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  • Rockland Branch Discussion

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1518960  by Hux
 
Do share.
Last edited by MEC407 on Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: unnecessary quoting
 #1519012  by gokeefe
 
I thought it was just a general statement calling attention to their presence.
 #1539540  by Cosakita18
 
Has there been any discussion of what will happen to the Rockland branch once CP takes over??

Also, building off of that, are there any realistic opportunities for new traffic on the branch? Propane? Scrap metal? Aggregates?
 #1539548  by MEC407
 
CP has stated that they will continue operating the branch as usual and that they have no immediate plans to change that.

In my opinion, "immediate" is the key word here. In other words, they might wait for the dust to settle from the CMQ takeover and then perhaps they might consider subletting the Rockland Branch to another firm (e.g. WATCO or similar outfit) and/or they might choose not to bid when the contract comes up for renewal. Just my opinion of course, but I think it's accurate to say that the Rockland Branch does not fit into CP's business model. I do think they're smart to just live with the status quo for now.
 #1539549  by Cosakita18
 
I feel like if anyone had the ability to get the most out of the branch, it would be CP. In my opinion there is SOME untapped freight potential. I remember hearing some discussion of Dead River building a propane terminal somewhere in Rockland or Thomaston. There's also potential for transloading of aggregates or agricultural products.
Last edited by MEC407 on Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:33 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: unnecessary quoting
 #1539552  by Cowford
 
A new propane terminal on the Rockland branch would only serve to cannibalize traffic already being handled on SLR/CMQ/PAR. Ag/agg transload potential? Could you expand on that?
 #1539619  by gokeefe
 
I'm not entirely sure it would cannibalize anything necessarily ... I would think most of the propane going to that area is running by truck from South Portland at the moment.

I can't remember if there's any propane in Searsport that perhaps CP is already handling ... ??
 #1539648  by MEC407
 
Cosakita18 wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:54 pm I feel like if anyone had the ability to get the most out of the branch, it would be CP. In my opinion there is SOME untapped freight potential.
I'm not sure what CP could do that Maine Coast, Safe Handling, Maine Eastern, and CMQ couldn't do. There just simply isn't much industry along the line, and that is no fault of any of the previous companies that operated it. It's the location.

Shortlines generally go after any business they can get, even if it's only 5 cars a month. Class I railroads don't do that, and regional railroads are increasingly hesitant to do that.
 #1539667  by Cowford
 
gokeefe wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:23 pm I'm not entirely sure it would cannibalize anything necessarily ... I would think most of the propane going to that area is running by truck from South Portland at the moment.
If it's being trucked in from S Portland, then it's coming into S Portland by rail, no?
 #1539705  by S1f3432
 
There is a gas transload facility on the Mountain Branch RR west of Larrabee Rd. in Westbrook- I don't know
who the operator is. I would hazard a guess that a large portion of the LPG arriving in southern Maine by
rail moves through one of the three facilities at Lewiston Jct. on SLR operated by DCP Midstream, Dead River
Company and Irving.
 #1539709  by gokeefe
 
Cowford wrote: Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:54 am If it's being trucked in from S Portland, then it's coming into S Portland by rail, no?
Yes almost certainly. I was figuring maybe a little more line haul for Pan Am and then interchange to CP.
 #1539722  by jwhite07
 
gokeefe wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:23 pm I can't remember if there's any propane in Searsport that perhaps CP is already handling ... ??
Well, there's that big Irving terminal at Mack Point - is that oil only? And elsewhere on the Searsport Branch there is a rail-served Dead River terminal right off the Route 202 crossing in Hampden, too.
 #1539743  by Cosakita18
 
Cowford wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:03 pm A new propane terminal on the Rockland branch would only serve to cannibalize traffic already being handled on SLR/CMQ/PAR. Ag/agg transload potential? Could you expand on that?
From what I recall the facility was intended to be a distribution point for local propane deliveries in the midcoast area.
 #1539806  by QB 52.32
 
gokeefe wrote: Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:17 pm
Cowford wrote: Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:54 am If it's being trucked in from S Portland, then it's coming into S Portland by rail, no?
Yes almost certainly. I was figuring maybe a little more line haul for Pan Am and then interchange to CP.
PAR and CP are competitors in this market and as is the case most of the time, PAR would likely be in a lesser financial position interchanging to another carrier than consolidating larger volumes through a truck transload, especially if the interchange also involves movement through an alternate transload and not direct to a customer. Therefore, from PAR's perspective it would simply cannibalize their position.
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