Rumford Branch, RUPO / PORU

Isn't the Rumford mill the largest currently operating in the State of Maine?? (Probably in New England, for that matter) It seems strange that the same week we hear of the Millinocket mills reopening, we hear dire news about the Rumford operation.

riffian wrote:Isn't the Rumford mill the largest currently operating in the State of Maine?? (Probably in New England, for that matter) It seems strange that the same week we hear of the Millinocket mills reopening, we hear dire news about the Rumford operation.

I'm not so sure about that. The Sappi Mill in Hickley is huge as is the Verso Mill in Jay.

Rumford is one of the "big four", (Jay, Bucksport, Hinckley, and Rumford - some might substitute Westbrook).

Maybe there are some statistics.

Further information from a good source reveals the following:

1. Verso Paper has supposedly bought all of New Page's debt for $0.30 on the dollar.
2. New Page has one good paper machine in Rumford and also a good woodlot as well which are considered worthy of further investment and operation.

Back 'in the day' Oquossoc was a major tourist stop for fishing, and hunting in the fall, at Haines Landing on Mooselookmeguntic Lake, as were the Kennebago Camps on Lake Kennebago. Mooselookmeguntic House and cottages built before 1900, still exist and I have stayed and fished there many times at 'ice out' for landlocked salmon and brook trout. The MC line up to Oquossoc/Kennebago was quite popular until autos took over and the washouts of the 1930s. The ROW from Oquossoc up to Kennebago is still quite visible.
The SR&RL was also popular for same reasons to get to Rangeley Lake at City Cove, Rangeley, up from its connection with the MC at Farmington. (even had a parlor car which still exists)

Photo of the Kennebago/Oquossoc rail bus here: http://www.grantscamps.com/history.html

gokeefe wrote:Further information from a good source reveals the following:

1. Verso Paper has supposedly bought all of New Page's debt for $0.30 on the dollar.
2. New Page has one good paper machine in Rumford and also a good woodlot as well which are considered worthy of further investment and operation.

One more note regarding the New Page mill in Rumford. If reductions to operations take place as part of some kind of changes made by Verso my source indicated there would still likely be some layoffs, mostly in overhead of management due to potential consolidation.

At least for now impact on PAR's freight volumes from Rumford appears limited.

Found this in the paper today. Heard the commotion on the fire scanner last night but did not know exactly what was going on until now.

Rumford, Maine Derailment

"A train car was derailed and part of the rail punctured an unloading valve causing the leak," he said. "Approximately 20 gallons of sodium chlorate leaked from the rail car."

Lewiston Sun Journal wrote:RUMFORD — A Pan Am Railways car derailed near Smith Crossing on Wednesday afternoon, causing about 20 gallons of sodium chlorate to leak out, officials said. There were no injuries.

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/river-va ... rd/1128522 <---Link was first posted to the GRS yahoo group by Dan White. Wanted to repost here.
This explains why there was an excavator working around the south end of the yard there yesterday...

Today was March 18.
I flew with the windows open, and I didn't freeze.

What a great day to fly along the Rumford branch and the Androscoggin River.

This branch starts out pretty easy, but heads right into the mountains.

Here's the link:

http://samayotte.com/PAR_Rumford.html

Very Nice as always, thanks for posting!

Does anyone know if the TT and roundhouse in Rumford are still used?

Fantastic photos!

What is this thing that looks like a germ culture growing in a giant Petri dish? http://samayotte.com/PAR_Rumford.large/ ... ord_15.jpg

TT and RH no longer used, except that there may be materials stored in the house.
The table looks like it wouldn't stand the weight of anything heavier that a motor
car. It probably would support some weight, but the deck is also pretty shabby.
I wouldn't walk across it.

MEC407 wrote:Fantastic photos!

What is this thing that looks like a germ culture growing in a giant Petri dish? http://samayotte.com/PAR_Rumford.large/ ... ord_15.jpg

Wastewater treatment plant area. It's called aerating. Each brown spot in the photo is a pump tossing the sewage many feet into the air.

Aerating:
One of the first steps that a water treatment facility can do is to just shake up the sewage and expose it to air. This causes some of the dissolved gases (such as hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs) that taste and smell bad to be released from the water. Wastewater enters a series of long, parallel concrete tanks. Each tank is divided into two sections. In the first section, air is pumped through the water.

As organic matter decays, it uses up oxygen. Aeration replenishes the oxygen. Bubbling oxygen through the water also keeps the organic material suspended while it forces 'grit' (coffeegrounds, sand and other small, dense particles) to settle out. Grit is pumped out of the tanks and taken to landfills.

Wow, all those logs look like tooth picks! Haha.

Mind boggling how there's so many:

http://samayotte.com/PAR_Rumford.large/ ... ord_43.jpg

Thanks, DS! I figured it was something along those lines.