Planners Seek Commuter, Tourist Uses For Mountain Division

Planners seek commuter, tourist uses for Mountain Division rail

By Douglas Wright
Staff Writer


REGIONAL (July 14, 2006): Imagine being able to hop on a train in South Windham, riding to Sebago Lake for a day of fishing or continuing through to Fryeburg and on to North Conway, the White Mountains, Vermont and points north in Canada.

Or imagine storing your suitcase under your seat and commuting to work in Portland by rail, staring out the cabin window at the pastoral landscape and wilderness as the train rattles on.

This is not a fantasy of the future. This was our past.

Before the interstate highway system became a reality during the latter half of the 20th century, the railroad was the primary means of transportation in Maine with tracks starting from Portland and heading north to Bangor via Lewiston, east along the coast through Brunswick up to Rockland, and northwest to Fryeburg.

For the past decade, the Maine Department of Transportation has been trying to regain its grand network of railroads by buying back the abandoned rail lines from the same company, Guilford Railroad, that purchased them from defunct railroad companies like the Maine Central and Boston & Maine Railroad during the 1980s.

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http://www.keepmecurrent.com//Community ... ryID=21209

- Henry B. V.F.P.T

And where is this "increased interest in freight on the rail line" coming from?

Ditto on NR Geep! Take a drive along that line-from S. Windham to N.Conway,going through the abutting towns. They are NOT exactly crawling with industies that could/would use rail!! They are NOT exactly crawling with jobs,any jobs,let alone good paying ones, either!

Bud

They are NOT exactly crawling with jobs,any jobs,let alone good paying ones, either!

Maybe that's what makes the area attractive for the types of businesses that would ship by rail. Usually that type of situation leads to cheaper labor and tax incentives.

Then again, maybe it's just someoine blowing smoke in pursuit of an agenda...

Further proof that Maine has a crack cocaine problem! They've already spent $25M+ on the Rockland branch and the return on investment there has been.... When Baldwin or Steep Falls require a RT 113 bypass... MAYBE it'll make sense.

Probably overhead traffic....

With subsidies and business connections anything is possible. If you have easy connections with Downeaster, work with say the Mount Washington Hotel or ski areas that are tracksides for special vacation packages and, then tax incentives for freight or some type of intermodel facility. You might break even on this proposal.

Overhead traffic would have to be included too.

Maybe a slow moving "leaf train" during the fall. I think that I would pay to have a way to see alot of leaf terrian. However, the windows would have to be clean.

Overhead traffic? The (former) Mountain Sub has one connection to the east: PanAm (God, I wince just typing that). PanAm has two longhaul western gateways, namely Rott Jct and Michyville. PanAm would never offer competitive rates to a shortline, as they would shorthaul themselves.

Let's be reasonable here, the Mountain Division has scenery and lots of it
but little else to recommend its use. The through business has been re-
routed to other lines and there does not seem to be any known problems
with that. Local business or potential for profitable local business on this
line is virtually non-existant and as far as passenger business, it could not
possibly compete with the automobile no matter how high the price of gas
goes, there are resorts but the people want to be able to come and go and
by taking a train, they would pretty much be stuck in one spot, this was
OK in the early 20th century but in the 21st century, it does not work.
Maybe and ONLY maybe, if the line started out in a major population
center such as Boston and ended at the front door of a major ski area,
then maybe a once a week ski train could work but this is limited to a
weekend affair and not all people want to go at the same time from the
same place and return to the same place too at the same time. Charter
buses pretty much have this business to themselves and they are much
better equipped for this type of traffic.
We should be grateful that we can still ride the most dramatic portion of
this route, Intervale to Crawford Notch.
I wonder how many of you have done that?, I did it ten years ago this
month.
Noel Weaver

Also, have the people suggesting use for overhead freight seen the line, too? Its hard in its present form as a tourist railroad to envision full sized freights coming over the Notch. With industry in New England a shadow of its former self, I can't imagine needing two gateways from southern Maine into Quebec, not when the St. Lawrence & Atlantic is paralleling it.

I also second Mr. Weaver's suggestion to ride the open portion. I did it three years ago and need to go back -- its one that is worth whatever trip it takes to get there.

There is a group of businesses and industries along the abandoned portion of the line in question (Westbrook to Fryeburg) that have said that they want rail service, and that they will use it if it becomes available. I can't remember specifics but one of the businesses is a quarry of some kind (granite, I think), another is cement, and another is a lumber operation. Who knows, there might be more freight potential on this line than there is on the Rockland Branch.

Well the Mountain Div does not make sence because VT pulled up its tracks on the Lamoile Valley to St. Albans years ago. (Actuly half the LV... the other half is being scrapped as we speak

As much as I would love to see the Mountain Division be used again, I don't see it happening for a long time. A long shot at best would be for Amtrak to connect its trains Vermonter and the Downeaster but with the state Amtrak is in and the current conditions of the line (even the CSRR section) would have to be up graded fully to at least a class three standard. CSRR currently maintains the line at a class two standard.

When the Flying Yankee is finally up and running again it would be great to see it run on the Conway Scenic stretch of the Mountain Div.