Number 9 reborn! Tucked away in a corner of the WW&F's Sheepscot Shop building is something you don't see very often these days. This is, in fact, a brand new locomotive boiler. It represents a major step toward a dream that the museum's founders have had for over 20 years. Back when the original railroad was scrapped in the 1930s, a gentleman from CT managed to acquire and store a single, 18-ton, Forney Locomotive. WW&F Number 9, a Portland Company product built in 1891, then sat in that gentleman's barn for the next 60 years until it came to the attention of the newly formed WW&F museum. The museum folks managed to work a deal to return the locomotive to Maine, with the intention of someday running it once again. When the locomotive's original boiler was deemed unsafe to restore, the museum folks raised some serious cash and contracted with nearby Boothbay Railway Village to build a replacement. The result is what you see here: a brand new, welded boiler, built to current codes. Over the next year or two, the museum folks intend to integrate this boiler with the original chassis and running gear and at some point, old Number 9 will steam again on the original WW&F right-of-way for the first time in 75 years! To get an idea what she might look like when she's done, you can take a look at a pre-restoration photo by clicking here. Charter operators take note. Once the WW&F has two operating locos, the possibilities for photographic recreations will be limited only by one's imagination.
