bucksport branch and calis branch

[bml54]

I heard pan am was abandonding from nmj east but they were going to do upgrades on the bucksport branch which the mill is going to be torn down and I also heard rumors about them fixing the first 5 miles of the calis branch but knowing pan am it will be done at the lowest cost possible.

[newpylong]

I heard pan am was abandonding from nmj east but they were going to do upgrades on the bucksport branch which the mill is going to be torn down and I also heard rumors about them fixing the first 5 miles of the calis branch but knowing pan am it will be done at the lowest cost possible.

They are not abandoning anything.

The mill is being sold, unknown what will happen.

The Calais branch was abandoned by Guilford many moons ago - the state owns it, so Pan Am won't be doing any work there. Perhaps you're thinking of the possibility of them doing some work on the Bucksport, they are working on one or new customers there.

[BM6569]

The first section of the Calais branch may be eventually reconnected to the Maine Eastern to move the 470 when it is restored. That is one of their goals.

[KSmitty]

As Newpy mentioned, nothing has been abandoned, and unless/until the mill is torn down and all redevelopment is complete with no active customers I doubt you'll see it abandoned. They are still running to Keag "as needed" to switch PT/ABR, so thats still in service.

The Buck down to Orrington is going to remain in service on a limited level over the next couple years. They just put the switch to Holtra Chemical back in, supposed to be between 5000 and 5500 cars of contaminated dirt coming out of there to be railed off.

[BostonUrbEx]

As Newpy mentioned, nothing has been abandoned, and unless/until the mill is torn down and all redevelopment is complete with no active customers I doubt you'll see it abandoned. They are still running to Keag "as needed" to switch PT/ABR, so thats still in service.

The Buck down to Orrington is going to remain in service on a limited level over the next couple years. They just put the switch to Holtra Chemical back in, supposed to be between 5000 and 5500 cars of contaminated dirt coming out of there to be railed off.

That sounds like an awful lot of dirt! Are you sure that is right? How many cars do they plan on filling per day?

Bucksport Branch has been declared as having rusty rail conditions. Bulletin Order coming soon.

Also, I doubt they'll ever let go of the tracks in the Bangor and South Brewer area. They'll want to control just enough to have a stake in any new railroads snapping up the Bucksport line.

[CN9634]

The first five miles of the Calais branch I assume would be the section in Brewer toward Ellsworth? Heard nothing about that but I can tell you that Woodland Rail got some money in one of the previous IRAPs to do some work on their stretch of line leased to the NB Southern. I imagine they own more or less 5 miles (Could be 8 though)

[KSmitty]

The first five miles of the Calais branch I assume would be the section in Brewer toward Ellsworth? Heard nothing about that but I can tell you that Woodland Rail got some money in one of the previous IRAPs to do some work on their stretch of line leased to the NB Southern. I imagine they own more or less 5 miles (Could be 8 though)

From the end of the runaround track in Calais, to the wye switch in Baileyville its approximately 9.5 miles. Mile 10 should be around the mills main gate area and the end of track should be around 10.8/10.9 from the end of track in Calais. Not sure what exactly they own, if anything related to the international bridge coming into Calais or anything on that side of the border opposite Calais (Yes I know they own a few miles in NB between Calais and Woodland as the line runs up the east side of the river).

BostonUrbEx-
I remember hearing 5,200 carloads of dirt, but I don't recall where that number came from. Its to be something like a 2 year excavation, so thats about 7 cars/day, but I'd imagine less in the winter and more in the summer. Should be quite a project.

[Watchman318]

The first section of the Calais branch may be eventually reconnected to the Maine Eastern to move the 470 when it is restored. That is one of their goals.

Er, would that involve that big connection up the coast beyond Rockland? I'm no good at geography even in my own county, but . . .
I know, many newspaper reporters and a lot of others get Eastern Maine Rwy. and Maine Eastern RR mixed up, too.

That might be another reason MERR is a railroad, even though Morristown & Erie is a railway: one less way for MERR to be mistaken for those Canadian guys, eh?

[BM6569]

No, the Calais branch connects (connected) at Brewer Jct (Bucksport Branch) in Brewer, which then connects to the mainline at Calais Jct in Bangor

[Mikejf]

The first section of the Calais branch may be eventually reconnected to the Maine Eastern to move the 470 when it is restored. That is one of their goals.

Er, would that involve that big connection up the coast beyond Rockland? I'm no good at geography even in my own county, but . . .
I know, many newspaper reporters and a lot of others get Eastern Maine Rwy. and Maine Eastern RR mixed up, too.

That might be another reason MERR is a railroad, even though Morristown & Erie is a railway: one less way for MERR to be mistaken for those Canadian guys, eh?

Nice catch. I read that but never gave it a thought. Restoring the Brewer end would actually connect Downeast Scenic with the outside world, allowing them rail access for the 470 restoration group.

[newpylong]

If you look at google maps the line looks clear and ballasted right up to the last mile or so before Calais Junction. Does the state maintain it that far and PAR owns the last bit?

[NHV 669]

I believe it has been mentioned elsewhere, but the crossings are paved over in Brewer, severing the line

[trainsinmaine]

The dream of the Downeast Scenic Railroad is to operate excursion passenger service all the way from Bangor (or at least Brewer) to Washington Junction. That has been expressly stated to me by a couple of its crew members. The Downeast Scenic has a great thing going in Ellsworth, and faces an even greater future with the addition of the 470.

That said, I'm curious: Just how much of the Calais Branch roadbed does the Downeast Scenic have access to through its lease (whether currently used or not)? And what is the present condition of the roadbed between Brewer and Ellsworth Falls? I know the DOT keeps it clear of brush; a cursory look from the crossings would seem to indicate that it's in pretty good shape, though it certainly needs new ties and ballast. However, I've heard that over the years there have been some water erosions and so forth that have done some damage along the way. Does anyone out there have any up-to-date info.? How much money and work would it take to put the line back into operational condition?

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

The dream of the Downeast Scenic Railroad is to operate excursion passenger service all the way from Bangor (or at least Brewer) to Washington Junction. That has been expressly stated to me by a couple of its crew members. The Downeast Scenic has a great thing going in Ellsworth, and faces an even greater future with the addition of the 470.

That said, I'm curious: Just how much of the Calais Branch roadbed does the Downeast Scenic have access to through its lease (whether currently used or not)? And what is the present condition of the roadbed between Brewer and Ellsworth Falls? I know the DOT keeps it clear of brush; a cursory look from the crossings would seem to indicate that it's in pretty good shape, though it certainly needs new ties and ballast. However, I've heard that over the years there have been some water erosions and so forth that have done some damage along the way. Does anyone out there have any up-to-date info.? How much money and work would it take to put the line back into operational condition?

http://www.downeastscenicrail.org/ride/ ... Letter.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DSRX's website has all the info about their charter. Their current lease on the ROW ends at about MP 140.3 in Brewer, roughly between Calvin Ct. and the Green Point Rd. grade crossing. It's absolutely in their plans to restore service gradually that far west, but them being a volunteer nonprofit they can only do work in incremental bits per year so it's going to take awhile and progress-per-year is going to be variable. I'm not sure why the lease didn't go the last 1.5 miles to the junction which is the only place a Brewer station would've fit. The state owns that track too. Maybe PAR kept dibs on the industrial park in the extremely unlikely event one of those small businesses needed rail service.

At any rate, I doubt there's any hurdles preventing an eventual goal of Downtown Bangor and the surge in revenue that would bring. It would just require a little more state aid augmenting the volunteer effort in order to speed up the pace of work, and for MEDOT to help broker the rights with PAR. PAR would be happy to let them coexist. The excursion trains are a useful rust-buster for the first mile of the Bucksport Branch, would enhance the state interest in developing overall rail traffic in the Bangor area, and is some feel-good PR that indirectly feeds the state interest in giving them money out there.

[MEC407]

The best place to discuss Downeast Scenic operations past/present/future is here:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=126&t=78065