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.'•V"1. , ARCHIVES Taking Up The Rumford Branch Substantial Savings Plus Important Salvage and Re-Use of Track Materials Result Physical removal of 36 miles of constituted the Rumford Branch. The track between Rumford Junction and lines north of Rumford were aban• Canton was underway by our Engi• doned in 1936. neering Department last month after our railroad received Interstate Com• RAIL NEEDED merce Commission approval for aban• As previously stated re-lay track donment of that main section of our materials salvaged from the operation Rumford Branch. will be used on other points on the Savings—big savings—to the Maine system. In recent years the Maine Central will result from the move, Central has been hard pressed for both in dollars and cents, and in re• good 85-pound re-lay rail and the lease of track materials for use on abandonment will make some avail• other points of the railroad. Too, able for branch lines and industrial company officials state that very sel• sidings. dom if ever, has an abandonment Scrap metals recovered will be sold been undertaken resulting in so little for use in the current defense effort. public inconvenience. An example be• ing one big shipper who was relo• NEW SUPERVISOR cated on our lines at another point. Approximately 70,000 re-lay, treated Both his business and ours has in• crossties will be recovered and re• creased as a result. installed elsewhere on the property. Dismantling and salvaging is under BRANCH HISTORY the supervision of E. E. Davis who The 103-year-old line started out has been appointed a track super• as the Buckfield Branch Railroad in visor for the duration of the opera• 1849 from Buckfield to Mechanic Falls tion. where it connected with the Atlantic & St. Lawrence, now the Canadian FIRST STEPS National. Traffic was insufficient even Removal started the first of July then to warrant the operation and it with a crew under Foreman Jean St. lay idle for several years. In 1874 Pierre. First steps consisted of re• the Rumford Falls & Buckfield Rail• moval of all treated re-lay crossties road was organized, and took over which could be made and still keep the Buckfield line which, in 1870, had the track safe for very slow speed been extended to Canton. In 1890, this property was leased by the Port• operation. Approximately 30,000 were land & Rumford Falls Railway, ex• taken out in this manner. tending the line to Rumford in 1892, Beginning August 4, removal of and from Mechanic Falls to Rumford rail, track metals, and the remaining Junction (in the city of Auburn) in re-lay cross ties was started. The the following year. track was broken at West Minot with In 1894, the Rumford Falls & the picking up operation moving in an Rangeley Lakes Railroad was incor• easterly direction toward Canton. porated to build from Rumford to the Spikes were pulled in rails just ahead Rangeley Lakes. It reached Oquossoc of a gasoline operated crane. Joints in 1902, and by lease its operation also were removed by two nut- was consolidated with that of the runners. Portland Terminal Company P&RF under one management in 1907. Crane 198 picked up and loaded each A few months later the Maine Cen• length of rail on a gondola car being tral leased the entire property, which hauled by it. 3 UTILIZING the new audigage flaw detector, Eastern Division Trackman Robert Rustin, left, applies it to rail while Cecil Pooler, right, applies slight oil film to rail to improve sound transmission NEW RAIL SLEUTH IN ACTION THE HEAD END CREW working here with nut-running machines remove nuts from rail joints prior to removal By JOHN W. MINCHER SECOND CREW and Canton, a local freight DP-2 and PD-1 each way, three days a week. Bangor M. of W. Reporter Miscellaneous track metals remain• Those trains produced revenues ac• ing are being piled on the ground and cording to ICC formula of $37,000 Progressive advancement in the as it strikes the flaw depending on picked up by a second crew. They're yearly whereas maintaining the track provision of safer train operation was the depth of the crack. It may be taking the balance of the crossties and operations were costing our com• accomplished last month by our En• readily seen how accurately the in• with highway equipment. pany $104,000 yearly. gineering Department with the pur• strument identified the size and loca• Engineer, Maintenance of Way J. chase of an Audigage Flaw Detector, tion of the flaw. Any employe, by the process of a device used to detect flaws in rails. W. Wiggin said progress of the head simple arithmetic, can see the neces• When a flaw is discover ed, the joint end crew had been more than satis• sity of the Maine Central's exchang• With the device an operator can bars are removed from the rails en• factory, averaging better than three- ing a loss for a recurring annual sav• detect by car, cracks across webs of abling Department personnel to deter• quarters of a mile of track picked up ing. rails within joint bar limits and easily mine exactly what type defect has de• per day. discover defects across the web as veloped and permit installation of an• small as one-half inch long. other rail at that point. REASON FOR ABANDONING HINT The detector is a battery powered The machine is invaluable in dis• Necessity for the abandonment may portable unit. The operator wears covering defects at joints which other• be readily seen in these Operating In the congregation of a church dur• headphones with the detector mechan• wise would require complete removal Department statistics. In March, ing Sunday morning service was a young ism strapped on his back and a hand• of the joint for inspection, and, in con• held metal rod rests on the rail. First 1951, the passenger train between bride whose husband was an usher. junction with operation of the Sperry a thin film of oil is placed on the head Lewiston and Rumford was dis• Becoming terribly worried about having Detector Cars, will assist in detection continued because of lack of patron• of the rail end to furnish good trans• of defects not visible in normal track left the roast in the oven, she wrote a mission for the ultra-sonic waves. A age, passenger revenues being less note to her husband, sending it to him operation. Too, in its simplicity it quartz crystal at the end of the rod is does not obstruct the track. than $10 per day in each direction. by another usher. This discontinuance alone effected a vibrated several million cycles per The testing to date has been on The latter, thinking it was a note for second on the battery generated cur• yearly saving of $53,000. Through the pastor, hurried down the aisle and isulated joints, joints next to main• the ingenuity of the Operating De• rent. Then as the rod is moved along line frogs and switches, and in butt- laid it on the pulpit. Stopoing abruptly the rail it emits a high-pitched hum• partment a further saving was made in the middle of his sermon to read the welded rails through crossings and ming tone until it passes over a bolt station platforms. More than 2,100 in the utilization of motive power and note, the astonished pas-or was met operation of tonnage freights via hole or defect in the rail. The tone rail joints of various types were tested with this written injunction: "Please go in the operator's headphones is low• by use of the machine on the Eastern Leeds Junction. It left the remaining home and turn off the gas."" service on the line between Poland ered from one to four octaves of sound Division this year. 4 5 Chugging Around The State Miniature Train Travels Fair Circuit Scores Hit At Maine Summer Events The Maine Central miniature train, "Of course," was the prompt reply built in a two-week period by em• and the train was taken out on the ployes and supervisors at Waterville Fair ground's track. Alden Finne- Shops has had an auspicious debut more selected a group of small chil• throughout the State of Maine since dren from the audience for a ride in its first showing at the Waterville the miniature passenger coach. "Con• Sesquicentennial in July. ductor" Hector Michaud, colorfully In addition to winning a beautiful attired in old-time conductor's cap, trophy cup, first prize in the Indus• Groucho Marx moustache and huge, trial Division of street parade floats over-size fake pocket watch, mounted at Waterville, it also appeared night• the rostrum and called out Maine ly during the week-long observance Central stations. Off with its cargo at the historical pageant viewed by of delighted youngsters chugged the thousands on the Mayflower Hill train and repeated the performance for two hours until the advertised en• campus of Colby College. With a tertainment appeared. fusee planted in the miniature loco• motive's smoke stack, it drew the most Officials of the Fair were vocal and prolonged applause each evening as sincere in their praise of the cooper• it puffed realistically through its pag• ation shown them by the aforemen• eant role signifying entry of the first tioned men and Everett Trask and train into Waterville. Laurence Sparrow, also on duty with Next stop was an eager request for the train. its presence from the committee stag• The train next appeared at the ing the Maine Sea Foods Festival at well-known Maine State Fair at Lew- Rockland August 2.

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