Washington County Railroad
Cherryfield, Maine

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The Washington County Railroad is a large scale railroad club with a special interest in coal fired steam locomotives. Our formal name is the Washington County Steam Preservation Society. We are located at the home of John Brace on Campbell Hill in Cherryfield, Washington County, Maine. This is the eastern most county of the United States, where the sun first rises on the United States. Hence the name Sunrise Route (or as it is also know on this website, but not originally, the Sunrise Line.)   The logo that appears above is that of the original Washington County Railroad. It was incorporated in 1894 and its rails are a short distance from our railroad. Two of John's great uncles were extensively involved. The track still exists, but has not seen any commercial traffic in years. The State of Maine is the owner. Our bridge is a copy of a nearby bridge over the Naraguagus River.   Our track gauge is precisely 7.5 inches. The switches have guarded frogs making it possible for 7.25 inch gauge equipment to operate. The guarded frogs make it necessary to require that the wheels on all railroad equipment be at least 3/4 of an inch in width. The wheels on 7 1/2 inch gauge equipment must be no wider than 13/16ths of an inch while the wheels on 7 1/4 inch gauge equipment can be up to 7/8ths of inch in width. The flange profile should conform to the IBLS wheel standards established in 1974.   The minimum radius of the track is 35 feet. The maximum grade is 1.5%. Trains have to climb over 21.5 feet in going from east to west on the track.   The owner/driver of a locomotive which is new to our track will be asked to verify the integrity of their boiler. A mentor will be available to help to them become acquainted with the track and the signaling system. It will be necessary to determine how well their locomotive adapts to our track.   The main line track circuit is now 5 1/2 scale miles in length. The above picture shows the current track. There is a valley in the foreground with the top of the mountain being at the top of the picture. The spur track that can be seen at the lower left of the picture is the start of the continuation of the main line. It has been laid out for many more miles. We have not set a date for the start of construction.   Visitors are welcome. It is best to call ahead. We have no public run days. Our yearly meet is normally the second or third weekend of September. E-mail the Superintendent of the WCRR for dates of work and run days. The track is located on U S Route #1, 40 miles east of Arcadia National Park and 50 miles west of Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada.   Our next annual meet is scheduled for September 13, 2008, but might be cancelled, check back in August for an update. There will be a pot-luck lunch on that day followed by a Dutch treat dinner. Let us know if you want to camp-out at the WCRR; you can also stay at the Red Barn or we can recommend some local B&B's.   The Spare Time Railroad (pictures below) of Waldoboro, Maine, plans to have its meet the weekend of September 20th. Usually our meet is the week before.

Click on the layout for a detailed on-line view or here for the print version.

Pictures: Steaming, October 12, 2008 Movie: Steaming in the Rain, 2007 WCRR Meet, September 15, 2007 September 8, 2007 Aerial views of the WCRR, October 9, 2006 WCRR Meet, September 16, 2006 WCRR Meet, September 16, 2006 (Richard's Pictures) Deidra's Summer Vacation, July 2006 New Construction, March 2006 WCRR Meet, September 10, 2005 Montreal Steamers visit the WCRR, August 16, 2005 Brian and Ian visit the WCRR, August 4, 2005 John visits the STL RR, July 25, 2005 John rides the Boothbay RR, July 25, 2005 New Pictures on the Wallpaper Page, October 2004 WCRR Meet, September 11, 2004 (Richard's Pictures) WCRR Meet, September 11, 2004 (Wren's Pictures) Ryan's Train Ride WCRR Meet, September 13, 2003 October 12, 2003 ... Pictures for John. Come home soon! 1/4 Scale Steam Tractor Puffin' Willie visits the WCRR, August 30, 2003 WCRR Meet, September 15, 2001 Recommended for first time visitors: WCRR pictures from the Summer of 2000   Wren's new Engine, Spring 2002 Kap Pullen visits the WCRR, August 13, 2002 September Train Ride Progress on Larry's new Shay, Summer 2002 Playing with Trains in Florida, April 14, 2002 Florida Live Steamers, February 18, 2002 Henry Groth's STL Meet, September 22, 2001 Tour a Live Steam Railroad in another Washington County Wren's pictures of Campbell Hill, Cherryfield, Maine (home of the WCRR) Wren's pictures of Washington County

	For more information.
	John, the Superintendent of the WCRR.
	Wren, the Webmaster of the WCRR.

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