Enfield Me Lumber mill siding?

I am convinced that about a year ago, maybe 2 years ago, i read an article in the Bangor Daily News about a Lumber Company that has a sawmill in Dover Foxcroft, and a planner mill and Kilns in Enfield was thinking about getting a rail spur to there planner mill in Enfield. Now, i cant find anything about it. Does anyone have any info about that? It use to be called Cold Stream Lumber before the sawmill burned down leaving the planner mill and kilns.

There is a spur in West Enfield the goes to a facility located on ME Route 155:

Here is a link to the satellite image from Google Maps.

Here is a link to their business listing.

The listing appears to match that location.

Incredibly there appear to be two railroad cars on the spur however it is nearly impossible to tell whether or not they were placed there recently or not. Interestingly the spur is still connected to the mainline, which is somewhat unusual, at least in my experience, for industries that the railroad hasn't served for several decades.

Mr. Keefe, The location of the mill in Enfield, Me. is northwest of the railroad crossing and the intersection of rt. 155. What you showed was a log loading yard, I believe, is owned by Prentis & Carlisle. This location is southwest of the intersection, across from the mill. BTW this siding is a remnant of the branch line to West Enfield, torn up in 1964. It was about 4 miles long. Oops, I forgot to mention, did not see any spur to the mill

baldy wrote:Mr. Keefe, The location of the mill in Enfield, Me. is northwest of the railroad crossing and the intersection of rt. 155. What you showed was a log loading yard, I believe, is owned by Prentis & Carlisle. This location is southwest of the intersection, across from the mill. BTW this siding is a remnant of the branch line to West Enfield, torn up in 1964. It was about 4 miles long. Oops, I forgot to mention, did not see any spur to the mill

baldy,

Thanks for the update.

Do you (or anyone else) know if this siding is active?

Go by there several times in the summer, never seen cars there. As a matter of fact, I've never seen much in the way of logs and pulpwood stored there. About a decade or more ago a scale was installed there to weigh trucks. What I believe happens is empty trucks are weighed before they go to a woods operation, get loaded there and return to be weighed again, then sent on to its destination. No rehandling of product, direct from the woods to the mill. Thats hard to beat in a short haul.

Judging by the looks of the siding, I am going to guess those are just relics sitting there...

Those 2 cars that are there are old relics. One is a 40ft MEC and the other is a 50ft MEC, both in green paint. I got some pics of them. I havent been home since 2009 and it seems though i read that in 2010 or early 2011. I lived in Enfield from 1993 until 2002 when i started working for uncle sam. When i was a teen in the mid to late 1990s i remember seeing boxcars on the double track in enfield. I guess it was used as a storage track. I actually use to work at that lumber mill before 2002. There was no spur into it then. I got my hopes up for a second. About that log yard at P & C. I can remember riding home from school one day and seeing big read pulpwood cars on both tracks in there getting loaded or unloaded with logs. I didnt have a camera then so i didnt get any pics.

Here are some of the pics of the 2 boxcars.

http://photos.greatrails.net/showpic/?p ... &key=jason

http://photos.greatrails.net/showpic/?p ... &key=jason

http://photos.greatrails.net/showpic/?p ... &key=jason

The Maine Central had a branch up to Dover-Foxcroft at one time to serve the sawmill, however, that branch has since been abandoned. Does the sawmill still exist?

As of print time on that article i read in the BDN it did. But like i said that was a year or 2 ago. I belive its called Pleasent River Lumber or something like that.

Does the branch stiil go to Dover Foxcroft are the rails still in place?

I am sure you are right, the Dover mill is still in operation, and believe that late last year they purchased the old Salem Forest Products/ Crobb Box complex at Washington Jct., Hancock, Maine, on the Calais Branch. I believe they now have the mill up and running and soon to have Crobb Box section of the complex in operation.

Tim Mullins wrote:Does the branch stiil go to Dover Foxcroft are the rails still in place?

No. Dover-Foxcroft to Newport is pulled out and most has been converted to a rail trail

About 7 months after the Mass Bay RRE ran their excursion (9/85)to Dover-Foxcroft, the Maine Central ran their last train into Dover-Foxcroft. The rails sat in place untill 1993 when they were removed. Now, the Pleasant River Lumber mill is still in operation. They have installed a large crane to unload incoming log trucks. It is easily viewable from Rt. 6 & 16, about a mile east of the edge of town. The mill, however was not built near where the tracks were. As I understand it they do some rail. I believe its hauled to Northern Maine Jct. and transferred to rail. It was reported they purchased the Enfield property for the rail access.

Unless there was rail access built in enfield within the last 2 years, there is no direct rail access to the mill there. The tracks go pretty close buy, but not onto the property. Unless they build/built some. Maybe they will use or are using the tracks out behind P & C. Logs use to get loaded there for a short time there. I remember seeing big red log cars in the woodyard there back in the mid - late 1990s.

baldy wrote:About 7 months after the Mass Bay RRE ran their excursion (9/85)to Dover-Foxcroft, the Maine Central ran their last train into Dover-Foxcroft. The rails sat in place untill 1993 when they were removed. Now, the Pleasant River Lumber mill is still in operation. They have installed a large crane to unload incoming log trucks. It is easily viewable from Rt. 6 & 16, about a mile east of the edge of town. The mill, however was not built near where the tracks were. As I understand it they do some rail. I believe its hauled to Northern Maine Jct. and transferred to rail. It was reported they purchased the Enfield property for the rail access.

Regarding where Pleasant River Lumber loads rail, I've always tried to figure out where the following shot had been taken,

http://pleasantriverlumber.com/process-rail.asp

You can see the BM 340 moving a loaded TTX centerbeam with wrapped Pleasant River lumber on it. However doesn't look like NMJ to me...anyone care to comment?

JAJ