Does MM&A Serve Fraser Paper at Madawaska?

Hi all... I usually don't venture to this part of the board but I have a specific question related to a pending Micro-Trains Line model freight car release in N Scale. I am the author of the Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report, a review and commentary on the MTL releases I've been writing since 1996. Once in a while I get stumped on a key detail item, and this is one of those times.

The release in question is a 50 foot boxcar for the BAR painted with a Fraser Paper logo on the right side. The only prototype picture I have found notes that "The Bangor & Aroostook painted this 50' box car in the hopes to gain Fraser Papers business. It didn't work." The photo is at this direct link on NERail:

http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... _Aroostook

However, in continuing my research, I located a filing with the STB that the MM&A filed to terminate the trackage rights of the CN into Madawaska, where the CN was serving (apparently) Fraser Paper. What I don't know is what the outcome of that October 2003 filing was, if there was one.

Elsewhere on this board there is a north to south listing of the MM&A customers, and Fraser is on that list, although the CN is still shown as having the trackage rights into Madawaska (I guess I answered my own question above?).

So, in short, I'm confused. Did or does Fraser Paper use the MM&A?

Thanks in advance for any help!

On page 123 of Jerry Angier's book "BAR in Color" there is a picture of one of the Fraser boxcars. The book says that there were 10 cars painted for the company in 1991. As for the MMA serving the Fraser plant I believe they do. I haven't been up that way for more than a year but the last time I was I saw a MMA loco near the mill in Madawaska.

Thanks, that's great information especially the "when" on the Fraser car. The photo on NE Rails was undated.

MMA still serves Fraser. The outcome of the trackage/haulage rights case is that the CN still has access. MMA hauls the cars in the Madawaska-Van Buren turn. CN has used these rights to capture all of the inbound business to the mill while MMA still has a good share of the outbound business.

The story behind the CN rights is that when Iron Road (BAR) was nearing the end of the line in 2002 (?) they sold CN haulage and trackage rights to the CN giving them access to this mill in exchange for a few million in cash. The cash was needed to continue operations, although I'm willing to bet that management pocketed some for themselves. After the MMA took over they tried to weasel out of the deal to no avail. If I remember correctly, the could repay CN their money with interest and the rights would be eliminated, but it apparently would be unecconomical to do so.

A nd best of all, the CN screwed up the traffic so bad that the majority of the car loads are shipped by MMA these days.

Great stuff, thanks!

One of the more fascinating aspects of model railroading is understanding the history behind a given piece of rolling stock. This is one of the better "stories."

Keep in mind that the chemical processing portion of the mill is located in Edmunston NB, which is served solely by CN. The main part of the mill in Madawaska is served by MMA. The mill provides a lot of traffic and keeps the Madawaska crew very busy. With no RR bridge in Madawaska, CN would have to cross in Van Buren 25 miles southeast to get to the mill.

CN does have trackage rights on the Van Buren sub, but they never use it. Having just spent the last 5 weeks on that branch, I think I know why. 80 lb. rail, poor track conditions, a 2 axle/truck loco restriction and 15 mph speed restriction is not very appealing to a class I. Only a single daily train interchanges with CN (mostly logs and lumber) and the traffic is unrelated to the mill.

As far as Fraser Paper boxcars, I haven't seen a single one recently, but have seen several maroon MMA cars.