Is the yellow Trackmobile lettered for Turners Island LLC?
Bruce Clouette
Bruce Clouette
Railroad Forums
Turners Island LLC (shortline RR in South Portland, ME)
- Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Tons of cars on the Turner Island tracks lately, numerous tank cars as well as lines of centerbeam lumber racks, some covered gondolas, and even a carload of polls the other day, business seems to be booming !
Hi Bulkhead,
Just curious if the centerbeams are loaded or empty, they are storing about 40 empties down here in Portsmouth yard.
Just curious if the centerbeams are loaded or empty, they are storing about 40 empties down here in Portsmouth yard.
A friend of mine showed me a recent video of the track mobile moving a decent cut of cars. Looked like a bunch of empty centerbeams. Not sure if they were coming or going.
Not only lots of railroad activity, but lots of waterfront stuff going on over there as well. A couple of large barges with gallows (?) type cranes are docked thee. They seem to be relatively recent additions. Maybe just dock maintenance.
S
S
Does anyone have documentation indicating when the line from Elm Street by Turner's Island to the ship yard was put in?
I have always believed it was done to service the ship yard sometime after 1940. An aerial photo from September 1940 shows no sign of tracks going to the ship yard.
Regards,
Ron
I have always believed it was done to service the ship yard sometime after 1940. An aerial photo from September 1940 shows no sign of tracks going to the ship yard.
Regards,
Ron
Sunday, 12.21.14, I noticed a faairly long cut of cars on the Turner Island track near the grade crossing at Broadway, behind Tony's donuts,(Yum!). It looked like a tall gondola and several low gons. All seemed to have multiple loads wrapped in tarps. Any idea what's going on?
S
S
ronjenx wrote:Does anyone have documentation indicating when the line from Elm Street by Turner's Island to the ship yard was put in?Sometime between 1941-1944. The topos on Historic Aerials don't show it in 1941 but show the line getting there (without all the spurs off it at the end) in 1944.
I have always believed it was done to service the ship yard sometime after 1940. An aerial photo from September 1940 shows no sign of tracks going to the ship yard.
Regards,
Ron
I'm wondering when it was abandoned. The aerial view from 1970 shows cars in two spots though a bunch of the tracks were removed by then. The 1970 view is rather nice as it is in color!
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials. ... &year=1970" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There was a tank farm there that looked quite busy with a bunch of cars on three tracks. They may have been the only customer by 1970. I think the forgotten RR's of N.E. book gives the dates for this line. I'll have to dig it out.
Also, the map put out by the Portland Planning Commission in the 40's or 50's has a nice track layout. Here's a close up of that section. This is from the color copy you can by at the MNG museum but I have a nice original I picked up at a antique/junk shop" that shows more area (the reprint is cropped) and may show a date of printing. That area in question is labeled on the map as "Great Portland Public Development Commission" "Site of over 20 industries"
I would have loved to have seen this area back in the day. I'm guessing it was quite busy for Portland Terminal Co. You can see how the tracks really snaked their way around from Elm Street to here. Housing was already popping up and they didn't have a clear shot.
Did they run it right through Mill Creek Park, or was the park not there yet? (Of course, WWII would have taken precedence over the park anyway.)
"...And then I thought, every time some company creates a more powerful locomotive does Superman become more powerful as well or is he stuck at 1938 locomotive power levels?" - A friend of mine elsewhere
Anything I post here is mine alone and does not represent the views of my employer.
Anything I post here is mine alone and does not represent the views of my employer.
I believe it was still an active landfill in those days.
MEC407
Moderator:
Pan Am Railways — Boston & Maine/Maine Central — Delaware & Hudson
Central Maine & Quebec/Montreal, Maine & Atlantic/Bangor & Aroostook
Providence & Worcester — New England — GE Locomotives
Moderator:
Pan Am Railways — Boston & Maine/Maine Central — Delaware & Hudson
Central Maine & Quebec/Montreal, Maine & Atlantic/Bangor & Aroostook
Providence & Worcester — New England — GE Locomotives
The GE Plant in South Portland, located where the park next to SMTC is now, used to manufacture high pressure
vessels which were shipped to Montreal for heat-treating via high-wide extras over the Mountain Subdivision. I've
got a photo of one of those "pickles" at Crawford Notch taken in early 1979, so the branch was in service up to
that point. The GE Plant closed in the early 80's- unsure of exact date.
vessels which were shipped to Montreal for heat-treating via high-wide extras over the Mountain Subdivision. I've
got a photo of one of those "pickles" at Crawford Notch taken in early 1979, so the branch was in service up to
that point. The GE Plant closed in the early 80's- unsure of exact date.
Greg S
It's currently called the Greenbelt Walkway.
"The city of South Portland has been a state leader in bicycle and pedestrian trail development. The first trail developed within the City was the Spring Point Shoreway Trail back in 1979. Soon after, the City obtained the deed of an old railroad bed that once served as the supply route for the World War II Liberty Shipyard located near Bug Light in South Portland. During the mid 1980’s the City developed the rail-line into an 8-foot wide to buy 2.2 mile long paved pedestrian path. Over the last five years, the Maine DOT has provided the City funding for further trail development. This funding has constructed an additional mile of trail, and paved another 1/2 mile of trail. The funding allocation was important because it allowed for two gaps in the trial corridor to be closed, creating a single contiguous trail corridor. In the spring of 2004, the City reached a milestone by paving the last 2.0 miles of trail corridor, extending west to the Town of Scarborough. The Greenbelt now provides 5.7 miles of off-road trail from the town of Scarborough to Bug Light Park in South Portland."
http://www.southportland.org/department ... t-walkway/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and just recently:
"As the Greenbelt Walkway winds around near Muzzy Street, there is a piece of railway that was once part of a longer rail line used to move goods to factories in Mill Creek before World War II, Reinhold said.
City Councilor Tom Blake was leading third-graders on an interactive tour of the greenbelt several years ago and pointed out the railroad. Eberle said that planted the idea to uncover and restore the section of rail."
http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print ... k-l/220640" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"The city of South Portland has been a state leader in bicycle and pedestrian trail development. The first trail developed within the City was the Spring Point Shoreway Trail back in 1979. Soon after, the City obtained the deed of an old railroad bed that once served as the supply route for the World War II Liberty Shipyard located near Bug Light in South Portland. During the mid 1980’s the City developed the rail-line into an 8-foot wide to buy 2.2 mile long paved pedestrian path. Over the last five years, the Maine DOT has provided the City funding for further trail development. This funding has constructed an additional mile of trail, and paved another 1/2 mile of trail. The funding allocation was important because it allowed for two gaps in the trial corridor to be closed, creating a single contiguous trail corridor. In the spring of 2004, the City reached a milestone by paving the last 2.0 miles of trail corridor, extending west to the Town of Scarborough. The Greenbelt now provides 5.7 miles of off-road trail from the town of Scarborough to Bug Light Park in South Portland."
http://www.southportland.org/department ... t-walkway/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and just recently:
"As the Greenbelt Walkway winds around near Muzzy Street, there is a piece of railway that was once part of a longer rail line used to move goods to factories in Mill Creek before World War II, Reinhold said.
City Councilor Tom Blake was leading third-graders on an interactive tour of the greenbelt several years ago and pointed out the railroad. Eberle said that planted the idea to uncover and restore the section of rail."
http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print ... k-l/220640" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I read the quote about the line supplying the factories in the area before WW II, in the Sentry paper.
The problem is, I've seen an aerial photo from September 1940, which shows no sign of tracks leaving the Turner's Island area, or anywhere along the route to the property that became the shipyard.
That's what triggered my curiosity about finding some documentation with dates, regarding the laying of those tracks.
The problem is, I've seen an aerial photo from September 1940, which shows no sign of tracks leaving the Turner's Island area, or anywhere along the route to the property that became the shipyard.
That's what triggered my curiosity about finding some documentation with dates, regarding the laying of those tracks.
Yeah, I don't think that statement they made is accurate. It may have been used during WWII but not before it
Here's a photo of a Portland RR freight train at the Knightsville end of the Million Dollar Bridge in 1936.
This freight operation fed from the old Eastern Main (Turners Island) I'm not sure of the extent of the operation but, know that the railroad in the map replaced it.
LS
This freight operation fed from the old Eastern Main (Turners Island) I'm not sure of the extent of the operation but, know that the railroad in the map replaced it.
LS