Have you ever taken a ride on Midcoast Maine’s very own authentic “Two-footer”? It's time to get on board for a trip on the heritage railway at 97 Cross Road in Alna. Whether you’ve never visited before, haven’t visited in years, or are a regular rider, you’ll find that lots of interesting adventures await this year on the railway of ‘Big Dreams and Little Wheels.’

Train runs rain or shine – it’s a perfect outing both in fair weather or when the beach just doesn’t seem to be a good choice. The WW&F’s ‘Sheepscot Valley Steam Train’ departs multiple times each Saturday and select Sundays through September. This 90-minute round-trip excursion traverses the entire length of the restored railway from Sheepscot Station to Trout Brook Station. Along the way you’ll pass through pine and spruce forest, farmland and tiny hamlets. At Trout Brook there will be a short layover to see the locomotive turn on the turntable (a visitor favorite) before climbing back up ‘the Mountain,’ the steepest mainline railroad grade in Maine back towards Sheepscot. It’s a perfect day out for the young or the young at heart and is fully accessible.

If you’re looking for a little more than just a train ride, you’ll find that the WW&F and our local partners have a summer full of great activities for you to enjoy along. On Sunday, June 8, we have a concert at our pavilion featuring Bold Riley along with food by Reggae Eats. Father’s Day weekend, on Saturday, June 14, we have a Pig Roast catered by the Pig Kahuna featuring a wonderful roast pork BBQ with all of the fixings and an extended train excursion to Trout Brook after enjoying your lunch. We’ll be operating Saturday, June 21 and Sunday June 22 during our ‘Road to Togus Remembered’ Civil War Reenactment Weekend. Interact with reenactors at their encampment at Alna Center, ride as a hobo aboard the ‘Hobo Experience’ or participate in a special staged photographers event, or have a tintype photograph taken of you and your family. In any case, there are lots of exciting options to participate in this immersive Civil War experience.

Regardless of which adventure you take, you’ll ride aboard our antique wooden railway cars, with options to sit in historic enclosed or open cars pulled by our vintage steam locomotive built right in Portland over 130 years ago. You’ll also have the opportunity to explore our living museum at Sheepscot where cars and locomotives from many of Maine’s Two-Footers can be explored and viewed- along with our workshops where you’ll have the chance to see a new steam locomotive and cars under construction and many others under restoration.

Advance tickets for all of the WW&F’s events and trains are highly recommended and available at wwfry.org