Maine Eastern Railroad (MERR) Discussion

Nothing on-line at the Lincoln County News as of now (22:38). The PenBay Pilot says it was mostly confined to the bathroom floor and an adjoining wall.
<http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/heat ... boro/47659>
Whew!

Was that building now known as the "Waldoboro Car House" the former station?

Is this the building they're referring to?

Yup, that's 143 Depot St. The bathroom is in the right front corner, looking from the street. The only "railroad structure" on the north side of the track is a storage container.

Glad it was just the bathroom. Thanks for finding the article

So what is the freight schedule on the railroad? Do they run on Saturdays in June?

Mikejf wrote:Glad it was just the bathroom. Thanks for finding the article

I'm glad it wasn't any worse than it was, too. Thanks for the heads-up on it.

oat324 wrote:So what is the freight schedule on the railroad? Do they run on Saturdays in June?

There's no real schedule, as far as I know; seems to be about once a week, "as needed." Dragon Cement has been on their winter shutdown (I think the barges get dry-docked for maintenance), so there didn't seem to be as much activity as usual.
I know 3573 and 764 were out and about yesterday, probably together, but don't know what they might have had for cars. I think the last time I saw any cars moving was 01/07, when empty cement cars went back eastward.
You might see some freight activity on a Saturday in June, but finding out which Saturday could be a challenge.

Thanks for the information.

I was able to have a look at the "car house" building yesterday afternoon. There are no signs of damage on the exterior, and doesn't appear to be even a smoke smudge on the inside walls, at least not anything I could see. There is a bit of an odor of wood smoke, though, from just outside the front door.
Another of those hazards and complications from a Maine winter.

The Rockland Branch is going to need a good whack from a snowplow in some places, and probably some diggin' of switches, derails, etc.

From the Portland Press Herald:

Portland Press Herald wrote:The Dicalite plant in Thomaston, for example, hasn’t had deliveries of perlite, a glassy volcanic rock it uses to manufacture industrial filter aids, since the Jan. 27 blizzard. The company has been using trucks to ship the mineral, which is mined in New Mexico.

Harmony Llanto, general manager of the Maine Eastern Railroad, which runs freight to the plant on a 56-mile line between Brunswick and Rockland, said the tracks are clear but there’s too much snow on sidetracks at the interchange in Brunswick, where rail cars are passed back and forth between trains operated by Pan Am Railways.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/02/28/f ... el-trains/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pan Am service at its finest.

Both 764 and 3573 were "dashing through the snow" yesterday morning, but I don't know much beyond that. Sunday afternoon (sometime after 16:45), 3573 went through Waldoboro, headed back to Rockland I think. (It's hard to tell from the photos I was sent; mostly just zebra stripes and flying snow.) The M420 rolled through there around the same time on 02/19. At least they can navigate the line, even if there's not much going on for interchange.

When was the decision to be made about who would be the operator of the Rockland Branch? Somebody told me "late February," but I haven't seen or heard anything new.

Current contract expires 12/31/15. Expect to see or hear something prior to that.

^^^Got that from another source right after I posted the question, but thanks for the update. I've heard one intriguing mention of a company that is supposedly interested in operating the line, but it's only a "rumour" at this point.

Westbound plow train headed out this morning (Sunday, around 08:00), with 764 leading.

SOOOOOOOOO,
Spring is in the air. Is there anything comming out of the paint shop per chance? Like maybe a M420 in new paint????

I've wondered if MERR is going to wait and see if they're awarded another contract before they repaint that loco. Wouldn't make much sense to spend all that money if they end up losing the contract.