Rockland Branch Discussion

MERailFanJay wrote:The only businesses I can think of in the Rockland area are a scrap metal dealer, and Fabian Oil, which just installed some sizable tanks a year or 2 ago, both located just down the tracks from DiCaperol. But I doubt either would be big enough to warrant any rail use. Especially since they would require new siding or even a spur to be constructed.

If Thomaston Recycling or another customer wanted a siding, one might be installed under the Maine DOT IRAP (Industrial Rail Access Program.) That was how the siding just east of the New County Rd. crossing in Rockland (just east of the yard) was put in a few years ago. (The satellite imagery in that area is crap before 2012, but I'm guessing the siding was built/rebuilt post-2007.) I think there was even a new loading dock built for the adjacent building, but unfortunately, the business that was supposed to occupy the building served by the siding never came to fruition. It's now being used for boat storage.

The propane dealer in Waldoboro looks as though they have buried their siding and it is fenced off. Might be able to reuse it, but again, the place may not be big enough to warrant rail use.

I'm not sure what company was in there before the present Amerigas, but any tank car unloading equipment has been gone for a long time. The switch into the property was taken up when the branch was rehabbed in the early 2000's. At the same time, the siding on the north side of the mainline ("Allen's Siding") was truncated to a point east of the US Rt. 1 overpass. That siding's west end used to be near where the switch into the propane dealer was. Amerigas rebuilt and expanded their fence not long ago, and now most of the former spur (including the bumper ["bunter"]) is inside the fenceline. That they didn't include a gate on the track side of the property might say something about the likelihood of future rail deliveries.
I think until the rebuilding of the Rockland Branch, hazardous materials weren't allowed on it, so that probably didn't help retain the LPG business.

Video by Dan Comick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCSrwMK3_eI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting two hoppers on the end. Almost looked like it might be coal for Dragon Cement.

Coal. Now that's become a dirty word, hasn't it?

In many ways yes. I'm still confused by those last two hoppers, their origins and their cargoes. It almost looked as if they are from coal mines out west but I really have no idea at all. Perhaps Dragon uses some kind of specialty grade of coal?

gokeefe wrote:In many ways yes. I'm still confused by those last two hoppers, their origins and their cargoes. It almost looked as if they are from coal mines out west but I really have no idea at all. Perhaps Dragon uses some kind of specialty grade of coal?

The last two cars are for Dragon Cement Co. and they contain perlite, an additive to cement products. Coal would only be transported in open hoppers.
This site explains perlite http://www.perlite.co.nz/perlite/concrete/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oh for Pete's sake, really? They've been hauling the same three commodities on this branch in the same cars for the same three customers for decades. Flat cars carrying steel plate go to BIW at Hardings; small-cube covered hoppers are cement cars used by Dragon at Thomaston; the larger-cube covered hoppers (often with western US road marks) carry perlite (I believe from Socorro, NM) for Dicaperl in Thomaston, which goes into perlite-based filter aid material.

I thought the covered hopper cars were the perlite for Chemrock/Dicaperl and that the cement was being shipped outbound in Dragon's own tanker/cement cars.

gokeefe wrote:I thought the covered hopper cars were the perlite for Chemrock/Dicaperl and that the cement was being shipped outbound in Dragon's own tanker/cement cars.

The ones labeled Dragon have been used for the cement shuttle between Thomaston and the barge in Rockland, I haven't seen any go on the westbounds to Brunswick. Keep in mind that these cars are getting rather close to the end of their usable service life, so Dragon is probably going to start phasing them out for newer cars in the near future.

Dragon no longer burns coal. They've switched to Petcoke.

doublestack wrote:

gokeefe wrote:In many ways yes. I'm still confused by those last two hoppers, their origins and their cargoes. It almost looked as if they are from coal mines out west but I really have no idea at all. Perhaps Dragon uses some kind of specialty grade of coal?

The last two cars are for Dragon Cement Co. and they contain perlite, an additive to cement products. Coal would only be transported in open hoppers.
This site explains perlite http://www.perlite.co.nz/perlite/concrete/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I believe all Perlite goes to Dicaperl, which is then distributed to Dragon and FMC BioPolymer.

MERailFanJay wrote:I believe all Perlite goes to Dicaperl, which is then distributed to Dragon and FMC BioPolymer.

Correct; Dragon receives nothing by rail anymore. The petcoke is trucked in from Searsport. There may have been some shipped in by rail for a short while right after the kiln was changed over, but I think having to cut wet/frozen fuel out of the cars with an air lance was deemed counter-productive. As far as I know, they don't mix perlite in their cement.
Dragon did at one time receive gons of "mill scale," mostly scrap metal, which was used as flux in the kiln. I think that traffic went away when the coal loads did.
Over the years, Chemrock/Dicaperl's perlite has come in covered hoppers with various reporting marks, most recently ATSF/BN/BNSF. Ten-plus years ago, there were some cylindrical LOs, mostly SLC (San Luis Central) reporting marks.
The NAHX cars and the larger DPCX "Flexi-Flo" (nee NYC, ex-PC/CR/MDTX) cars used to go up to Dragon's facility in Windsor, QC; I'm not sure if they still do. The GATX "whalebelly" cars usually are on the shuttle to the Rockland waterfront, but I've seen them going to/from Brunswick, too. Much of the westbound traffic is for Tresca Bros. in Millis, MA.
Dragon has just come back online from winter shutdown.

If Dan Comick stops by here: Re the video, the Rt. 215/Mills Rd. crossing is in Newcastle. The Rockland Branch doesn't go through Damariscotta, but that grade crossing is sort of a boundary of Damariscotta Mills. "The Mills" is just kind of a neighborhood in Nobleboro and Newcastle.

Rockland yard if full. Something I've never seen before. They've taken 2 hoppers down to the siding by the former train station. Dragon has restarted operations so some of these should be heading out soon. I believe the rest are all empty Perlite hoppers from Decaperl.

No photos since I only had my potato quality cell phone and its raining.

Interesting. I wonder if CMQ is pacing the runs to and from Brunswick differently.

MERailFanJay wrote:Rockland yard if full. Something I've never seen before. They've taken 2 hoppers down to the siding by the former train station. Dragon has restarted operations so some of these should be heading out soon. I believe the rest are all empty Perlite hoppers from Decaperl.

No photos since I only had my potato quality cell phone and its raining.

Thank you Jay. On the Pan Am forum, Atholrail reported 37 CEFX cement cars on EDPO last week. Since that seems like a pretty unusual move, I wonder if 'new' cars are coming to Rockland to phase out the nearly 50 year old cars. I also heard rumors of increased cement traffic at some point this spring...