The Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division

I know the state of Vermont was trying to work with CSF who I believe still has the lease to the VT portion of the Mountain Division east of St J, but IIRC Guilford owns the tracks - something ridiculous like that. Its a lot of legal issues in knots. Vermont Railway (VRS) would be able to bring back traffic to the line I'm certain. I thought I heard of the paper mill in Gilman wanting service again. If anyone can do it, VRS can.

MDOT hi-rail followed by a hi-rail weedspray truck was at the Fryeburg state information center at about 1400 hrs headed WEST.

That sounds positive.

I'll be out in the speeder this weekend doing the normal maintenance work..... We now have a better contact with the Portland Water District, so we will now be able to go East from the Sabago boat ramp towards Portland.

Ian MacMillan wrote:I'll be out in the speeder this weekend doing the normal maintenance work..... We now have a better contact with the Portland Water District, so we will now be able to go East from the Sabago boat ramp towards Portland.

Ian,

You have mentioned in other posts about running your putt-putts out on the Mountain Sub-Division. How far do you guys go and where do you start and end? Is it a scenic run? I have never followed that part of the Moutain Divsion north of Hiram Jct. and south of North Conway.

I was told that maybe 10 years or so ago, the State of Maine had some of their prisoners do brush clearing of the line. I'm sure that it is all grown back by now.

Are you also part of the group that runs on the old Wolfeboro Branch?

Ian, if you do go out this weekend, CALL ME. I'll be around with nothing to do. You know you want a NORAC-qualified guy with you....

eriemike wrote:

Ian MacMillan wrote:I'll be out in the speeder this weekend doing the normal maintenance work..... We now have a better contact with the Portland Water District, so we will now be able to go East from the Sabago boat ramp towards Portland.

Ian,

You have mentioned in other posts about running your putt-putts out on the Mountain Sub-Division. How far do you guys go and where do you start and end? Is it a scenic run? I have never followed that part of the Moutain Divsion north of Hiram Jct. and south of North Conway.

I was told that maybe 10 years or so ago, the State of Maine had some of their prisoners do brush clearing of the line. I'm sure that it is all grown back by now.

Are you also part of the group that runs on the old Wolfeboro Branch?

We normally go from the Portland Water Dist fence at the Sabago boat ramp to the end of track at the NH/ME state line. The run is pretty nice scenicly.

I am part of the group that runs on the old Wolfeboro Branch, the CVRTC. Our insurance allows us to get permission to run on the Mt. Div from MEDOT.

Last time I was up there, we had to set on at Hiram, due to the PWD not wanting us to be anywhere near the lake. Glad to hear that you guys will be able to set on at the boat ramp.

I'm pretty sure MDOT does weed spraying on the Mountain Division every summer. I don't think it's anything new. They've been doing it for a while now.

I know exactly what you are talking about with PWD...We ALWAYS have problems with them....however no more... I guess the head of PWD has been ousted and we now no longer have problems with getting gate access. I have been told that we can even now go EAST from PWD towards Portland.

Looks like Maine DOT is thinking about reactivating the Mountain Division. Don't know how serious this is.

Augusta July 9 --- Maine DOT: Mountain Division Study. The state is negotiating a study contract for the Mountain Division, said Nate Moulton, manager of rail transportation. Consultant HNTB will study the engineering and economics of reviving rail on the Mountain Division, as requested by the Maine Legislature in LD 328. HNTB has a agreement with MDOT to do smaller studies on an as-needed basis. The price is determined by negotiation after the department does an independent estimate of the cost, and the consultant submits a proposed fee. Moulton is using this method rather than going out to bid because the Legislature asked for a result by 15 January 2008. He estimated an eventual fee in the $120,000 to $150,000 range. Although the bill requires only an ‘engineering study’, MDOT is going further to look at the economic viability of reopening the line. Moulton views a gravel move as the mainstay of freight. Maietta Construction of Scarborough maintains a quarry in West Baldwin and trucks a major amount of material to its Scarborough facility. Frost Mountain Sand and Gravel in Brownfield, and PY Estes in West Baldwin, have pits as well. For additional traffic, Moulton suggested that fuel trucks to Fryeburg and Conway, New Hampshire, could be replaced by rail.

Jamie, Jesse, and I headed out on the Mt. Div yesterday for a great ride from Sabago to the NH state line. On arrival at the state line we called CSRR and received a Form D for trackage to Redstone. We were only able to make to to just across Rt. 302 as there were some trees down and I did not bring my chain saw.

You could see the tire marks at dirt crossings from the hy-rail weed sprayer that Brian saw....however, if we didn't know it had been out, you wouldn't be able to tell!

Some shots from the ride.










More at;
http://picasaweb.google.com/WoodingsCBI ... nSouthEnd/

Are there rehab plans for the old maine central line from portland to the nh state line, since its all done on the conway side??? just wondering??? it would be nice

[edit by omv]

Wait what...? Are you asking if there are plans for this? I don't know if there are, if there is some sort of plan I haven't heard of it. They did a STUDY to see if the line was viable for CR/Freight and I think they have an estimate but thats about all. Unless I missed something.

The only thing that I've heard kicked around is the possibility of a commuter route from Portland out towards Conway, but even the talk is little more than a pipe dream.

There was bill introduced in The Maine Legislature last November to establish a rail authority to revive the Mountain Div. using slot machine revenues, but it was postponed until the 2008 special session. Last September MDOT reached an agreement with a consulting firm to do a preliminary study on the Mountain Sub, all the way through to Vermont. That's where it stands now.