INTRODUCTION

As a former professional railroader (working my way up frombrakeman to agent to trainmaster and ultimately vice president over a 20-yearspan), I appreciate the efforts to model specific company operations. But thechallenges to do that can be great, given the scope of most popular roads andthe many compromises required.  Proto-freelancingis a way to create your own vision of the ideal railroad, without beingconstrained by specifics.  

Like many of us, I was inspired by the works of AllenMcClelland, Tony Koester, and Jack Ozanich, all of whom realized that you couldcreate in miniature the operations that reflected the movement of freightacross the rail network without modeling a railroad which really existed.  Coming from a railroad background, building amodel railroad that performs like the real thing was very important.  Fortunately, I am blessed with a supportivewife, and a large basement and garage suitable for what I had in mind. 

CONCEPT AND DESIGN

The Allagash Railway (AGR) took time to develop. My first step was building a layout called the Woodsville Terminal (WT). Inspired by New England short lines like Lamoille Valley, the WT was small, but it was a great proving ground for the construction methodologies and techniques that I would later apply to the AGR. That layout had operational limitations that led to a certain level of frustration, leading me to seek a more comprehensive design that more closely replicated a larger regional carrier.  While Maine Central (MEC) and Bangor &Aroostook (BAR) dominated central and eastern Maine, in real life no carrier served western Maine, so the AGR filled in this part of the state’s rail network.

The AGR track plan evolved over time to provide a close approximation of what a northern New England regional carrier might look like in the early 1980s. In contrast to a large Class I railroad, with high iron, deep ballast, CTC dispatching, and modern six-axle diesels, the AGR more closely resembles the BAR, with lighter rail, and smaller, more colorful, often hand-me-down locomotives, running through regionally flavored scenery and structures.

But, unlike the BAR, the AGR handles heavy-tonnage coal trains and aggregate in addition to the traditional paper traffic, and does so with a fleet of second-hand four- and six-axle Alcos. This sets the AGR apart from other northern New England roads.  The railroad is set in the spring of 1982.

(This material was condensed from an article in the January2025 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. For more on the AGR, see this publication.)

The Guilford years were rough, for all railroads in the GTI realm, and AGR was no exception. By the end of 1987, after multiple strikes and the ensuing loss of business and general instability, the decision was made, by GTI, to jettison the AGR. Just like the D&H. Chewed up, and spit out.

Railtex expressed interest. But there was one caveat. The northern end of the railroad (Jackman-north) had been embargoed by Guilford. A bridge over the St. John River had fallen into disrepair, creating an operational headache for Guilford due to severe weight restriction (anyone remember North Troy, Vermont on the CP?) Service to the huge St. John paper mill at Allagash was cut back to the point of no return. Business from that mill was lost, as was business from the other major shippers in the Allagash region. The AGR Northern Division was, in essence, moribund.

Railtex entered an agreement with Guilford to purchase the Southern Division of the AGR (Jackman-south), and with that the Allagash Railway name. Railtex creates the Androscoggin & Western Maine Railway (AWM), reflecting the new, limited territory served. To protect the future of rail service in this part of Maine, the State of Maine purchases the Northern Division, (Jackman-north), and in cooperation with Railtex designates Railtex unit "Allagash Railway" as the designated operator, with guarantees from Railtex that the railroad will be operated for a said number of years, upon restoration of service.

The State of Maine funds the bridge repair/replacement. This repair/replace process goes on for two years.

In essence, Railtex creates two, separate, legal entities on paper from the outset (AWM and AGR). For the first two years of operation of the AWM, (1987-88) the Allagash Railway is inactive, due to said bridge outage, and dissolved relationships with existing shippers. During this period, the Bangor & Aroostook was providing service to St. John Paper via the Allagash St. Francis Branch. This arrangement had been forged during the Guilford years due to the GTI embargo.

This arrangement is still in effect at time of sale of assets from GTI to Railtex, and until which time the State of Maine / Railtex can re-open the line. During this two-year mothballed period, and with considerable effort, relationships with St. John Paper and other shippers (predominantly wood products) along the line are repaired and rekindled, and over time the bridge is repaired/replaced.

Service on the former AGR Northern Division officially returns January 1, 1989. Traffic in place, ready to turn wheels. The "new" Allagash Railway is reborn, albeit in a reduced capacity, but alive nonetheless.

I envision the following. Operations will consist of a pair of trains at the onset. One dedicated train of woodchips/pulpwood to International Paper-Dixfield, like the original AGR used to run. The other, a paper train from St. John Paper for the CN at Bethel. Efforts are made by St. John Paper/AWM to avoid Guilford, so that valuable Allagash paper traffic off the new AGR will mostly go CN, with some to the CP at Jackman and a trickle to Guilford at Kennebec Jct.

Power will be from the AWM pool of available Alcos, but will be painted in the full, circa 1980 Allagash solid gold/green livery. Number of units and specific power TBD. The combined car/diesel shop at Allagash will be re-opened and the AGR Alco fleet will be maintained there (the AWM fleet is maintained at Kennebec Jct. shops.)

AGR power will run-through to Dixfield and Bethel, either in a straight set, or augmented by AWM power added/reduced at Madrid as tonnage dictates for the grades on the Androscoggin Sub.. AGR power in single unit form may stray and be found anywhere on the AWM, but this will be the exception.

So that's where I'm at. A special call-out to friend Brooks Bentz, professional railroader/life-long transportation professional and author of the two great articles in RMC on the AGR and Oxford County for helping fine tune the backstory here. The devil's in the details.

Mike Confalone