Maintenance questions............

I found this picture on NE Rail.org.What does it do,and who own`s it? (the caption gives 2 options,so who does it belong to?) http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... rn_Railway

Caboose;Dont forget that Maine Eastern,and prior to them,Maine Coast,for 10 years and safe Handling Rail,for 3 years,are just THE DESIGNATED OPERATOR of the Rockland(and hopefully Lower Road & Lewiston Lower )Branches of the STATE of MAINE owned tracks. Pretty sure that the state hires Ames and 1 or 2 more outside contractors to do MOST(but not all)maintaining of the ROWS. Got to know couple of the Ames guys when they were rehabing the Lewiston Lower tracks from Brunswick to the old mill in Pejepscot in the Summer of 1999-BUT tracks have never seen a revenue load in those 5 years! Yup,nobody can piss away our tax$$$$ like the State of Maine! Bud

OK,so what does this machine do exactly?

Its a gradeall. its used to dig drainage ditches and to profile the right of way so drainage and access is possible

looks like an ordinary Grade-all that had hi-rail equipment installed.

wolfmom69 wrote:Yup,nobody can piss away our tax$$$$ like the State of Maine! Bud

Bud,

I usually respect (and agree with) most of the things you say on here. But that comment kinda struck a nerve with me.

You're complaining that Maine is wasting our tax money on various rail projects. But somehow I get the feeling that you and a lot of other railfans would be complaining just as much if the situation was reversed. You'd accuse Maine of being "anti-rail" for not "investing" in the railroads.

Just a thought...

In defense of Bud's position, I think he was conveying the notion that the State of Maine was dumping tax dollars into a rehab without any assurance from the parties involved that it would ever see use. While railfans often view such expenditures as confirmation of a state's commitment to rail, it can do more harm than good in the long haul by turning off legislators and the general public. A similar boondoggle in Vermont was called the "Champlain Flyer" commuter service.

Mr. Wallace summed it up. Just because the State of Maine spends $$ on rails,I dont always agree. This is whats wrong with America: nobody sees the "big picture"-its all self interest & whats good for what "I"like. In my opinion,the rehab of the Lewiston Lower,BEFORE a written committment was made by a customer(Grimmels Scrap) was a "boondoggle".So is brush cutting on the Mt. Division,for "railcars" to putt putt on. IF REAL trains ever run on that ROW,it wont be on most of those ancient rails & ties. So,let it be,and when there is the REAL promise of it becoming an active railroad,cut the brush. It just isnt "trains". I go by the State Police garage,and see a real surplus of perfectly good cruisers & detective cars-but they want more "toys". I take a class in U.N.H. last week. No frills,black chalkboards,no carpeting,just the basics. Same with their public schools vs. Maine schools,and they beat us in "test scores"! It is not the quality of the facility,but the teacher,Socrates taught under an olive tree! Only N.H. remains as the only N.E. state with frugality and thats because the "yuppies" havent gained control! Bud

I think both points of view are fair and have credibility:

a) I think it easy to blast the state of Maine for making poor choices in investing in rail. The following projects come to mind:
- Rehab of the Lewiston Lower for whom and who has operated it??
- 33 million investment in Rockland branch when state fails to own or have an agreement with Guilford regarding the Lwer Road between Royal Juntion and Brunswick, and fewer than 500 revenu cars are interchanged in Brunswick as opposed to all the cement shipped to the barges at Rockland
- Brush Cutting along Moutain Division ROW??
- Installing new track near Augusta and then filing in the parking lot just to the north with crushed stone??
- Building a new bridge over Tukey's cove in Portlandwhen there is a currently established ROW through the Forest Avenue area

But, as much as it seems like a waste, we should be lobbying our elected representitves for more investment in rails. They key is that it be directed towards worthy projects! Otherwise, you have railfans and non-railfans alike questioning the investment decisions. Why should we waste taxpayer dollars on that!!! they would say. If tax payer dollars were invested in something of substance and merit, increasing the Downeaster ROW to 110 mph or an intermodal facilty and averge people could see the benefit, than more would be behind. It's easy for many of us who live or have lived in Maine to ridicule them for their choices, but we have to priase them for investin in rail, it is so much more than other states do. If it were not for the State you can bet that the mountain division, Calias branch and Rockland branch between Dragon and Brunswick would all be torn up, no questions asked!

Brooks

Todays,Portland Press Herald,tells a lot. 4.8%of peoples income in Maine goes to pay property taxes. 2nd highest % of 50 states,only N.H.,with 4.9% is higher,BUT they are one of the few with NO SALES & INCOME taxes. This "outta control" spending is far from just a rail issue. Bud

I started this topic to find out what a piece maintenance equipment did,guess I was in for more than I barganied for .Anyway,could someone give me a little backround on the State of Maine owning the former MEC tracks? How did this happen and why?

Caboose,

I am too young and haven't lived in Maine long enough to have the complete and time appropriate answer but, in essence, these branches were abandoned by MEC/Guilford in the 1980's and the state bought them and kept them intact. So officially they are not abandonded but the only one that has seen active rail service is the Rockland branch. The Lewiston Lower between Brunswick and Rockland is an interesting story, Bud may have a better idea as to who owns that.

Brooks

Here is an album off the NE Rail site of the Lower Road branch.http://photos.nerail.org/show/?byrail:1 ... lower_road

Just wondering,what industries are there on the Rockland Branch? I know that there is a cement company.

Industries on the Rockland Branch:

• Bath Iron Works (builds ships for the Navy)
  Maine Yankee (nuclear power plant, now being decomissioned)
  a propane dealer
  Dragon Cement
  ChemRock