Merry Christmas from Maine! On Saturday, December 17th, 2016, the WW&F Museum ran its 16th Annual Victorian Christmas celebration. This event features free train rides, visits to Santa Claus, horse-drawn wagon rides and lots of hot beverages and goodies. This year's rendition also featured an all-day snowstorm as well as temperatures that were in the single numbers. The hazardous road conditions and winter chill may have kept a few folks away, it it didn't dampen the spirits of the 500 or so who did turn out. Mainers tend to be a hardy lot. Both of the WW&F's locomotives were pressed into service, with Old Number 9 (seen here) hauling the passenger trains north to Alna Center, and plow-equipped Diesel #52 bringing the trains back south to Sheepscot, keeping the line clear as she did. Because of the extreme cold, the open excursion cars, which normally are pretty popular at this event, had to be left behind. Fortunately, the fine folks at Boothbay Railway Village were kind enough to loan the museum the use of a Bridgton & Saco River Railroad Coach, which when combined with the museum's own two coaches, provided more than enough covered capacity for the folks who attended. Shooting these trains in the snow was a very special treat for me. The combination of the falling snow, the snow on the pine trees and the pretty, turn-of-the-century equipment made just about every shot look like some kind of Currier and Ives Print.
