Maine Eastern Railroad (MERR) Discussion

Yaaaa You have a point. But a couple things though. Im hoping they keep the contract and two, how about changing that avatar to the REAL MEC 407!! I can send ya tons of photos if you need em....hehehehehe

Watchman318 wrote:Westbound plow train headed out this morning (Sunday, around 08:00), with 764 leading.

That's good to hear. I was in West Barth over the weekend any nothing was plowed. All snowed in.

BM6569 wrote:I was in West Barth over the weekend any nothing was plowed. All snowed in.

Sunday they ran engine-leading westward, and then pushed the plow back to Rockland.
They also ran a freight Monday. I had heard something about four loads and eight empties coming east, but it could have been the reverse of that.

Due to electric power cost (industrial rate), the mill at Dragon Cement still isn't running more than what they need to fill trucks, so there's not as much going on as in other times of the year.

if anything there ex bar 100 will be painted and they will get it running along with the gp9u they have laying around on their property.

bml54 wrote:if anything there ex bar 100 will be painted and they will get it running along with the gp9u they have laying around on their property.

If you mean RRPX 764, I think that's the first time I've seen it called a GP9u. I thought it might be a GP10 because it looks to have a "horse collar," but maybe GP10 is specific to certain "Paducah-built" units.
And it doesn't "lay around," it keeps busy in both freight and passenger service. Its most recent activity that I'm aware of was round trips with freight (sometimes light-engine in one direction) Rockland-Brunswick Friday (03/20) and Saturday (03/21).

Pan Am came up to Brunswick today with 4 perlite loads and 6 empty dragon cars.

^^^ Good; things are looking up. Dragon Cement recently called back employees who were laid off for almost two months.
I'm not sure what was going on with the cement barges during the winter. I think the shuttle to the Rockland waterfront usually was inactive while the barges underwent maintenance.

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/03/23/b ... th-bridge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I interpret the Carlton Bridge story as the initial public rumblings by MDOT towards making the case for funding repairs and/or replacement. While the engineering issues are obviously quite serious I think its going to take some time to line up funding for whatever needs to be done.

^^^ Agreed.

"Still, Taylor said, one steel beam on the bridge did lose steel and must be addressed soon."
"...options such as removing the top deck of the bridge that used to carry automobiles in order to ease stress on the steel or painting the bridge to stop corrosion." I have to wonder if the beam mentioned in the first quotation was in one of the bays (sections) that were painted in 2007-08. (Hard to believe that was 7-8 years ago now.) I recall hearing that the multilayer epoxy coating put on it then was supposed to last about 25 years.

That kind of error (?) is always possible but seems doubtful to me.

I think the broader point is that MDOT is saying they think there should be a long discussion about what to do with the bridge. The only imaginable outcome at present is extensive repairs. However, a point of low use such as this would of course be a good period for total replacement with an eye towards greater use in the future. I think MDOT has unintentionally (?) opened a discussion about the future of the Rockland Branch as a whole.

This, more than anything else, is what I hate about our bridge philosophy in Maine. We let these bridges get to the point where they're literally in danger of imminent catastrophic failure, and then we're forced to undertake expensive emergency repairs or fast-tracked replacement, at a much higher cost (usually double or triple) than if repairs or replacement had been planned in advance. Examples? Sure, happy to give a few:

Waldo-Hancock Bridge
Veterans Memorial Bridge
World War Memorial Bridge
Sarah Mildred Long Bridge

It really, really pisses me off.

Mark my words: 10-15 years from now, something will happen with the Piscataqua River Bridge and we'll be told by the two DOTs that it's "no longer economically feasible to repair" and that the only option to prevent loss of life and property is fast-tracked emergency replacement. While that's being figured out, there will be weight restrictions on it and heavier loads will be diverted to the other two bridges. Enjoy that downtown economic activity you so desperately wanted, Kittery!

/rant

you mean if you throw [tax] money at this problem it will be fixed?

Bridges are not inexpensive to own and maintain. You can pay now or you can pay later. Putting maintenance off 'til later always ends up costing much, much more, as was the case with the four examples I cited above.

The alternative, I guess, would be to go back to car ferries...?

Maine Eastern heading through West Bath towards Brunswick with 3 empty perlite cars at 10:00 am.