Does PAR still go into Newington?

Recommend listening to the scanner if you're in the area.

Do they just use the District 2 road frequency or what?

They generally use the yard frequency while working around Portsmouth, 161.400.
They do stay on the dispatch frequency between Rockingham and Portsmouth and have to get a train order between those points. In recent months, Thursday has often been a day for a Portsmouth run, but not set in stone.

Dick
PS. I hear the "new' dairy bar/station is open, but the Quic-Trac machine has not been moved from the Whit yet......

South of Portsmouth, is Highliner foods a customer?

Wow, thanks guys!
I live in Dover and find the (mostly abandoned) railroads in the area very interesting. I wrote the article that appears on Scott Currier's website on the P&D. (Railroad archeology)
If you are familiar with "geocaching" I have placed four "geocaches on the P&D in various places. Go to Geocaching.com and look up my screen name "trolleyfan" to see them. not sure if you have to register as a geocacher. One of them is at an old milepost on spur Rd. (the old R.O.W.) and another is on a telltale near Agway and Rte 16 in Dover.
There is also a telltale just N. of Silver St.
Thanks for starting this thread!

Dick H wrote:They generally use the yard frequency while working around Portsmouth, 161.400.
They do stay on the dispatch frequency between Rockingham and Portsmouth and have to get a train order between those points. In recent months, Thursday has often been a day for a Portsmouth run, but not set in stone.

Dick
PS. I hear the "new' dairy bar/station is open, but the Quic-Trac machine has not been moved from the Whit yet......

Thanks Dick. Can't wait to check out the new station in a couple weeks.

speaking of PAR in the Portsmouth area, how does the rail draw bridge work that allows them to run over to the Naval shipyard in Maine? It seems to be sitting on the tracks above itself. I guess it is the IBA bridge.

This is the bridge I am speaking of:
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?20020 ... uth+Bridge


Brooks

Brooks - It is suspended from above. It slides over and drops down into position.

artman wrote:Brooks - It is suspended from above. It slides over and drops down into position.

OK, that makes sense, although not sure I have ever seen or heard of such a type of bridge, but by no means am I a rail bridge expert either. Thanks.

b&m 1566 wrote:

chadb9 wrote:PAR still owns and operates the Woodland branch from Calais to Woodland for the paper mill in Woodland. The segment of track is isolated from the rest of the system, and is retained so they are the originating carrier for paper traffic (and hence a better rate share). Typically there is one unit in service on the branch, and when it comes time for a 92 day inspection it is shipped back to Waterville via New Brunswick Southern and another unit is brought in.

Wouldn't it have been cheaper for them to service the mill by using the Calais Branch in its entirety; instead of releasing it to another carrier only to receive it back at Mattawamkeag? Wouldn’t have they made more money using their own system?

Sorry... getting off track from the original topic.

They would have had to maintain the entire Calais branch from Bangor to Calais which at the time had little other traffic just for this one customer and they must have figured it was cheaper this way.

Of course with the present trend in fuel prices and the migration back to rail perhaps ion the future the Calais branch might have potential especially if the connection to the port of Eastport was restored, but the branch is currently being torn up east of Ayers Jct. to make it an ATV whoops I mean hiking trail so that potential is less likely to be achieved now. There is a whole discussion on this in the New England forum.

Jon

rb wrote:South of Portsmouth, is Highliner foods a customer?

Highliner does have a siding, as does Northern Utilities (facility and siding at the end of barberry lane), but neither has been serviced for a long time.

Indeed off topic.

Most of what's being discussed here is redundant to about three other threads. Just sayin'

b&m 1566 wrote:It must have been just north of First St where the two merged (Depot St?). Did the Somersworth Branch merge or was it a dead end branch? When was this section of the Conway Branch abandoned? Was it before or during the abandonment of the Eastern Route east of Portsmouth? Did the Conway Branch cross: over, at grade or under the Western Route?

Based on old topo maps, the Somersworth Branch merged with the original Conway Branch (into one track) just north of where the Somersworth station is... The original Conway Branch (aka the Portsmouth, Great Falls, & Conway RR) passed under the Western Division main line and had its own station at Salmon Falls... Here is a great shot of this crossing and station from Gary's website: http://www.lightlink.com/sglap3/



I should be able to get the abandonment date for the original Conway Branch stretch from the Eastern Division to Somersworth on Monday...

On topic or off..... I wonder where the 5 mil they have spent so far has come from. Another rail project? My butt!

http://www.maine.gov/mdot/mainedot-news ... 192008.php

Photographic evidence that the Newington Branch is alive and well, albeit somewhat green.

(Various photos of the Dover Extra are on preceding and following pages as well.)

Based on old topo maps, the Somersworth Branch merged with the original Conway Branch (into one track) just north of where the Somersworth station is... The original Conway Branch (aka the Portsmouth, Great Falls, & Conway RR) passed under the Western Division main line and had its own station at Salmon Falls... Here is a great shot of this crossing and station from Gary's website: http://www.lightlink.com/sglap3/



I should be able to get the abandonment date for the original Conway Branch stretch from the Eastern Division to Somersworth on Monday...

'Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was fascinated by this great old photo, so I did a little research.

I believe that this is the same view that is in the old picture, as seen today. You are standing on Main St., looking north up Scoutland Rd., with Church St. to your left. Over your left shoulder is the XVI Corp. building.

My thanks to those who provided the photo.

http://tinyurl.com/6as379p