Portland Waterfront Rail Ops (Yard 8, Intermodal, etc)

They did pass that rate on to the customer but it was just too high in the end. That branch was signaled? Weird...

Only signals on that branch are at Yarmouth Jct.

I should have specified crossing protection, sorry. Some of that south of Danville Junction has already been scavenged.

The beans that were baked in Portland say "Brick Oven Baked" in little gold letters around the B&M logo on the can; the ones from the Midwest say "A New England Favorite" or something like that.

I recall reading somewhere the monthly bean delivery was worth $100K a year...seems a lot to throw away.

The other thing is, if the plant were still served by rail would it still be getting razed for rich people's condos?

When a company has excess capacity at a midwestern facility, and a waterfront facility on the east coast during a time when real estate is selling for the highest prices in history, it's pretty easy to predict what the company will do in that situation.

I very much doubt it had anything to do with rail access or lack thereof.

well i'm sure it all makes a lot of cents to everyone involved, but obviously when it comes down to money these days absolutely nothing is sacred . Psychologically B&M beans made in iowa just isn't going to taste the same anymore. In the meantime, i'll put all my "original" New England B&M cans of beans stashed in the larder on ebay.

The B&M factory dated to around WWI. The beans were baked in iron kettles lowered into brick ovens in the floor. The unique small-batch process is credited with giving the beans a signature flavor, something that will be lost in a modern facility.

eustis22 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:38 am I recall reading somewhere the monthly bean delivery was worth $100K a year...seems a lot to throw away.

The other thing is, if the plant were still served by rail would it still be getting razed for rich people's condos?

It's not. The outbuildings may be razed (and apparently the one over the water is a disaster waiting to happen), but the main building (the one with the B&M sign and the Christmas lights) is going to be saved and repurposed. The entire site, including that building, is going to become the permanent campus of the Roux Institute, a tech-oriented graduate school that's part of Northeastern U.

Mark is correct.

Personal opinion / speculation: the onsite rail connection might have been a factor in Northeastern University choosing that site. Probably a small factor, but a factor nonetheless. When you're planning something that's going to be there for the next 100+ years, in a world that is changing very rapidly, things like rail are worth considering, even if they seem highly improbable at the present time.

From the Portland Press Herald:

Portland Press Herald wrote:State and local officials plan a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the Maine International Cold Storage Facility, a 107,000-square-foot building sited on Commercial Street next to Maine’s sole shipping container terminal. The warehouse has been touted as critical to expanding freight through Portland and giving Maine food and beverage companies a competitive edge and access to markets.
. . .
Plans for the warehouse were approved by the Portland Planning Board nearly two years ago. The building price has grown from $30 million to $55 million. Construction is expected to finish early in 2024.
. . .
Refrigerated storage next to the International Marine Terminal container port will likely draw new customers, including clients of Eimskip, the Icelandic shipping company that specializes in transporting cold and frozen freight, O’Shaughnessy said.
. . .
More investment is planned in coming years to accommodate more containers, allow larger ships and lure shipping companies to port, said Burns, the port authority director.

Read more at: https://www.pressherald.com/2022/08/19/ ... nd-monday/

Is this facility going to be rail served?

BobbyT wrote: ↑Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:42 am Is this facility going to be rail served?

Doesn't look like it will be served directly but the IM facility is right in front of it so I guess they could dray refrigerated containers over there.

Seems pretty short sighted with active rail only a few yards away.

Probably will never happen but presented here for your entertainment:

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/new ... 1781501H5T