PHILLIPS — The Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad will hold it’s annual fall business meeting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. The meeting is open to all railroad members, as well as the general public, as the organization seeks new members and volunteers.
The meeting will be at the Phillips Community House, Main Street.
President Sharon Barber said the board is looking for nominations of new members. Anyone who has held a membership in good standing for two or more years is eligible to be elected to the board. A nomination may be made by a signed declaration from three members, including the signature of the nominee. Details on how to become a member of the SR&RLRR can be found on the railroad’s website at www.srrl-rr.org.
The railroad is also looking for volunteers to help at the museum. “Everything that is accomplished is done by the efforts of volunteers,” said President Sharon Barber. “We would love to welcome new individuals to assist us in the myriad of tasks necessary for this museum to succeed in its mission of educating and entertaining the public while preserving the memory of the SRRL.”
Volunteers are needed for engine and train crews; building maintenance, repair and painting; car restoration and cleaning; track maintenance; landscaping and gardening; machinery repair and maintenance; and special event help.
“Our railroad is short, but still has all the tasks that larger and longer lines do,” Barber said.
Volunteers this summer, who helped with scraping and painting, gift shop assistance, new track laying, masonry repair and more, included Eric Fuller, Dan and Lois Marin, Leza Gough, Rick Barr, Doug Lothrop, John Rick, Melvyn Webber, Al Houghton, Sharon Barber, Glenn Downing, Bud Godsoe, John Stinchfield, Trevor Hartford and others.
Ongoing activities by the railroad include construction of a new car barn. SR&RLRR board member and general contractor or the job,
Melvyn Webber, said the structure should be completed within the next five or six weeks, the railroad reported in its most recent newsletter.
“At this stage,” he said, “we’re putting up the poles and roofing it over, and the sides, if they are eventually added, will probably have to wait until spring, but in a few more weeks we’ll have a usable structure.”
When completed, the car barn’s dimensions will be 45-feet by 120-feet by 14-feet high and will provide roof cover for the three tracks that will branch off from the main line. Each track will be capable of accommodating three to four cars, depending on length of the stock.
The structure will be large enough to house and shelter the railroad’s full collection of cars, whether passenger, freight or caboose.
PHOTO: Construction on the new car shed at the Sandy River & Rangele Lakes Railroad is underway. (Submitted photo)
