After building 3.5 miles of track on the original right-of-way of one of Maine’s famed 2-foot gauge railroads, the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum is now planning to expand southward. In December, the museum announced its intention to build a quarter-mile of track extending south from its campus in Alna, Maine, in either 2027 or 2028. The new “Southern Gateway” will be part of a future two-mile extension that will bring the narrow gauge railroad closer to Wiscasset, a popular tourist destination along the coast.
The original WW&F operated from 1895 until 1933. In the 1980s, Harry Percival started rebuilding a short section of track on his property at Shepscott Station, which is located 4.8 miles north of the original railroad’s southern terminus. In 1989, a nonprofit was established, and over the past 36 years, the museum has rebuilt 3.5 miles of main line, constructed a shop and roundhouse, four stations, a water tower, and restored two steam locomotives (with a third currently under construction from scratch).
Museum leadership said they were able to accomplish so much over the last three decades through their slow-and-steady approach. When the current main line was completed to Alna (and the edge of a state highway) in 2022, the museum intentionally paused its expansion efforts to focus on revamping its track maintenance programs, ensuring it could keep what it had built in excellent condition.
“We have learned to recognize the need for tempered, thoughtful growth which serves specific organizational needs. We established that our ultimate goal is sustainability, whereby we create an institution that becomes multi-generational, lasting well beyond our own time,” museum officials wrote. “As related to further expansion, understanding the end goal is paramount; the sum total of all the infrastructure we plan, including length of main track, maintenance and construction facilities, public facilities, etc., must generate the income necessary to comfortably maintain itself.”
Building south will require crossing a public road and entering a sensitive environmental area because it’s near a waterway. As a result, the museum will need to obtain permits and permissions from the Town of Alna, the Maine Department of Transportation, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Crossing the road will also make the museum subject to the regulations of the Federal Railroad Administration. Knowing that could be an eventuality, the museum has long maintained stringent operating and safety practices that comply with FRA regulations.
The museum plans to start fundraising in 2026 and hopes to begin construction in 2027 or 2028. The ultimate goal is to add two more miles of track and build a new station at the end. The museum has already begun acquiring property to achieve this goal.
For more information, visit wwfry.org/southern-gateway/
—Justin Franz
