The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum will celebrate the grand opening of their display at the Wiscasset waterfront on July 4 at 5 p.m.

This display is a full-size boxcar, built over the winter just for this purpose. It is lettered for the Turner Centre Dairying Association, which operated a creamery building in Wiscasset on the south side of Route 1 for many years. The platform where Sprague’s Lobster and other vendors are now located is in the footprint of that building.

The display covers the history of Wiscasset, the Turner Centre Dairy system, and Maine’s railroading history. It will be open all summer long during business hours on the pier.

Saturday, July 7, starts our summer steam program. The museum is open every Saturday and Sunday during the summer, and from now until Labor Day weekend (equipment and crew permitting) we will pull our trains with our little steam engine No. 10.

Locomotive 10 was built 1904 for a Louisiana sugar plantation and hauled sugar cane on the bayous for many years. It was purchased by the WW&F Museum in 1999 and has hauled many happy passengers since then. The locomotive is great favorite of many people.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors or museum members, and $4 for children 4-12. Children 3 and under are free. In addition to regular tickets, we also offer an all day train pass for $20 for adults and $10 for children; and a 10-ride pass, which is $60 for nonmembers and $50 for members. The 10-ride pass is good for 10 train trips with no time limit. It can be used by the same person 10 times, by 10 people on one trip, or any combination thereof.

While visiting, please be sure to view the progress on Locomotive No. 9. This locomotive is undergoing the final stages of a multi-year restoration program. It was built in 1891 for the Sandy River Railroad in Farmington, and was on the WW&F in 1933 before the railroad shut down. It survived by being taken to Connecticut, where it slumbered in storage for many years before being returned to Maine in 1995.

The museum is also looking for volunteers. We are in need of people to help in our gift shop, with marketing, grass cutting, track crews, machining and a variety of other tasks. We are run entirely by volunteers! We’re a friendly bunch who have become good friends over the years. To join our work crews, simply show up on a Saturday.

The WW&F Railway Museum is at 97 Cross Rd. in Alna. Our hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with trains departing Sheepscot Station every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., making a 5-mile round trip in about 35 minutes.

We are 5 miles north of Wiscasset on Rt. 218. Directional signs can be found on Route 1 in Newcastle. For more information, call 882-4193 or email info@wwfry.org.