Potato originating railroads in New England

Did other railroads besides Bangor & Aroostook engage in potato haulage?

Aroostook Valley

The Long Island Rail Road hauled potatoes back when. "Long Island Potatoes" were grown on the far east end of the island and were identified as such on packaging. Long Island ducks were another well known agricultural product back before the land became more valuable for housing than for agriculture.

Unrelated but what is Pompy?

BAR
MP 37, CSX Peninsula Subdivision

NHV
Thanks. I have travelled over that line from WRJ to Newport and return on two speeder excursions but no one referred to it as the Pompy.
BAR

Pompanoosuc = Pompy

edbear,

Thanks for the info.

BAR

I'm sure the MEC had some potato houses, and Lilliput WW&F handled spuds as well. Not quite New England, but Long Island Railroad handled thousands of originating potato loads probably into the 50s. Years ago, I met a retired Long Island engineer that had stories of firing many a potato extra.

Seem to remember seed potatoes and fertilizer being delivered to Fryeburg in the springtime
back in the '70s. Most people think of Aroostook County when potatoes are mentioned but in
fact they are grown in the river valleys in the southern part of the state especially the upper
Androscoggin River valley from Canton to Bethel and the Saco River around Fryeburg.

Even further from New England, but into at least the mid-1980s, my family's shortline in Chester County, PA (Octoraro Railway, now the East Penn Railway) received potatoes from the northwest (Idaho, Montana, etc) in BN reefers, destined for Herr's Snack Foods in Nottingham, PA. No idea if any of this traffic from that region is left today, but given the massive quantities some food conglomerates must use, it wouldn't surprise me. (Herr's is a pretty small, regional company making potato chips, etc - nothing like the size of the national brands. Surprising they were still able to buy and ship in that volume then.)

The BN reefers used in the 80's for this traffic were, let's just say, not the pride of the fleet. They were pretty temperamental, and as a kid I tagged along with my dad on many occasion to check on reefers which ended up online over the weekend. The RR was responsible for monitoring them for proper temperature until they got to Herr's siding.

perhaps the New Haven hauled some? albeit originating from maine. didn't they have some reefers with "state of maine / products"? assume they were potatoes.

We know Penn Central didn't haul potatoes

They would've been mashed potatoes by the time Penn Central got done with 'em.

At the risk of seeming like what I am (a retired English teacher), wouldn't better phrasing be "POTATO ORIGINATING RR'S?" No shortage of other railroads forwarded potatoes that originated on northern Maine and eastern Long Island lines.