Things have been relatively quiet for being a month before the proposed takeover. Any word on schedules or where train starts will be based out of in Aroostook? How about any new motive power for EMRY? What will MMA do with its "excess" motive power? The takeover must free up at least 5 or 6 diesels from working the lines.
Good to start a separate thread on this. We were discussing this in the "Woodland Spur" thread below, but I'll repost it here in hopes that this will become the central thread as the takeover date approaches.
Right now, nothing concrete seems to be known. At least two sources have suggested a startup date around July 1st, and that is pretty much it. One would think they would keep a crew start location at Squa Pan, ME to serve the Presque Isle branch cluster. There is a yard and office there, so I would think it's a safe bet that will remain as a base for locals up north. South crew base would probably be Brownville Junction, and possibly a northern base at Madawaska, but it just doesn't seem to me like much will move north of Lumber Alley just south of Portage, ME unless an interchange with CN via MMA is worked out. With the whole Twin Rivers shipping dispute ongoing, and them trucking product to CN across the border, the north end just doesn't seem to be a source of much traffic, unless EMRY can bring something in from the south. That would still require the dispute with MMA to be solved, as they would be the railroad actually delivering cars to the mill.
Inputs and addtions are welcome.