Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
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7470 at Hazens

THE H. ALBERT WEBB MEMORIAL RAILROAD PRESERVATION AWARD

Mass Bay RRE member Leigh Webb created the H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award in 2003 to recognize his father's love for New England railroading. Mass Bay RRE acts as Mr. Webb's agent in soliciting applications for the award, reviewing the complete applications, and administering the grants as they are used. Nonprofit, tax-exempt [IRC 501(c)(3)] organizations that preserve historically significant railroad equipment, structures or information from New England railroads are eligible to apply. The successful applicant receives a single $10,000 grant.

Line Car 3283

The Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts is the recipient of this year’s $10,000 H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award. The grant will enable the Museum to purchase timber and materials needed for their extensive restoration of MBTA Line Car 3283 (Howes Bros., 1949) (Right).

MBTA Line Car 3283 was used in the second half of the last century to work on the overhead trolley wires in the Boston area. It was built by a house manufacturing company and is one of the last wooden trolleys ever built. A Line Car is a rarely-preserved piece of trolley work equipment. 3283 was used to build, maintain and repair overhead trolley wires on the MBTA from 1950 to 2005. Since the car worked mostly at night, it was a behind-the-scenes participant in the MBTA's efforts to move millions of passengers. By restoring, preserving, using and displaying this car, SFTM can tell a seldom-told tale of a transit work horse.

Completed projects funded (entirely or in part) by H. Albert Webb Award grants include:

  • Repair and restoration of the four sets of doors on the Bartlett Roundhouse in Bartlett, NH by the Bartlett Roundhouse Preservation Society. This was the last remaining building constructed for and by the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad.
  • Exterior restoration of Maine Central Railroad Russell Snowplow #82 by the Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust of Ellsworth, Maine.
  • Construction of a deck and and ramp connecting the freight house section of the Greenville Junction Depot in Greenville, Maine, to the recently-acquired Bodfish Section House and providing full ADA access to the Depot.
  • Completion of the "Mountain Extension" of the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum of Alna, Maine, to the new Trout Brook Preserve station at Route 218. The H. Albert Webb Award enabled the WW&F to purchase track materials and services needed to complete the project. The Mountain Extension opened for revenue service on August 6, 2022.
  • Correction of deficiencies in the air brake system of Boston & Maine F7-A #4268 by the 470 Railroad Club of Portland, Maine. This was the final major step in restoring the vintage cab unit to operating condition. The restored locomotive made itsdebut on the Conway Scenic Railroad in April, 2022.
  • Construction of a three-stall car storage building, including the purchase of needed track materials by the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad of Phillips, Maine
  • Installation of a lavatory & generator to complete the restoration of Delaware & Hudson RR Combine #102 by the Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust, Inc. of Ellsworth, Maine.
  • Boiler repairs needed as part of the restoration to operating condition of ex-Bridgton & Saco River steam locomotive 7 (Baldwin, 1913) by the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum in Portland, ME.
  • Completion of interior and exterior restoration of the historic Newfane Railroad Station in Newfane, Vermont, by the Historical Society of Windham County, Vermont, Inc.
  • Replacement of the ties and timbers on the deck of the Danbury Railway Museum's 1917-vintage New Haven Railroad turntable in Danbury, Connecticut.
  • Repair and restoration of the exterior siding, trim, slate roofing and windows on the 1867 Shelburne Falls Freight House in Shelburne Falls, MA by the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum, Inc.
  • Rehabilitation of four traction motors in Union Street Railway RPO Car 302 by the Branford Electric Railway Association, Inc., of East Haven, Connecticut, better known as the Shore Line Trolley Museum
  • Stabilization of the foundation of the historic Brooks Station, located on the route of the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railway, by the Brooks Preservation Society of Brooks, Maine.
  • Expanding the equipment storage and repair building at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Alna, ME.
  • Scanning and preserving, in digital form, 5000 historic New England railroad images from the Walker Transportation Collection at the Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, MA.
  • Restoring Atlantic Shore Line electric locomotive 100 to operating condition at the Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, ME.
  • Restoring the interior of Pullman bedroom-lounge car Pine Tree State, the last sleeping car built for the New Haven Railroad, now at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, N.C.
  • Reconstructing a quarter-mile of track along the grade of the first U.S. two-foot-gauge common-carrier railroad, by the Friends of Bedford Depot Park, Bedford, MA.

The application period for the 2027 H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award is NOW OPEN. 

See the Preservation Page for details on how to apply.