Rockland Branch Discussion

Just saw video of them from yesterday, enroute to Solvay, NY. Still carrying FGLK reporting marks, but lettering indeed gone.

Pending any shipper objections by Sept 1st, the STB approved the turnover(unsurprisingly) effective on or after September 8th. Will be posted tomorrow on the STB site

Question on the details of the filing: the route they're taking over is described as

Midcoast is filing its notice of exemption contemporaneously with the filing
of this Notice of Exemption to assume the operations of the Subject Line described as: (1) the
Brunswick Terminal Area between the east side of Church Road, milepost 14.97, and Rock Jct.,
milepost 16.40; (2) the Rockland Branch between milepost 29.40 in Brunswick, Cumberland
County, Maine and milepost 85.55 in Rockland, Knox County, Maine; and (3) the Atlantic Branch
Line between milepost 85.55 and milepost 86.65 in Rockland.

Does the Rockland Branch change milepost origins at Rock Jct.? Or is there a 13-mile gap somewhere?

I've found two different Rockland Branch milepost listings online: one, compiled by Chuck Petlick in the late 1990s and sourced from an employee timetable (date and railroad unknown, but probably either Maine Coast or Guilford), and one from Wikipedia which doesn't say where or when it's from.

Here's the one from Chuck Petlick:

Rockland Wharf -----------------86.8
....................Dragon Cement Transfer
Main St. (Rt.73)
Broadway St. --------------------85.48
Highland St.
Rockland--------------------------85.10
....................Yard
Pleasant St.
....................ChemRock
Thomaston-------------------------81.59
....................Dragon Cement Plant
Georges River -------------------78.91
S.Warren
Warren -----------------------------74.47
Martin Rd.
Allens -------------------------------68.82
Goshen Rd.
Coles Hill Rd.
Waldoboro--------------------------67.66
....................Home Gas Corp.
Upper Depot St.
Winslows Mills--------------------66.09
E.Pond Rd.
Vannah Rd.
E.Neck Rd. -------------------------59.9
Lower Cross Rd. (Dump Rd.) --60.22
Nobleboro --------------------------60.92
Damariscotta Mills --------------58.26
Bayview Rd.
Mills Rd. ---------------------------57.77
Newcastle --------------------------56.28
S.Newcastle
Sheepscot River ------------------53.01
Wiscasset---------------------------48.92
....................Maine Yankee Nuclear Plant
Montsweag --------------------------44
Meadow Rd.
Nequasset
Woolwich
Kennebec River ------------------38.05
Bath -----------------------------------38
....................Bath Iron Works
Old Brunswick Rd.
Hardings ----------------------------33.79
Cooks Corner
Jordan Ave. ------------------------30.54
Union St.
Stanwood St. -----------------------28.65
Brunswick --------------------29.12-----(GRS 16)
..........Interchange with GRS
Church Rd. -------------------------28.03

And here's the one from Wikipedia:

Milepost 0: Brunswick junction with Maine Central Lower Road and Lewiston Branch
Milepost 8.7: Bath with Bath Iron Works shipyard
Milepost 9.5: Woolwich
Milepost 20: Wiscasset interchange with narrow-gauge Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway from 1895 to 1933
Milepost 27.1: Newcastle
Milepost 28.9: Damariscotta Mills
Milepost 31.7: Nobleboro
Milepost 38.5: Waldoboro
Milepost 45.3: Warren
Milepost 52.4: Thomaston large cement plant
Milepost 56.6: Rockland ferry connections to Penobscot Bay

This filing is fraught with humor; The attached map has the CMQ logo and refers to CMQ. CMQ doesn't exist, it is now owned by CP, so perhaps it still exists on paper and has been operating the Rockland branch in a zombie fashion. Guess the point is CP didn't even bother to update the route map with their own logo!

The proposed transaction does not involve a Class I railroad. Accordingly, this transaction qualifies for the class exemption described in 49 C.F.R. §1180.2(d)(2).

Weird that the filing is only about whether FGLK is gonna require "monopoly" review. (And of course it is hard and eye-glazing to find the text of the law instead of some inaccurate summary) CP is a Class I, should be harder to get the exemption.

Interesting the Class-III are exempt from labor protection. CP is a Class-I, CMQ is a subsidiary of CP. I would think the ~~0.1 Rockland Branch workers should not be exempt from "labor protection" rules.

Did MaineDOT sign off on the substitution of operators? Are the customer(s) "happy"? Presumably no effect. Also presumably it is more expensive for FGLK to get equipment in and out than it was for CP.

MEC mileposts used to go up the Low Road starting with Mile 0 at Portland, so Brunswick was MP 29. Guilford renumbered from Royal Junction with the MPL/CPL designation starting at 0 and headed up to Brunswick whereas the Rockland Branch retains the legacy MEC mileage from Portland.

Not sure where there is any humor in the filing. The Map is from the original CMQ 2015 STB filing, and yes CMQ very much does exist as a subsidiary to CP (it's referenced in all the current KCS proceedings) along with all the others D&H, DME, Soo, ect.

Why bother updating a map for something you are getting rid of? Why is it weird about the filing relative to FGLK? The filing isn't for a CP takeover, its for an FGLK so serves much less scrutiny. The CMQ / CP transaction is settled since June of 2020. If you read the filing, and the STB decision, you'll see specifically MaineDOT gave its consent. There are currently 3 active shippers, with a 4th coming online this year.

CN9634 wrote:Considering MaineDOT asked CMQ to participate let’s be honest, it would never have gone back to MERR

Right, a Morristown and Erie executive (more than 1?) went to jail in NJ for embezzlement of state or county funds and there were no other bidders so they asked CMQ for a favor.

Any idea when and how many RDCs will be heading to Rockland?

0 and not at all?

Lets see if any of the RDCs sitting in Vermont end up in Rockland.

Why would any RDC end up in Rockland?

The Finger Lakes owns a number of passenger cars including 2 N&W cars that came from the Chuck Wagon restaurant in Lewiston. Time will tell if any of their passenger cars visit Maine.

Tom Coughlin
Stow, MA

If the NNEPRA offers a subsidy then they will probably provide service.

i'm confused; did they find a solution for the expiring cement cars?

BandA wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 1:52 pm If the NNEPRA offers a subsidy then they will probably provide service.

Amtrak had plans with NNEPRA to offer a seasonal weekend service to Rockland. With a "passenger friendly short line" holding the reigns, perhaps they would offer such service instead of Amtrak. Or Amtrak runs the up on Friday/back on Sunday thru train and FGLK runs the weekend "excursion" service similar to how Maine Eastern did it.

Just a thought. But you've got, what, a 50 mile line rebuilt with welded rail and (nearly) ready to receive passenger trains of some capacity.