gardiner.   The steel and clear roofing panels were put over the summer.  Footings for door posts were dug and concrete poured.  Track went into the barn during Fall Work Weekend.  The car was enclosed starting at FWW.

Shingle Mill Salvage: Volunteer Dana Deering was able to procure the donation of a shingle mill from an estate, so this (plus a number of other treasures from the building it was in) were salvaged during the spring.

Whitefield Section House: The building was assembled and completed over the year, the largest amount of work happening thanks to the wedding party of Steve and Annie Piwowarski.

Locomotive 10: Received new springs under the tender tank.

Track: Track at the Top of the Mountain was put into service, and trains now terminate there and locomotives switch ends there.  Work began preparing for the North Yard (track into the car barn) in late summer, and over the Fall Work Weekend a number of switches were partially assembled, and track built into the barns.

B&SR Boxcar 67: This former Bridgton & Harrison Railroad boxcar was acquired from Maine Narrow Gauge, which was deaccessioning some unneeded equipment.  A GoFundMe drive brought in $2500 for the car in just 10 days, plus a Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation grant matched 2-for-1 up to $4600.  Demolition of the car began at the end of December.

Victorian Christmas: We had our strongest showing ever with over 1500 riders.  With three engines in service we ran two trains at a time, which kept people moving.