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  • Millinocket Demolition

  • Discussion of present-day CM&Q operations, as well as discussion of predecessors Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) and Bangor & Aroostook Railroad (BAR).
Discussion of present-day CM&Q operations, as well as discussion of predecessors Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) and Bangor & Aroostook Railroad (BAR).

Moderator: MEC407

 #1285325  by KSmitty
 
Hopefully this post is publicly viewable!
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CMQ has demolished the coal shed at Millinocket and pulled the turntable out of the pit. The coal tower, engine house, round house and yard office remain, for now. Rumor has it that Millinocket is going to be pretty much flattened (just like the mill, heh, by the time everyone is done Millinocket will be nothing but a big field in the Katahdin Valley). Might even see some yard tracks pulled (they can only use half of them anyway because of close clearances, yard wasn't built with enough track spacing for modern equipment). Then (here's the part I don't get) rumor says they are moving to Houlton, which is 100 miles into SoM/MNR territory, to knock down the derelict buildings there.

It all makes sense, the coal shed was particularly decrepit and no doubt a liability issue. And Millinocket yard has seen virtually no use in over a year except to store cars. MNR hauls there own stuff down to Brownville, so its not even like there is any interchange happening here. The west mill is gone, the last equipment is sold. Site will be a field until/if the torrified wood facility gets built. The east mill is boarded up, and more and more looking like for good. Good chance to lower the liability at the site, get some money out of the scrap iron and get the property reassessed. Without an engine facility the property may decrease in value some.
 #1285479  by fogg1703
 
KSmitty wrote:CMQ has demolished the coal shed at Millinocket and pulled the turntable out of the pit. The coal tower, engine house, round house and yard office remain, for now. Rumor has it that Millinocket is going to be pretty much flattened (just like the mill, heh, by the time everyone is done Millinocket will be nothing but a big field in the Katahdin Valley)
Oakfield is the same way; coal tower, engine house and outbuildings all flattened.

KSmitty wrote:Then (here's the part I don't get) rumor says they are moving to Houlton, which is 100 miles into SoM/MNR territory, to knock down the derelict buildings there.
I wonder if this is some good will toward the State as I'm sure the same demo contractor can head up the road to Houlton and bring down the one or two buildings left standing there. Perhaps the proceeds from the scrap and/or any land sale will go towards the victims and not the debt collectors.
 #1285558  by KSmitty
 
Apparently SoM didn't buy the buildings, but just the RoW and operational infrastructure. At least in Houlton. So, it would seem possible that anywhere there is an old B&A building it may be fair game for demo.Wonder what that plan for the old B&A station and coal tower at NMJ are? The station is vacant since Pan Am moved the crew base from NMJ to OT.
 #1286239  by riffian
 
Are all the stored MM&A boxcars still on the mill lead? Seems a shame - virtually the only thing on the railroad that looked sharp were those maroon boxcars in MM&A reporting marks.
 #1286756  by KSmitty
 
Lots of MMA boxes were patched to St Marys (so either GE or GMTX or whoever the leasing company is) and shipped out about 2-3 weeks ago, this included MM&A 1 which was in a revised tricolor/SoM Products scheme. Not sure whats left, there are still some boxes stored over to East Mill. Some had MM&A marks, but most were leased boxes. Millinocket proper was a lot more empty than it had been, and the mill lead looked a lot less crowded than it has in several years. Like no boxes in sight.

Much different railroad than what it was 10 years ago. Going to need a whole list of new equipment, be interesting to see what shows up.
 #1288572  by KSmitty
 
This was posted over in the Pan Am forum. Wrong place, but pertinent here.
fromway wrote:Lots of activity in the Houlton yard. The scraper was loading lots of cut up heavy metal into a trailer to go to the junk yard. The Engineering building is still standing, but lots of equipment if lined up on the tracks. Four crew cars are sitting behind the building by the bridge. I wonder if they are going to be sold for just there to pique my curiosity. You can even see where the old turn table was.
 #1293068  by KSmitty
 
Some big news out of Millinocket hear over the radio yesterday:
Much of the equipment around the diesel service facility is gone (this includes the sand tower and sand car, generator, etc...) The fuel pad for smaller track machines is in tact. However, this weekend there was a big excavator working in the area, a half dozen MM&A gons full of scrap or demo and Unitrack out of Knoxville all in the yard. It was heard over the radio that the following will be ripped up:
-2 tracks at East Millinocket (unspecified tracks on the East Mill campus)
-All tracks on the west mill campus. "All" was the impression given, though not expressly named.
-A HUGE chunk of Millinocket yard. If memory serves 1-11 (tracks are numbered odds only so "only" 6 tracks) in the main yard, plus many of the surrounding "auxiliary" tracks such as the old engine tracks, turntable leads, etc...

They have already started pulling iron up, the track by the old freight house was missing rail that had been there as recently as a month ago. The ties were in the ground, but there isn't much money in those...
 #1293095  by newpylong
 
KSmitty wrote:Apparently SoM didn't buy the buildings, but just the RoW and operational infrastructure. At least in Houlton. So, it would seem possible that anywhere there is an old B&A building it may be fair game for demo.Wonder what that plan for the old B&A station and coal tower at NMJ are? The station is vacant since Pan Am moved the crew base from NMJ to OT.
Prob similar to Guilford and the D&H, Pan Am still owns plenty of land out there excluding the ROW.
 #1314183  by carchecker
 
Question for the group...the last two wood chip trains coming off the MNR into McAdam and headed for Saint John had six and eleven loads of scrap respectively in AIMX high sided gondolas also in their consist. Is this from the demolition mentioned above?
 #1314395  by KSmitty
 
If it was scrap iron/steel, unless it was rail, its unlikely. They bulldozed the coal shed, mostly wood, the maintenance shed, metal construction, but not more than a car or 2's worth and ripped up half the tracks.

If it looked like locomotive pieces it could be from Derby.

Otherwise its probably from North Bangor, or a scrap dealer in the county. Believe the new AIMX white scrap cars are being loaded in N. Bangor.
 #1360385  by Fritz
 
Hello,
Over the last couple of weeks, quite a few IFRX gondolas have moved south along the WACR (and a few more empties have gone north). Apparently, these gondolas, at leas the five that went south last Thursday, are loaded with scrap rail removed from the (former) rail yard in Millinocket and destined for Pennsylvania. Routing looks to be CMQ-WACR-NECR-PAS-NS-LV. At least a few of the northbound empties have been spotted in Farnham for loading as well. Any movement on restoring service to either the Stanbridge or Ste. Rosalie Subdivisions?
Best,
Fritz
 #1360493  by Townshipfarmer
 
This past summer a local news paper ran a story about the Bedford sub. Local officials from different levels of government had apparently met with local business leaders to acknowledge the lines importance for the local economy. However last time my wife went threw Bedford ( late October) she said they had paved over the tracks crossing Main Street. Last time I checked (early summer) the section of track where MMA left their stranded engine had not been repaired. As far as the St Rosalie sub. Nothing has been on it as far as I know since MMA. A couple months ago I was in St hyacinth and noticed a CMQ locomotive in back of the large coop mill but could not get close enough to see what engine it was. So I assume they still switch bungee.