Today's Train of Thought- Dragon by the Tail, July 19, 2012

Today's train of thought takes us to the coastal waters of Maine. Although better known for operating passenger excursions between Brunswick and Rockland, ME the former Maine Central line also hauls cement, steel, sand and perlite. One of the biggest customers for the Maine Eastern has been the Dragon Cement terminal at Thomaston, ME. Dragon holds the distinction of being New England's only cement manufacturer.

Maine Eastern's parent company is the New Jersey-based Morristown & Erie, the company also operates lines in northern New Jersey as well as the Stourbridge Line in the far northeastern corner of Pennsylvania. Curiously, although the M&E has demonstrated a preference for operating with more venerable ALCo diesels, the Maine Eastern is a primarily EMD operation.

Most of the Maine Eastern's motive power can trace their roots to Amtrak. In addition to a pair of newer former Amtrak F40PHs, the MERR also has a pair of streamlined former New Haven FL9's that saw nearly 30 years of service on Amtrak. The FL9s and F40s typically handle the excusrions that ramble along the coast on the MERR while freight duties are split between a former Canadian National MLW M420 and a high hood GP9. Although originally built for the Union Pacific, Maine Eastern #724 found its way to Amtrak as a Maintainence of Way unit, often powering work trains along the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak sold off the #764 to the Morristown & Erie sometime in 2005, where she was painted into a snazzy new green and white color scheme in New Jersey before being shipped off to Maine.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Thomas Mik caught the #724 trundling along the coast through Wiscasset, ME with cement cars for Dragon Cement near the eastern end of the line at Thomaston, ME. The eastbound train was photographed along the shores in August 2007.

The former Amtrak units may be seeing more of their bretheren soon enough. Trains from Amtrak's Downeaster service could be operating from Portland to the eastern end of the MERR at Brunswick by this fall.