St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR/SLQ)

I was up in the Portland area Friday and tried following the old GT route north past the Burnham and Morrill facotry. I short distance north I found what appears to be the old GT roundhouse (now an office area). Am I correct that that yard was GT?

Getting up to Yarmouth, saw the Yarmouth station (occupied by a florist), which stills looks to be in great shape. I bit further I stumbled upon a crossover at MP 2, which puzzled me. Not being from the area, would appreciate some feedback: What is the crossover area...which lines are they? Where is the MP measured from? There does not seem to be much interchange action there, in fact the only link was blocked by an old, and badly vandalized tamper. The tracks seem to be in very good shape. One line seemed fairly active...any info on frequency of trains in that area? Alas, ran out of time on this trip...seemed a great area to explore another time.

Thanks

Steve

The old roundhouse you found is the old GT East Deering facilty.

If you are talking about the crossing in Yarmouth, that is Yarmouth Junction where the GT (now St. Lawrence & Atlantic - SLR) and the old MEC Low Road cross. 2.5 miles due west of the crossing is Royal Junction, where the two MEC mains split. My office used to be located in the industrial park there at the crossing, we would go out back to watch the SLR or Guilford jobs roll by. Not much going on there now, SLR uses their old interchange track for boxcar storage.

GRS is hit or miss, depends on their service needs and those of Maine Eastern, we would normally see GRS through there 2-3 days/week, early - like around 630-7 am heading west (this is up to last May when we moved the shop to gray). SLR is as needed, it was three day a week service I believe but got pretty slim over the winter. Not many customers left south/east of Danville - B&M beans, the cement dealer, Hancock Lumber in Yarmouth (behind the station).

Actually, from Yarmouth Junction, stay on east elm street to north road, take north road to route 231, take a R and take that to New Gloucester. In NG, take a R on peacock hill road just before Marios restaurant, that takes you right into Danville Junction. Best shot at action around here!

Many thanks. I will try to get up again next Friday (up from the Salem,Mass area) on a day off. With the weather getting better I am getting the travel bug!

If you need more info on Danville, just post! And if you are at Danville, you are only two miles from Lewiston Junction and the SLR enginehouse * intermodal yard. Well worth the time.

This is the Tamper you saw.

Here is a picture of Yarmouth Junction. Not too much action these days. Pick up a copy of the the MEC in color volume 1 for some great pictures for older times.

Brooks

Does anybody know what the schedule for their freight trains thru Groveton,NH area is?

bigfreight,
Eastbound the #394 usually leaves Island Pond around 2100-2200 so probably passes through Groveton around 2300-midnight, and westbound the #393 probably comes through around 0200-0400 or maybe later. Occasionally the Berlin Switcher (#511) works west to Groveton and North Stratford, but I don't think there is any schedule beyond being during the daytime and being very occasional. I hope this helps.
Fritz
6 miles from the SLR under starry skies

Thanks for starting an SLR thread. I've been thinking about doing it myself for a while! Maybe things will pick up for them if Amtrak can get to Brunswick now that the stimulus bill has passed.

Their schedule has been sporadic lately. Some nights I hear 393 going through about 7 pm in the South Paris area. Other times it is as late as 10 or 11. 394 is the same way. Sometimes they come through this area in the wee morning hours (2-4ish), other times it is 8 am.
Mike

Looks like the SLR has still been running fairly big freights -- lots of gas. What will they be running when the gas runs out? Any ideas would be great.

On rare occasions I've heard 394 coming through South Paris at 9AM. Traffic wise, the Loss of the NEPW warehouse in South Paris hasn't been too bad because from what I've heard they are doing some switching there. Also I guess traffic has been diverted to other warehouses (Mechanic Falls, Auburn). The Port of Auburn warehouse recently expanded and every time I go there I see at least 8 cars. A lot of traffic is coming out of Danville but due to capacity constraints this is lower. The Portland Marine Terminal is under reorganization and for a time some containers were going from Portland to Auburn to be put on a train. I don't think the Gas will dry up anytime soon but who knows. At least Port of Auburn is healthy.

What is left of the Berlin Mills Railway in Berlin?

What does the SL&A use to switch the ex BM trackage?

The 2 Sw's are stored at Lewiston Junction. I assume they must be using one of the GP40's. I don't know exactly what is left for traffic, but the big mill is gone.
Mike