THE H. ALBERT WEBB MEMORIAL RAILROAD PRESERVATION AWARD

Mass Bay RRE member Leigh Webb created the H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award in 2001 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.

The Bartlett Roundhouse Preservation Society of Bartlett, New Hampshire will receive this year's $10,000 H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award. The grant will enable the Society to repair or replace two of the four sets of doors on the roundhouse.
Right: The Bartlett Roundhouse in 2024. (Photo: Bartlett Roundhouse Preservation Society)

This is the last remaining building constructed for and by the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad. The roundhouse was built in 1887–88 as a service point for extra steam locomotives needed to power trains up the steep grades of Crawford Notch. The Portland and Ogdensburg was acquired by lease in 1888 by the Maine Central Railroad. The facility was used by the Maine Central until it was taken out of service after regular passenger service was ended on the line in 1958. Two bays were lengthened in 1913 to accommodate larger engines, and two other bays were demolished about 1950, as usage of the facility declined. It was then sold to the state, which used it as a sand and storage shed until the 1980s.

Completed projects since 2001 funded (entirely or in part) by H. Albert Webb Award grants include:

• 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 2026 H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award will open in September of 2025.
For details on how to apply, please see the Preservation Page.