Maine Eastern Railroad (MERR) Discussion

I am stunned to report the following:

As published in TRAINS October 2011:

"Shortline makes Amtrak connection", by Bob Johnston, (p. 21)

Rail travelers can now make a cross-platform connection at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., from Amtrak to another scheduled passenger operator. On July 23, 2011 the Saratoga & North Creek Railway initiated passenger service between its namesake cities in upstate New York.
...
Morning southbound and evening northbound trips making the full 57-mile, 2-hour journey to and from Saratoga Springs connect with Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express bound to and from New York.

The mere idea of more than one operator seriously considering scheduled connecting service to Amtrak is beyond inconceivable.

In some recent MERR freight news, the September issue of The Working Waterfront has an article about O'Hara Corporation's new fish bait warehouse, located along the siding that was installed (or reinstalled) last year in Rockland. I can't find an Internet link for the story, but it's on page 7 of Volume 24, No. 7: "Bait Transport Challenged By Rail Connections."

Maine Eastern spokesman Adam Lombardo explained that "it's a logistics problem," and that his company would be delighted to bring bait to Rockland by rail.
Lombardo, operations manager for the short-line railroad, said reefer (refrigerated) cars are often reserved, and not readily available to transport frozen fish. But he hasn't given up and discussions with O'Hara are continuing.

The newspaper is free.

Had a nice ride on the MERR yesterday. Been wanting to take that trip for a while and things just finally worked out. 488 was the lone power for the day with 4 cars.

Mike

Watchman, Maine Eastern installed the siding specifically for the bait company to receive reefers last year?

How frequent is MERR's freight service into Brunswick?

JBlaisdell wrote:How frequent is MERR's freight service into Brunswick?

For now it's been weekly.

Peter

Cowford wrote:Watchman, Maine Eastern installed the siding specifically for the bait company to receive reefers last year?

I think that was the plan, particularly if it was funded by MDOT IRAP money. I don't have all the "insider info" on that.
The newspaper article says the former occupants of that building never had rail service, but I think there were remnants of an old track along the same alignment, and that track might even have crossed New County Rd. at one time. I believe the building also had a dock that would have lined up with such a track, and it's either been added to since, or replaced with a larger dock.

About all I can attest to is that the siding was put in so "somebody" could ship or receive "something" at that building. I don't think it was any "Hey, there's an empty spot on the benchwork. I bet I can cram another track in there." ("Moi? Mais non. I don't have any benchwork right now." )

Double Stack wrote:

JBlaisdell wrote:How frequent is MERR's freight service into Brunswick?

For now it's been weekly.
Peter

Throughout this summer the PAR came to Brunswick on Saturdays and the ME went down there on Mondays.

JBlaisdell wrote:How frequent is MERR's freight service into Brunswick?

For PAR, throughout the summer it is usually Saturday afternoons or sometimes Friday afternoon instead. Maine Eastern will usually come twice a week for freight, one day to pick up from the interchange and later in the week to bring it back. Usually they are fairly early, around 10am or so. Like riffian said, often they will come Monday to take cars east and bring them back on Thursday.

You can never be certain with freight though!

Back to Watchman's news from the Working Waterfront. Here's an excerpt from the same publication in a March article: "O'Hara's new facility is situated next to the Maine Eastern Railroad, which will help keep costs down."

Whoever approved the funding of a siding installation without having first resolved "logistics problems" that would preclude its use deserves a swift sacking. Any half-awake railroad marketer knows the uphill challenges associated with reefer moves.

Mountain Division observers, take note.

From WorkingWaterfront.com:

WorkingWaterfront.com wrote:The train doesn’t stop yet at O’Hara’s new fish bait warehouse.

Frank O’Hara Sr., patriarch of the Rockland-based O’Hara Corporation, said his company’s expanded lobster bait business is going well, whether it’s two buckets for a fishermen’s pickup truck, or an 1,800-pound tote trucked to a fishermen’s co-op. But he said he is still trying to work out connections so frozen bait can be shipped via rail.

He said he has figured out rail transportation from the west coast to Montreal, but there is a gap between that Canadian city and Maine. If the freight could reach Brunswick by rail, Maine Eastern Railroad could haul it directly to the O’Hara warehouse. But making all the connections on the existing rail network is challenging, he said.

Read more at: http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articl ... ons/14541/

Lombardo, operations manager for the short-line railroad, said reefer (refrigerated) cars are often reserved, and not readily available to transport frozen fish. But he hasn’t given up and discussions with O’Hara are continuing.

If this is truly economical, the ME acquiring a refrigerator car would solve the dilemma of other reefer owners not wanting to transport bait fish in their cars.
It wouldn't be ther first car in dedicated service to one customer.

How timely would it be if you're using one car to go back and forth from Rockland to the Pacific coast?

Help me here, I'm trying to picture this. Is this the former Bonner-Vawter building at the grade crossing on New County Rd. just before it meets Park St. (U.S.1)? If so, does the siding parallel the building and New County Rd? I didn't notice anything new this summer since our previous trip 3 years ago but then again, me not noticing something is nothing new.

Thanks!

papabarn wrote:Help me here, I'm trying to picture this. Is this the former Bonner-Vawter building at the grade crossing on New County Rd. just before it meets Park St. (U.S.1)? If so, does the siding parallel the building and New County Rd?

That's the building (you can still see "Port Clyde Seafood" painted on the bricks), but the siding is at an angle to New County Rd., where New County curves to intersect with Park St. The siding is east of the grade crossing, and more or less parallel to Park St., between New County and the crossing at Broadway. The bumper ("bunter," for B&M/MEC traditionalists) is alongside New County, and the switch is west of the (now powered) switch for the station track/wharf branch.
I recall seeing remnants of a track there before, although the article in The Working Waterfront said the building never had rail service before. I don't know whether or not the former track crossed New County Rd., or if it was a stub siding.
I think the original loading dock on that building could have serviced one car in the 40-footer days. I don't know how long the siding is now, but maybe I can find out. There might be room to cram a couple of 50' cars between the switch and bumper and still have room to clear passing traffic on the Rockland Running Track ("main line"). I would think it would have a derail installed, if there isn't one already, because of the passenger trains going by. It looks like the loading dock is being expanded to better fit the siding.