There are a bunch of problems with shipping potatos by rail out of Maine. #1 is that the volumes grown just aren't what they used to be. #2 Like the previous poster said where do they go in bulk? Hunt's Point market in the Bronx used to be the big destination and I'm sure it still is, but more truck shipments move around terminal markets and go customer direct these days. #3 They don't ship year round. Based on USDA figures available online, there is a about 4 month period in the summer when almost nothing ships. To be successful in the rail business you need to find other uses for those assets in the slow season. The BAR used to send their reefers to Pacific Fruit Express and Merchants Despatch (and in return lease PFE and MDT cars when things got busy) and send engines to the PRR for use on the ore docks in Cleveland for the summer. The rail perishable market is so small these days you can't find a home for cars in the off season like you used to. #4 service: there is no high speed service out of Northern NE anywhere close to the old "Maine Bullet" coordinated service via BAR-nmjct-MEC-portland-BM-worcester-NH from Oakfield, ME to Oak Point, NY.
Question: Do Potatos really need a refrigerator car? I thought the BAR and NH had a pool of 40' PACCAR insulated boxcars for this service, supplemented with surplus ice reefers only because they were cheap to acquire secondhand. Potatos aren't refrigerated in the store, but they need to be kept at a constant temp and never let to freeze. Am I wrong?
Intermodal is a tough solution as well because it is a one way lane and not very long. Truckers delivering in NY and Philly can at least get a backhaul part of the way to Northern Maine. On the other hand the french fry market is open for discussion, it doesn't have the service needs of fresh potatos because frozen products have a much longer shelf life. There are also a few points that the stuff moves in bulk to like Martin Brower (McDonalds) DC in Enfield, CT. They also ship year round. These were the last potatos moving by rail out of the County. Logically they would be the first ones to return.