This is a "re-post" (with permission) of an email that our friend Brandon Kulik sent out to his regular "operators". I thought it was pretty interesting and well in keeping with our "magazine's" less clipped and non-hectic pace.
BC
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Travels this week for work gave me some interesting glimpses. Yesterday I drove from BWIA west on I-70 past Cumberland into the headwaters of the Potomac River to an Army Corps dam in the MD/WV border well up into the Appalachain mountains. The area looks and feels a lot like Oxford Country. Westenport, MD is a former B&O /WM town about the size and architectural look of Rumford, it has a NuPage papermill and a Kingsford charcoal plant that both consume lots of woodchip and chemical brought in by rail and ship out finished product. Lots of real old-school RR atmosphere here, plus tight curves, narrow valley vignettess, and everything shoehorned into the river valleys. Very modelgenic! I wish I had more time to get out and photograph the setting and rail layout.
BC
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Travels this week for work gave me some interesting glimpses. Yesterday I drove from BWIA west on I-70 past Cumberland into the headwaters of the Potomac River to an Army Corps dam in the MD/WV border well up into the Appalachain mountains. The area looks and feels a lot like Oxford Country. Westenport, MD is a former B&O /WM town about the size and architectural look of Rumford, it has a NuPage papermill and a Kingsford charcoal plant that both consume lots of woodchip and chemical brought in by rail and ship out finished product. Lots of real old-school RR atmosphere here, plus tight curves, narrow valley vignettess, and everything shoehorned into the river valleys. Very modelgenic! I wish I had more time to get out and photograph the setting and rail layout.
The rolling stock highlight was far and away this nifty Alco T-6 tied up at the NuPage mill entrance. I assume it is used as the plant switcher, though it appears to be lettered for a coal company (or possibly George Melvin?)
Speaking of mill switchers, this may be old news to some or even most of you. I spent today at the Lincoln Pulp & Paper mill. Got to walk the various spurs in the mill complex as apart of the job. Nestled away in the mill grounds, inactive but looking servicable, is the GE center lab last used as far as I know at the former Orrington chemical plant (once the Sobin facility). Painted a light blue. Unless I'm mistaken, that this was originally the Great Northern Paper switcher that GNP used in Millinocket. Sorry, no pictures.
As far as mill rail traffic, the tracks were bare and rusty other than for 4 or 5 of those shorty stainless chlorine tankcars. The Lincoln depot still stands, though garishly painted for Guilford Transportation. Another observation was that the roadbed in various places visible from US 2 between Lincoln and Costigan appears to have been resurfaced and freshly ballasted.
all for now.
regards,
Brandon
Brandon
