Late July Photo Worth A Few Words

A trip through some light history...

This is a shot from a year ago at Northern Maine Jct. For the uninitiated, that's actually Hermon, Maine and it used to be an important junction between the Bangor and Aroostook RR (BAR) and the Maine Central RR (MEC). Nowadays, it hosts only the remnants of their successors. With all this as a backdrop, that underpass tunnel in front of 334 remains an undaunted constant. While all else around it gradually disappears or falls into disuse like the rusting coaling tower just out of view, this item remains. It could be that it fills with water when it rains, or it's just easier to go around nowadays, but I find it interesting that it hasn't been bulldozed yet and at least appears to be functional.

This used to be one heck of a busy spot. The 334 is sitting on the old Maine Central tracks in front of the old BAR station building. Trains could be parked here for hours at a time with others passing on the adjacent tracks all day long. Danger alone made this underpass very useful in the past. The remnants of the passenger platforms surround the doorway. I recall having seen the old gooseneck lights on poles poking out of those platforms too, but they are long gone now. Passenger trains down from Bangor or up from Portland stopped here. When both lines combined efforts to move potatoes, this place would be in constant motion with those famous red, white and blue cars of "State of Maine Products" along with the insulated cars of other big produce shippers flowing through during the peak of season.

I made my first pilgrimage to NMJ in 1975. My grandfather knew just where to go even though he wasn't a railfan, a sign of the place's economic importance. I walked into their then new office building and talked to a receptionist who simply gave me a release to fill out. Too bad I didn't know about the Derby Shops, Oakfield, Millinocket or Squa Pan back then because she was quite surprised that I only wanted to see NMJ. The release gave me nearly free reign except for climbing in or on things. One of those very releases is tacked up next to my home computer today as a memento. So on that first visit I wandered around and got pictures of F3's, BL2's, Geeps, cabooses, and most anything else the BAR was known for in the railfan world that used to be kept around the extensive shops, yard and other facilities there. What a dream trip, which I repeated about 3 times in the next 12 years. And yes, I had still missed out on Derby when the "releases" were stopped. That 1975 trip was my first encounter with the underpass tunnel. A Maine Central train blocked the tracks so I went under. Nothing special but those unique BAR cabooses were on the other side. It wasn't much of an experience at the time but the strange shape and odd rural location crept into my photos and somehow left an impression later.

Today the BAR is nearly gone. The turntable was removed a couple of years ago, most of the shop facilities and tracks are derelict but the yards seem to be active with some MMA traffic as well as new shipper facilities. The Searsport line is still active though not daily, but there is hope for the future port business. The Maine Central was never huge here but this is now the northern outpost of the Pan Am empire. Trains to Bucksport, Old Town and Mattawamkeag radiate from here these days since the large Bangor Yard was erased. Only one daily train in and out to the west is all that is left. As mills close, even this presence by Pan Am and MMA will shrink further. Both lines are hurting in this part of the world.

See what happens to the imagination when focused somewhere other than the locomotive. Anyway, those of you who still want to see the old BAR and MEC locomotives and rolling stock (including those red, white and blue box cars) check out the photo gallery here at Larry Goss's fine site if you haven't already (or go back if you haven't in a while). You'll be glad you did. It was listed in Wikipedia too.

BC