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Build 11: Why Reconstruct Locomotive No. 7?The Mission of the <a href="http://www.wwfry.org/" target="_blank">WW&amp;F Railway Museum</a> is to restore and reconstruct the operation and equipment of the original railroad as completely as possible. To that end, our organization is in the process of reconstructing Wiscasset Waterville &amp; Farmington Ry steam locomotive No. 7. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1736620384/k5btocjpspztzrf8hebi.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> WW&amp;F No. 7 (Baldwin construction No. 31692) was a 28-ton 2-4-4T Forney built in 1907 for the WW&amp;F Railway. In 1931, the locomotive was damaged in a roundhouse fire. It was never repaired and was scrapped in 1937. In keeping with the tradition of giving new motive power the next available consecutive number, the reconstructed No. 7 will become WW&amp;F Ry No. 11.As a Baldwin Locomotive Works product (together with No. 9 representing the Portland Company) the museum will be preserving the range of motive power preferred by the original railway and other Maine two foot gauge railroads.Build 11: A $120,000 challenge to “get on the Fast Track” in 2025We have a huge challenge ahead of us in 2025 - which will put us on the fast track to getting the locomotive completed as soon as possible.Challenge 1: More Volunteers! We need skilled machinists and fabricators who would like to assist us at our shops in Alna, Maine (or occasional work from home.) If you are interested, please email <a href="mailto:info@wwfry.org">info@wwfry.org</a> and we will put you in touch with the Build 11 team.Challenge 2: More Speed! With increased volunteers aiding and overseeing contract labor and outside vendors, we hope to significantly reduce the time needed to complete the locomotive.Challenge 3: More Money! We've been challenged to raise $60,000 by an anonymous donor who will MATCH every donation dollar for dollar! So if you give $100 to help us Build 11, it will be matched with an additional $100. Thus, our total goal for 2025 is $120,000 - a big ask for sure - but with the locomotive taking shape, we're confident that our members, friends, and followers will be up for the challenge.Here's a shot of our progress as we head into 2025 - the locomotive's completed frame and mounted cylinders. Note the front pony truck partially assembled in front of the locomotive pilot:<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1736621031/b0qyrckpcmfmxmnbdoq4.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> <a href="https://forum.wwfry.org/pics/11ponyswing.mp4" target="_blank">Here's a video illustrating the swing motion of the lead pony truck.</a>Through the support of friends and followers (and the success of previous campaigns) we have been able to order a steady flow of critical components, including the cylinder half-saddles, drive wheel centers and a variety of smaller parts. Many of these have been joined to the main frame as the locomotive is beginning to take shape. This will continue through 2025.The <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2021" target="_blank">2021 campaign</a> goal was $50,000, which was exceeded by 96%, winding up at over $97,700, including a $25,000 matching grant from an anonymous friend. The <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2022" target="_blank">2022 campaign</a> goal was $70,000, which was surpassed by 20%, topping out at $84,279, including a $25,000 matching grant from the Candelaria Fund. In the <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2023" target="_blank">2023 campaign</a>, thanks to a few smaller "challenge grants", and (sadly) many memorial gifts in honor of Build 11 teammate and advocate <a href="https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/g-wayne-laepple-preservationist-railroader-and-writer-dies-at-75/" target="_blank">Wayne Laepple</a>, the $50,000 goal was exceeded by 28%, topping out at $64,111! 2024 saw us raise $68,803 - surpassing the goal by 38%.In 2025, with the $60,000 challenge, we hope to raise a total of $120,000 which will allow us to hire additional contractors to assist our volunteers in fabricating and assembling the locomotive.Build 11: How Can I Help?When this project was in its formative stages (way back in 2007) we estimated the total cost would be around $250,000. However, costs have steadily risen, increasing the price of everything we need for the locomotive. In addition, due to the limits of shop space, time, and qualified machinists, we have decided to partner with area machine shops for some of the larger projects. This decision was not taken lightly, but it is necessary to insure the completion of No. 11 within our timeline. Over the past 15 years, well over 300 individuals have contributed more than $430,000 to this effort. One person has made 200 separate donations, while another has contributed monthly since 2015. Several others have been making monthly donations for several years. That is simply amazing!Here’s an easy way to contribute... set aside $11 each month for No. 11. Or maybe $11 every two weeks ($22/mo.) This provides steady income earmarked for the project. Recurring donations such as theses can be set up via this donation page or by using your bank's online bill paying service.Of course, any amount is encouraged and deeply appreciated. We still have a very limited number of replica builder’s plates of WW&amp;F No. 7, available to donors of $1100 or more in a single donation. And once these remaining plates are gone, no more will be cast. We also have a smaller 3-D printed replica plate for your $110 donations. We are going into 2025 with a good cushion from our previous efforts, and we continue to seek foundation and corporate donations as well.Build 11: Spread the Word!Another (easy and FREE) way to help Build 11 is to spread the word about the project on social media. The WW&amp;F <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WWFRailway/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wwfrailway/" target="_blank">Instagram page</a>, and <a href="https://forum.wwfry.org/index.php/topic,11.0.html" target="_blank">Discussion Forum</a> all are updated on the 11th of each month with our progress. Be sure to subscribe, like, and share these posts!Build 11: What about No. 10?<a href="https://forum.wwfry.org/index.php/topic,71.0.html" target="_blank">Locomotive #10</a> is being rebuilt alongside #11, in order to save resources and consolidate efforts. The work now underway on locomotive 10's new boiler will continue (and possibly conclude?) in 2025.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1736620467/tip8sifallpdr7jlyj6f.jpg" style="width:600px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" /> Locomotive 10's new firebox with boiler barrel, tube sheet, and various other components.Build 11: Why Number 11?During the common-carrier era (1894-1933), the WW&amp;F Railway (and its predecessors) owned nine locomotives, numbered sequentially 1-9. Except for #9, which is the star of our museum collection, all of these locomotives were destroyed. Number 10 was the first steam locomotive acquired for use on the modern-day WW&amp;F railway, and the new locomotive will be number 11.   The new locomotive will be given the road number 11 for a number of reasons:<ul><li>To carry on with our museum’s tradition of giving new numbers to reconstructed equipment.</li><li>To carry on the original railway’s tradition of assigning consecutive road numbers to locomotives regardless of locomotives currently or formerly on the roster.</li><li>To recognize the enormous effort that must be made to fulfill this project.</li><li>To recognize that while we are trying to emulate the Baldwin Locomotive Works we are in fact not that company.</li></ul>Build 11: Rebuilding Maine HistoryJust looking like the original isn’t good enough. Part of the museum’s mission is to present, in context, the technology available at the time of the original construction -- a philosophy crucial to maintaining the spirit of the original machine. Components will be produced through methods as practical to the original, to maintain the same level of craftsmanship and skill required for the original.Since early 2019, a team of WW&amp;F Railway Museum members with engineering backgrounds has been producing drawings in the same manner as Baldwin did but using modern technology to do so. Hand drawings are reproduced on computers in two dimensions, and, as necessary in three dimensions, so that patterns can be made to produce castings.The members of the engineering group meet regularly by Zoom (since several are located outside Maine) to discuss progress as well as problems that arise. To date, the team has produced several hundred drawings and images, and a steady flow of primary components continues to come from foundries and shops.A steam locomotive is a direct result of the technology and production methods available at the time of original construction. The final product will be more than an operating facsimile of the original machine, although not necessarily created as easily as possible using modern technology. Instead, the locomotive will, as much as practical, represent the industrial age during which the Baldwin plant operated in 1907.Yet there are practical limits to this historical tribute. Several recognized and documented exceptions must be made for practical reasons. Specifically, these exceptions are made to bring the construction cost in line with the capabilities of our organization, to make the finished product more practical, and therefore economical, to maintain and operate. Care will be given to each component concerning its design and production method; decisions will be made as consistently as possible with historical integrity while not exceeding our practical limitations.A major benefit to this project will be the opportunity to document the various methods used to produce the locomotive. This will serve as an educational study of historical industrial methods as well modern methods being used in place of them for practical reasons.Build 11: Raising Money and Making ProgressAt the end of 2019, the WW&amp;F Railway Museum successfully completed its ”<a href="https://fundrazr.com/21campaign" target="_blank">21 Campaign</a>” to raise funds for new boilers for No. 10 and No. 11, actually exceeding the goal by about 7 percent. In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2020" target="_blank">initial fund-raising</a> for No. 11’s construction raised nearly $24,000, surpassing the $17,000 goal by 45 percent. As mentioned above, the <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2021" target="_blank">2021</a>, <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2022" target="_blank">2022</a>, 2023 and <a href="https://fundrazr.com/build11.2023" target="_blank">202</a>4 campaigns surpassed their stated goals. Now we’re on to the next campaign challenge, to raise funds to assemble WW&amp;F No. 11 throughout 2025 and beyond.With the opening of our Mountain Extension in mid-2022, we confirmed the need for No. 11, a locomotive a bit larger than No. 9, to provide adequate power for our trains on this new trackage, which includes a grade that tops out at 4%. It is expected that construction of No. 11 will take another three years or more, depending on the museum’s ability to raise funds and the availability of volunteer labor.Build 11: Volunteers NeededThe WW&amp;F Railway is an entirely <a href="https://wwfry.org/all-activities/volunteer/" target="_blank">volunteer-driven</a> organization with no formal paid staff. Contractors are employed only when necessary to bring specific skills to particular projects. Several members of the engineering team have committed themselves to regular work days at the museum, and the team is committed to at least one multi-day work session each month. There are ample opportunities for others to assist, as well as additional work sessions when a larger group of helpers will be needed. So, if this project interests you, please <a href="https://wwfry.org/contact/" target="_blank">contact us</a> to get involved. Depending on the task, work can be done at our Alna, Maine, facility, although plenty of work is being done in home shops around the US -- notably in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania!<img alt="Gordon Grinding" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1736616783/uppr4cu4wgfbesbg0qyw.png" style="vertical-align:bottom;display:block;height:auto;margin:20px auto;width:auto;padding:0px 1px;max-width:100%" />Build 11: We're Making it Happen... Together!The Build 11 project is well established - assembly is well on track! With funds in hand, let’s keep moving forward, building a locomotive best suited for the railroad.Thank you for helping make that happen.

WW&F Railway Museum

Build 11 2025: On the Fast Track

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