This Friday, Oct. 6 through Monday, Oct. 9, the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum in Alna is holding its annual fall work weekend. Each fall, the volunteer run and managed railway museum holds a work weekend where volunteers come from both near and far to help maintain and rebuild the railway. The work weekend is open to the public. No experience or special skills are required, only a willingness to learn and participate in a team effort to keep the Sheepscot Valley’s narrow gauge railway in a fine state of repair.

The idea of the community pitching in to keep the railway operating is not a new one. According to Robert Jones’ book on the WW&F, “Two-Feet to Tidewater,” when trains could not run on account of snowstorms, school was cancelled so that students could help shovel the railway out. The WW&F of today has been restored from near-oblivion by dedicated volunteers over the past 28 years. That restoration is an ongoing project that you are invited to take part in.

This year the Railway has an ambitious schedule of work, including the construction of new track in Sheepscot on Friday, construction of a retaining wall and track maintenance and extension on Saturday, along with further track maintenance on Sunday and Monday. The schedule may be amended depending on turnout and progress.

Work typically begins around 7 a.m. and concludes at 5 p.m., aside from Monday when we will end a bit early. Delicious lunches and suppers will be provided for volunteers by the museum. Join us for part of a day, a full day or the whole weekend. Learn new skills and share your own along the way.