Bangor and Aroostook
A BAR train called the CP Extra crosses the bridge over the West
Branch of the Penobscot River south of Millinocket on it's way to
the CP Rail connection at Brownville Junction with loads of
newsprint paper destined for Canada and the Midwest USA.
BAR's side door cabooses dated from the early 1900s and some
lasted in service into the late 1980"s. Here buggy number
C62 and an AAR 1932 style boxcar rest near the Millinocket engine
house in the late 1970s. The "R" after the caboose
number indicates that this car is not suitable for interchange
and is restricted to home road use.
Here at a feed distribution center near Presque Isle is a home
made covered hopper which has been converted from one of the
roads 50' coal hoppers.
The late 1970s were a transition period between the solid blue
and the tri-color schemes as shown by this interesting
combination of units passing the office building at Northern
Maine Junction after having dropped their train at the rear of
the building.
After arriving from Searsport with their train, F3A number 49 and
BL2 number 50 back into the engine terminal at Northern Maine
Junction.
The Searsport job accelerates around Long Cove as it begins it's
journey back to Northern Maine Junction. The lead unit number 98
is one of four ex Missouri Pacific GP38s the BAR aquired from
Helm Leasing in exchange for unused mechanical refrigerator cars.
Most of the reefers which were traded in eventually ended up on
the Union Pacific
The Searsport job prepares to head North after picking up fuel
oil at Searsport in the summer of 1997. BAR 352 is a recently
rebuilt member of BAR's original fleet of GP38s while the lead
unit is an ex Southern Pacific GP35 lettered for BAR's sister
road Quebec Southern.
BAR 14 and 18 come from a small group of boxcars which the Derby
shops converted in the early 1970s into "all-door" cars
for lumber loading. One side looks like a standard boxcar except
that the door is welded shut.
Train ON28 arrives at Northern Maine Junction in the summer of
1965. Behind the three F3As is NW2 switcher number 20. Number 41
and 20 were traded in on new GP38s in 1966-67 and number 47 was
later wrecked and rebuilt as number 49.
Caboose C99 shows off new paint and modifications at Northern
Maine Junction. Two other "buggies" C97 and C98 also
eventually recieved this treatment during the 1980s.
Freshly repainted from the very simple solid blue scheme of the
1960s, GP7 number 61 leads an F3 and a BL2 into Northern Maine
Junction.
Just south of Oakfield Yard SW9 yard switchers numbers 36 and 32
help a long southbound ON44 train up the grade to Dyer Brook.