Down East rail line destruction

While I'm not trying to turn this forum into my personal blog, maybe some people here can help me understand something. Why do people want to tear up the rail line between Ellsworth and Calais and turn it into a recreational trail? It seems to me that we should be renovating old rail lines to carry freight and passengers, not ripping them up. And if recreational use is an issue, doesn't the ROW along the river in Gardiner and Hallowell include both an active rail line and a walking trail? Shouldn't that be a more acceptable model as we enter an era of declining energy supplies?

This strikes me as a basic policy issue that the state should address now, when we have the luxury of some little time for planning before the real energy crunch arrives.

Or is the only one?

The Ellsworth-Calais line is the only one that parallels the coast through Hancock and Washington counties. The other east-west line is the old Canadian Pacific railbed between Vanceboro and Jackman.

But I really have no idea what the condition of the line is. Is it in decent shape? If so wouldn't it make sense to think that it would eventually (soon) become a part of the natural North-East growth of passenger rail in this state?
Or maybe not, as the Downeaster is headed up to meet the Maine Eastern, and I'm not sure if there is a direct rail link from Rockland to Ellsworth.

Doesn't Guilford own that track?

Edited to add this old but rather neat picture of the Maine Central tracks:


:D

The link would be through the line from Portland to Augusta and then on to Bangor. The rail line to Rockland dead-ends there.

The Ellsworth-Calais line hasn't been maintained in years, although I've read newspaper articles about volunteers who try to keep the railbed clear of trees and such. The Maine Central abandoned the line back in the 1980s, I think, and the state owns it now.

The SOP for the line when it was in operation was the same as that at many paper mills.
That is, slap a bandaid on it when it ceases to function so as to get another day out of it.
At a ledge cut in Perry on the Ayer's Junction-Eastport branch, for years the train was forced to slow to a crawl as the tracks and the ties they were spiked to submerged under several inches of water each time the train passed.
Those rails were the first to go. Now to tear up the rest and convert it all into a snowmobile-ATV trail is nothing short of total madness.

Where did you get the cool map? It really illustrates how pervasive rail transportation was before the automobile took over. It also shows how widespread industry and population used to be in Maine. Just the idea that there was a branch line to Union (for the quarries there, perhaps?) is astonishing today. Thanks for posting it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Central_Railroad

Remember seeing this all the time?

was ripped up (maybe 15?) years ago. In the beginning, the 30-mile trail was mostly used by skiers and bikers and walkers. The last time I skied on it, (ten years ago) I was almost run over by a caravan of snowmobilers. In the non-snow months, the trail is almost exclusively used by ATVers. In the winter, almost exclusively by snowmobilers. I don't know how many of these trails are actually used for non-motorized recreation, but they often offer the riders an opportunity to really open up their machines, making them unsafe for those walking or on skis.

I don't have a problem so much with the motorized machines taking over the trail. What I do have a problem with is that the "rails to trails" program was marketed as converting the line to a scenic, quiet nature path. Many of us went along with that idea and did nothing to oppose the demise of the line. My two cents. :)

and not one I would have thought of at that.
A bit obvious now that you mention it!

The rail trail in Aroostook County has the same problem. It's promoted as a trail for hikers, bikers, X-country skiers, horseback riders, and other low-impact activities, but in reality it's overrun with ATVs in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. We were planning a hiking/camping trip along it a few years ago, but a friend who had attempted the same thing earlier said it was a nightmare -- literally, since camping along the trail meant they got no sleep from the constant ATV traffic during the night.

the vast majority here would never accuse you of trying to rise above your station and turn this forum into your personal blog I'm sure. :-)

The Ellsworth-Calais line you speak of actually ended at the then Georgia Pacific Paper/Stud/Waferboard facilities in Woodland/Baileyville (see Woodland on map).
The mills are situated on the boundary between the U. S. and Canada, the St. Croix River, fortunately for G.P. but unfortunately for the residents of Washington and Hancock Counties.

My take on why the railroad stopped running is based on an explanation told to me by a Georgia Pacific employee at the time, is anecdotal and you are free to judge its veracity for yourself.
It seems G.P., strategically located to take advantage of the Canadian railway system, employed that advantage as part of an anti labor strategy and stopped shipping and receiving freight on the Ellsworth line. The loss of G.P.'s volume of business reduced the R.R. profit to the point where it soon ceased to run. It proved to be a fatal blow to Washington and Hancock County poultry and dairy farmers who relied on the R.R. for economical feed shipment.

I hope this helps increase your overall understanding of the situation, Shorebound.

It's full steam ahead for rail conversion
Thursday, May 18, 2006- Bangor Daily News

CHERRYFIELD- Bill Ceckler brought the champagne, Sally Jacobs brought the rhubarb pie, and representatives of Maine's Department of Transportation and Department of Conservation brought the good news.
<snip>
The project gained the approval of the Legislature's Transportation Committee last month with a 12-1 vote. The vote authorized the DOT to proceed with its proposal to create an interim multipurpose trail as outlined in the Management Plan and Proposal for the Calais Branch Corridor.
<snip>
Funding for the trial project will come one-third from the DOT and two-thirds from the DOC, largely via license fees from the state's owners of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
<snip>
"This project needs to be done, and it's the right thing to do for the region."

The trail's management plan was drawn up in the last year after Gov. Baldacci gave his blessing last July to the prospect of converting the rail to trail.

http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=134264&z=177%620class=

I'm definitely not a masochist. I consider myself something of a futurist, though, and one of the defining trends of the next century will be the decline in the availability of petroleum for transportation, among its many other uses. Oil powers 98 percent of our transportation system, and crude oil production peaked in 2005. Rail transport is far more energy efficient than trucks or automobiles, and I believe that within the next 20 years we will see drastic reductions in road transport and corresponding increases in the need for rail to move both freight and passengers.

Ideally there would be a crash program in place right now to renovate and electrify our rail system, but homo sapiens seems to operate only in crisis mode. Still, it bothers me to see potentially valuable rail lines torn up to please the ATV crowd.

That's the short answer.

I should modify my previous statement by saying "homo sapiens 'americanus' seems to operate only in crisis mode." Other nations, notably in Europe, are far ahead of us in their development and retention of useful rail systems.

It pains me that a Gov. I voted for, a Democrat, is an enabler of this ill conceived and totally irresponsible plan. It further pains me that I feel compelled to criticize him for it. In fact, the more I learn the reality of "Rails to Trails" the more intense the pain becomes. That is why I asked, "Why."
The pain of which I speak is also intensified, no doubt, by memories of snowshoeing, skiing, ice fishing, etc. well before those damnable machines came on the scene.

I was a freshman in high school when the mill my dad worked in started using hemingway trucking for short hauls. they could deliver newsprint to hearst papers in less time than the railroad. and cheaper. since the mill was owned by hearst inc. this
was soon the practice in several plants. their was up to 24 hours difference in delivery time from maine to boston. because of schedules and re handling from train to trucks. the cars would set on sidings.
but the good news is many of these railroad Rte are re-opening in the southern part of the state. their is even talk of running amtrack to rockland. everything takes time.
Brunswick is building its station now.

Last time I was in Brunswick by way of train from Rockland, all they had was a departure ramp. Nice to know that they are finally building a station.

I went by the other day had to stop at the BOWDOIN college OFFICE and they were driving piles for the new station.
THE lady I talked to didn't know when it would be completed

much like one in here that gets all his information from the internet and none from experience their has been much talk about extending Amtrak to rockland. It will take time but will most likely happen down the line.
It wasn't that long ago the nay sayers said we'd never have portland to boston rail passenger service.
THE international bridge in Calais was talked about 40 years ago. who said we done things fast in Maine.

From what I understand it is designed for both active rail and active trail, but the rail traffic has effectively stopped because the railroad doesn't want the potential liability problems, with the tracks separated from the trail by nothing but a few feet distance (in many places).

From their FAQ:
How will the trail be impacted if the railroad becomes active again?
The trail has been designed to be next to an active railroad. It meets all State and Federal guidelines for "Trails with Rails". Safety has been a top priority since the beginning of the project.

http://www.krrt.org/