OAKFIELD, Maine – “Want your ticket punched for Dyer Brook Station?” asks Richard Burton, a volunteer with the Oakfield Railroad Museum as riders hold up their souvenir tickets for an extra punch.
Hundreds of tickets were punched May 24 when a sell-out crowd of 400 had the chance to ride the rails as part of a special excursion to benefit the Oakfield museum. Thanks to passenger cars supplied by the Maine Northern Railway, the museum was able to offer two rides — a morning trip that took passengers an hour north of Oakfield’s station and an afternoon trip that chugged an hour south.
Before Saturday’s afternoon ride, parking was tight on Station Street in Oakfield and the museum’s platform was crowded with people long before the ride started, all waiting for their turn to step back in time transported by three bright green passenger cars emblazoned with NB Southern.
“This is something we’ve been working on [doing] for a while,” explained Art Collier, vice president of the railroad museum. “We tried to do it last fall, but that didn’t work out. We’ve been working on it for well over a year.”
A year’s worth of coordinating took less than two weeks to sell out.
“Within 10 days we were sold out,” said Collier. “We were just besieged with people contacting us wanting to know about the ride.”
The event attracted riders of all ages, and museum volunteers were out in full force to help with the special day. Kim Holmes of Maine Northern Railway helped coordinate the other critical part — the three passenger cars. Other crew members for the day included Matt Burpee, patrolman; Clay Lawlor, mechanic; Brandon Dow, conductor and Marvin Collier, engineer.
Passenger cars haven’t been a regular occurrence on these tracks since the early 1960s and, since then, the rail carriers have seen their share of ups and downs. Today, the state of Maine owns the tracks, which are typically used to haul wood and wood products.
“When the Maine, Montreal & Atlantic announced that they were abandoning these lines in 2010, they were moving about 100 loaded rail cars a week,” explained Holmes, who gave attendees some stats before the start of the ride. “But by the end of 2014, we’re expecting to be up to 400 a week.”
She said that since the state purchased the rail lines, some pretty massive improvements have happened; they include placing over 7,000 new railroad ties and 81,455 tons of new rock.
Holmes said the passenger cars supplied for Saturday’s event typically spend the summer hauling tourists near St. John, N.B., but that they also support non-profit groups in The County with similar trips.
All proceeds from this trip benefited the museum and Collier said they’re planning to use some of the cash to refurbish a large detailed replica of their station.
“Maine Northern Railway has been fantastic to work with on this event,” he added.
While the train chugged past trees and swamps, old potato houses and towns, the ride seemed like the perfect chance for plenty of window gazing and a little reflection on just how much everything changes with time.
Collier was no exception.
“I had a very close friend who was also very involved in this museum – Linnwood Hersey,” explains Collier. “When he passed away he really left a void. He certainly would have enjoyed this.”
The Oakfield Railroad Museum, operated by the Oakfield Historical Society, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. now through Labor Day. For more information, visit them at www.oakfieldmuseum.org, like them on Facebook or call them at 267-5882.
