The Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division

The mill at Berlin was metioned in here and recently it was announced that the plan for that mill has fallen apart.

More on the Berlin deal here http://www.forestbusinessnetwork.com/48 ... ass-plant/

As of July 15, 2011, tracklaying continues and is approaching the Rousseau Road private crossing in Windham, Maine. The large washout fixed some 2+/- years ago seems to be in good shape. Recent press says that they will stop before the Mallison Falls bridge, contrary to their initial goal of approaching Route 202 in Windham, Maine. With grant and bond money unavailable, might be a good idea to stop at the Correction Center and use the short line to shutlle inmates to and from the Portland court. Might save some 45 - 60 trips per day by state employees in new state vehicles. Might even save some money. Instead of the being know by the locals as "Dollar 'Bill's" Railroad to NowWhere," they could call it "Con-Road!"

In the original bid, the project was supposed to skip the bridge. This was due to the bridge needing to be rebuilt and was going to be part of a separate bid. I'll see if I can find the link.

Mike

http://www.maine.gov/mdot/contractors/p ... 860.01.pdf

Beginning on page 31 explains what is being done.

Mike

OneManGang wrote:Recent press says that they will stop before the Mallison Falls bridge, contrary to their initial goal of approaching Route 202 in Windham, Maine. With grant and bond money unavailable, might be a good idea to stop at the Correction Center and use the short line to shutlle inmates to and from the Portland court. Might save some 45 - 60 trips per day by state employees in new state vehicles. Might even save some money. Instead of the being know by the locals as "Dollar 'Bill's" Railroad to NowWhere," they could call it "Con-Road!"

Classic!
Maybe a rebuilt RDC-1 for that duty? I bet the "cons" would enjoy it, too.

Watchman318 wrote:

OneManGang wrote:Recent press says that they will stop before the Mallison Falls bridge, contrary to their initial goal of approaching Route 202 in Windham, Maine. With grant and bond money unavailable, might be a good idea to stop at the Correction Center and use the short line to shutlle inmates to and from the Portland court. Might save some 45 - 60 trips per day by state employees in new state vehicles. Might even save some money. Instead of the being know by the locals as "Dollar 'Bill's" Railroad to NowWhere," they could call it "Con-Road!"

Classic!
Maybe a rebuilt RDC-1 for that duty? I bet the "cons" would enjoy it, too.

And the 'rats' can wear doodlebugs.

"...Well, to be "a devil's advocate", what would make "them" (online business) come? Any ideas folks?"

It's a good question. I'd start by splitting typical rail users into three categories: (1) those make make stuff, (2) those that consume stuff, and (3) those that distribute stuff. From there, you can ask (to each of those categories), why would those guys choose to locate off the beaten track (no pun intended) in western Maine in the first place. In the case of FE Wood, they have existing land, supposed demand for their product, local and distant, and they are close to their needed raw material. The hypothetical gravel shippers? Well, that's where the gravel is. So what other businesses would find locating in this area a competitive advantage?

Now, once established in the corridor, the question turns to what would prompt them to ship by rail. Again, you can split that into: (A) Volume makes it impractical to ship by truck, (B) economic savings by rail, (C) better service by rail than truck, or (D) product dimensions are such that it cannot move by truck.

There aren't any coal or iron ore deposits on the Mountain, so (A) isn't a factor.

Surrounding areas, e.g., Portland, Lewiston can provide better and cheaper rail service, which would hurt the attractiveness primarily to user categories (2) and (3) to site on the Mountain, particularly if transportation costs were a big part of their operating costs. For those potential users in category (1), I've asked repeatedly of the pro-Mountaineers how/why rail would be cheaper than truck. I've never received a response - I'll leave to them to make that case.

Most would agree that (C) isn't likely to happen.

Transformer/Wind component manufacturers aren't likely to locate here, so (D) is not a factor.

Watchman318 wrote:

OneManGang wrote:Recent press says that they will stop before the Mallison Falls bridge, contrary to their initial goal of approaching Route 202 in Windham, Maine. With grant and bond money unavailable, might be a good idea to stop at the Correction Center and use the short line to shutlle inmates to and from the Portland court. Might save some 45 - 60 trips per day by state employees in new state vehicles. Might even save some money. Instead of the being know by the locals as "Dollar 'Bill's" Railroad to NowWhere," they could call it "Con-Road!"

Classic!
Maybe a rebuilt RDC-1 for that duty? I bet the "cons" would enjoy it, too.

Nah, they would have to "chain gang" it with a string of hand cars!

So is the track construction done???

I heard there were 100 ties left to lay.

Cowford wrote:So is the track construction done???

This has got to be one of the most underreported developments in rail in Maine (at least for these forums). Few if any photos and virtually no project updates. Yet, as the theory goes this work is going to allow for reactivation of an entire branchline (formerly a main line) which heretofore had been written off as "lost and gone forever" or at least a highly unlikely candidate for service restoration.

The following two videos show up in the search string Cosmo reported.

dcarpine28

DowneastRails

Really amazing to see brand new track on that line. I had forgotten they were relaying track not just rehabilitating it. Surprising to see brand new track with all new ties in Maine.

This isn't exactly a hotspot for activity. It is literally in the middle of the woods and away from anything else that would be interesting. In this economy it is hardly worth the trip to see a new rail line that goes nowhere and does nothing.