Rockland Branch Discussion

Bailey Point is none other than the former Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. Don't go down there, you will be shot (but really)

Oh wow, yeah that makes sense. I guess I totally missed the fuel casks. I remember seeing the low level waste come out in the white topped gons out of there for years - like the ones coming off the Bucksport branch now.

Assuming that there are still spent fuel rods on the property, then yes, they have no-nonsense 24 hour security stationed at the storage cask area locked and loaded that basically have orders to shoot first and ask questions later if you get too close. This is standard procedure at all US Nuke plants and there is always plenty of signage warning trespassers to stay well clear of the area. Definitely something to take seriously.

Yes, the worst stuff is still there and guarded by folks with long guns.

Seems like Finger Lakes also has experience operating transload facilities. It really wouldn't be hard to develop a transload / team track at the Rockland yard. Seems like Feed / fertilizer / scrap could be viable.

I usually post in the N.Y. area railroads. How will FGLK power get from Geneva NY to the rockland branch?

On paper, the fastest route would appear to be Geneva to Solvay, interchange with CSX, CSX to Selkirk, Selkirk to Worcester, interchange with PAR, PAR to Ayer, Ayer to South Portland, South Portland to Brunswick, interchange with the Rockland Branch.

However, Selkirk is like the Bermuda Triangle of foreign locomotives. It's not uncommon for non-CSX locomotives to languish there for days or weeks or get misrouted to God knows where... so one way to avoid that would be Geneva to Solvay, interchange with CSX, CSX to Rotterdam Junction, interchange with PAS, PAS to East Deerfield, East Deerfield to Ayer, interchange with PAR, Ayer to South Portland, South Portland to Brunswick, interchange with the Rockland Branch.

While it makes zero sense to me, someone over on the Pan Am board said there will be no outbound cement by rail, only inbound cement from Canada to Dragon. Again, I have no idea why they would ship cement to a cement plant in the middle of nowhere.

By the sounds they confused the new business that CP just gained, which entails shipping cement to Canada from Dragon.

Any idea how that traffic is routed?

Perlite and cement routings have been CP-ST-CP as of late (perlite I believe comes off BNSF)

Two B23-7s are coming from FGLK, the 2308 and 2310. Both have FGLK lettering and logos removed already, will sport “new” Midcoast Railservice lettering in NYC scheme

I hope the Rockland NIMBYs enjoyed/appreciated CP's smoke-free, clean-running GP20C-ECO while they had it, 'cause it's about to get smoky AF up in there

Sooooo did CMQ ever recruit the additional customers they said they would in their proposal to MaineDOT, which apparently tipped the scales in CMQ's favor and resulted in Maine Eastern losing the contract?

Looking back at old posts in this thread, it sort of appears that Maine Eastern was penalized for being too honest / too realistic when they wrote in their application [paraphrased] that Dragon is the only customer on the branch that keeps the operation of the branch profitable, and that it wouldn't be possible to continue unsubsidized freight service on the branch if Dragon shut down or stopped using rail.

I'm also curious to know if CMQ was able to double the branch's freight revenue like they said they would, and if so, how exactly did they do that.

Considering MaineDOT asked CMQ to participate let’s be honest, it would never have gone back to MERR

Thanks for the response regarding the 2 FGLK B23-7s seems like a long route to take.