Charlie- I'd heard there was an agreement for purchase of the BAR. Do you have any details on when it was completed? Boxcab E50
It was at least a couple of months ago. The Bangor Daily News had a front page piece on the last day. Charlie
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Concludes Agreement To Purchase Lines from Canadian Pacific Railway October 1, 2002 Chicago, Illinois Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Rail World, Inc., a Chicago-based railway investment and management company, announced that Rail World's subsidiary, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) had concluded an agreement under which MMA will acquire Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) lines between the US/Canadian border at Richford, Vermont, through Brookport to St. Jean, Quebec and the north - south line from St. Rosalie through Farnham to Stanbridge that were previously leased to Quebec Southern Railway (QSR). In July, MMA signed an agreement with the bankruptcy Trustees of the Bangor & Aroostook system (B&A) and QSR to purchase substantially all of their rail assets, which connect with CPR trackage at Richford and at Brookport, Quebec, which is subject to confirmation by B&A's bankruptcy court in Portland, Maine on October 8th. Edward A. Burkhardt, President of MMA, said, "Concluding these negotiations with Canadian Pacific is a major step toward completing our purchase of the majority of B&A's rail assets. CPR will be our main interchange connection, and we look forward to close cooperation in marketing joint MMA - CPR service through the Montreal gateway." The rail lines involved provide access for B&A to Montreal and to B&A's lines in Vermont. As a part of the agreement reached, CPR and MMA have created a commercial alliance designed to "work together to enhance the operation and viability of the lines MMA is purchasing, provide competitive rail service to shippers, and provide mutual long-term benefits". The agreement is also designed to maximize routing of traffic over CPR lines, and to provide reciprocal pricing authority to both parties. Burkhardt also announced that MMA had removed the financing contingency from its agreement with the B&A Trustee. He said that "MMA's financing, composed of senior debt, mezzanine debt, and equity, has been fully committed." The financing is being arranged by Macquarie Bank (US). Fred Green, Senior Vice President – Sales and Marketing of CPR said "CPR has been concerned about the bankruptcy of the B&A system railways, which would have jeopardized rail service to shippers in the area. We are aware that MMA's business plan provides for the continued service to substantially all of the B&A system's customer base. He said "We think the joint MMA - CP service via Montreal can and will be the premier rail service offered in Northern New England and New Brunswick." The first day of operations was to begin ths week- I have no idea if anyone has taken pictures of this event. I gleaned the above from the CP website. Hope this helps...........
Well, from what I've been able to gather (off other forums) is that MM&A has a 100% GE roster, mostly rebuilt "Super 7s" and former LMX B39-8s (that used to run on BN on a power-by-the-hour basis). Again, this is off another forum, and unfortunately I have no pics of my own to show you (MM&A doesn't seem to get too close to Sherman, Texas), but I hope this helps a bit when you go out to chase trains on that line. Oops, did I say 100% GE? Wrong- they ARE keeping an ex-BAR F3 for executive trains.
Read on ERN that they are holding most of these GE's off property (some are awaiting customs anyway - coming in from Canada). One fo their major customers, Great Northern Paper, filed for bankruptcy the day they took over from the BAR. The mill had been shut down for three weeks. There are currently some buyers interested in the mill who hope to have it running again soon. Dunno about any B39s, haven't heard on those, but they are holding some ex-BN C30-7s and they turned back the GE-owned Super 7s. Maybe they'll go after more power if the mill picks up..
Here is/was the initial motive power roster for MM&A: 16 GECX B39-8E: 8522, 8525, 8536, 8539, 8541, 8544. 8546 8548, 8553, 8560, 8561, 8563, 8569, 8578, 8583, 8592. (All former LMX, last used on BN) Five GECX C30-7S: (SUPER-7’s) 3000, 3001, 3003, 3006, 3009, (They are former SOUTHERN U33C’s 3811, 3812, (MILWAUKEE U30C’s 5653, 5651, and MILW U36C 5802 respectively). Six FAIX C30-7’s: 3603, 3605, 3607, 3609, 3613, and 3614, (ex-CRL CONRAIL LEASING 505, 516, 518, 522, 566, 567, nee-ATSF 8016, 8033, 8036, 8040, 8053, 8056 respectively). Ex BAR F3 #unknown To be repainted in MM&E livery for use on their business train. And Corey, you're correct- the Super 7s are going back, leaving the B39s as the backbone of the fleet. No paint scheme for the new line as yet. The above information is from William Baird. [ 01. February 2003, 01:02: Message edited by: friscobob ]
