Lewiston Industrial Track/Lewiston Lower Rd/Branch status

drcrf93 wrote:I saw GDJX 106 coming in to Rigby back on 4/3/14 on SEPO. It was empty. Could be a good sign for a future trip to Grimmel's -however there has also been a GDJX hopper on one of the storage tracks behind the Rigby office for quite a while too so 106 could just be stored as well - I'm not sure.

Hard to imagine they would be moving a car if they didn't need it. The primary backup has been the situation with the EPA and the scrap pile in Portsmouth. However, Grimmel's does have facilities in other states. Surprising to here that they have a car in storage at Rigby. Quite an expensive solution when they could just park it on a siding at one of their properties.

The Town of Lisbon, along with the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, have passed a shared resolve endorsing the public acquisition of the Lewiston Lower Rail line. The nearly 13 mile segment targeted for acquisition would be converted to a trail that links the historic mill district in downtown Lewiston to Lisbon Falls Village along the Androscoggin River.

http://androscogginlandtrust.org/andros ... bon-falls/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re the new ballast, someone told me recently that the MDOT MoW crew (all both of them) had put some fresh stone on the line last year. Their rail-capable backhoe might have served for spreading/leveling it better than the drag-a-tie-behind-something method would.

Re the rail-to-trail item: Argh. There goes any future chance of running trains beyond Grimmel's.

Watchman318 wrote:Re the new ballast, someone told me recently that the MDOT MoW crew (all both of them) had put some fresh stone on the line last year. Their rail-capable backhoe might have served for spreading/leveling it better than the drag-a-tie-behind-something method would.

Re the rail-to-trail item: Argh. There goes any future chance of running trains beyond Grimmel's.

True, but what chance of that was there anyways? I couldn't see any future for passenger rail on that line ever. The Back Road as a through route makes much more sense.

As much as I rather see trains, but on corridors with zero chance of revival I rather see them get some use than left to grow back.

MDOT spread rock on OOS trackage that will now be ripped up to make a rail trail. Brilliant.

Judging the time of year (early spring) they decided to add this stone could answer the question , why now? Perhaps this is a pro-active measurement to avoid further erosion of the roadbed. Note the water on the right. If the rails and ties are pulled sometime soon, the stone will help support the surface from washing away from the spring run-off.

Stone was added last fall. Sat under the snow all winter. I remember seeing this last fall.

Cowford wrote:MDOT spread rock on OOS trackage that will now be ripped up to make a rail trail. Brilliant.

My understanding was the rock was spread below Lisbon and the proposal is to make a rail trail out of the segment still owned by PAR between Lisbon and Lewiston.

gokeefe wrote:

Watchman318 wrote:
Re the rail-to-trail item: Argh. There goes any future chance of running trains beyond Grimmel's.

True, but what chance of that was there anyways? I couldn't see any future for passenger rail on that line ever.

From what I understand, there was never any chance the second the state agreed to only buy the track to Lisbon Falls (and allow Guilford to have trackage rights on it). I've always been baffled as to why the idea of connecting the former Grand Truck Lewiston Branch to the former MEC Lewiston Lower was even discussed after the state's purchase. Guilford maintained ownership of the tracks from Lisbon Falls to Lewiston strategically to avoid that happening. Isn't that why Guilford wouldn't sell the state the tracks between Yarmouth Jct. and Brunswick, which would have been a drastically less costly way of having a railroad on state owned track interchange with SLR?

gokeefe wrote:

Cowford wrote:MDOT spread rock on OOS trackage that will now be ripped up to make a rail trail. Brilliant.

My understanding was the rock was spread below Lisbon and the proposal is to make a rail trail out of the segment still owned by PAR between Lisbon and Lewiston.

MDOT maintains all sorts of OOS trackage (see Lower Road from Brunswick to Augusta), but gokeefe is right, the track that is proposed to be ripped up is owned by Pan Am. I'm curious how much they're getting paid to let their overgrown, decaying property be cleared for this project. Last time I observed portions of the Pan Am owned track, it was clear the company was taking rail joints from it to use on active tracks, and that many homeless people were living in the woods along the line.

I'd argue the ability to run trains on the tracks between Lisbon Falls and Lewiston will actually be closer to doable after the trail is built, because right now there are so many trees and other forms of vegetation all over the ROW, and very little usable track left, that clearing a path would allow new track to be put into place much more easily. It's extremely unlikely to happen, though.

The tracks themselves are in pretty decent shape. I've walked most of the line in Lewiston.

I feel like this line could have some use in the future, not sure for what exactly at this point, but I'd rather not see it get ripped up just yet. There may be some businesses along the line on the Maine owned section that might consider rail like the gas dealer in Lewiston along the tracks.

BM6569 wrote:There may be some businesses along the line on the Maine owned section that might consider rail like the gas dealer in Lewiston along the tracks.

I'm not sure what gas dealer you're referring to, but Pan Am owns the tracks in Lewiston, the state only owns them up to Lisbon Falls.

Cowford wrote:MDOT spread rock on OOS trackage that will now be ripped up to make a rail trail. Brilliant.

Did they know at the time there were ideas about making it into a rail-trail, and is the rail-trail a foregone conclusion? My guess would "no" to both.

Thanks for once again jumping in here to remind all us bumpkin Mainers how any investment in rail in this state is a waste of money.

BM6569 wrote:The tracks themselves are in pretty decent shape. I've walked most of the line in Lewiston.

I wish I could agree, but google street view tells a different story.

The section from the Lisbon St. area east into downtown Lewiston is in bad shape, and completely severed by Lisbon St. But I believe BM6569 is correct that the line west of Lisbon St is in pretty decent shape. Look at "Gould Rd." and points west in street view. Yes, most crossings have been paved over at this point, but thats an easy fix.

Yes there are some points west, where it is growing in, but in general the line isn't completely shot...