I thought the general transport historian in all of us would find this site fascinating, as I did:

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/index.htm

Well, there goes your weekend..........

Cheers,
Alexander D. Mitchell IV

Oh NOOO......I've been perusing this site, and it's about as tempting as www.youtube.com. Absolutely fascinating!

Nice find - I always like the mystery of an abandoned site. If your in to that type of stuff this site is worth a look - http://www.designshed.com/lostamerica/index.html Be sure to check out the images of the SP Oakland, CA station on the New Work page.

Listed on the Maine part of the site is the Air Force Base at Limestone, Maine, that had a Baldwin switcher at one time and is rumored to still be up there. Another site for the aviation historian in all of us is http://nwrain.net/~newtsuit/b17labrador/ - This group salvaged an old B-17 bomber that had crashed on a frozen lake in Labrador in the winter of 1947 and later sank when the ice melted.

Now I've got to stop posting.

-Justin Franz

Justin-where is the Maine page? For that matter, where is the state index on that website? I couldn't find any of that. Thanks for another neat link!

Just scroll down on the home page. All the states are listed. Click on "Maine" and then "Maine, Northern".

I found the Loring AFB info and photos especially interesting since I was born there (in the base hospital they called the "Pink Palace") and have never been back since my Dad was transferred to Turner AFB here in Albany, GA in mid-1959. Dad flew those big B-52's as a Command Pilot and retired here at Turner in 1964 with 22 years service in the Army Air Corps/ U.S. Air Force.

It would be interesting to find out more about the rumored Baldwin switcher used at Loring. I'd especially like to see photos of the rail operations on the base and the line connecting from BAR.

I'd also like to find out about the rail system at Turner AFB. I wonder if they had an on-base switcher to move all the fuel tankers and other cars around on base? If so, what type locomotive might it have been? There was (and still remains) a good bit of trackage at the site. In fact, the Miller Brewing plant makes use of the rail on a daily basis, with switching provided by, I believe, the Georgia & Florida Railway.

If you look at Jerry Angier's 'The Bangor and Aroostook In Color' You'll find a few shots of the line to Limestone, where Interchange was once made with the Loring Air Force Base Railroad. The images included of the Base Railroad are of two different six-axle Alco's, one being a RSD-1. As far as I know these are gone - I believe my father has some shots of one of them being moved by flat car on the Maine Central. In another book by Angier, B&A The Maine Railroad you'll find a shot of what looks like a 44-tonner that called the base home, so it appears that more than one engine has been on the roster over time. Solving the if and what of something currently being on the base could likely be solved by just going up and taking a look around.

Last time the base was active was around 1992, just after the first Gulf War. In 2003 the base held a Phish concert, which significantly increased the population of Aroostook County that weekend.

Edit: http://www.mellander.com/images/phish-maine.jpg - This is an aerial image of the base during that Phish concert, yeah that defiantly increased the population. Amazing what you can find on the net with a simple search.

-Justin Franz

Justin,

Thanks for reminding me about Jerry Angier's book Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in Color.(Morning Sun Books, c. 2004) I bought a copy late last year, so pulled it out to take another look. Interesting that these two August 3, 1971 photos by Paul Westin show one US Army MRS-1 (I think, #2194) in black with yellow frame stripe, and the other a US Air Force RSD-1 (#8050) in the blue with yellow hand rails and hachures on the frame. I wonder how often USA locomotives were used on USAF installations?

In the other book, which I don't have (yet), you mentioned a photo of a 44-tonner (possibly) on the base. Does the caption have a date, and could you describe the paint scheme? Is it USA or USAF?

Regarding Turner AFB, I've yet to find a photo of any locomotive assigned to the base. I can't imagine there was not one there, but until someone can come up with a photo or some other documentation showing there was a locomotive there, I guess I'll always be wondering.

Thanks!

Back in the late 1980's the 470 Club ran an excursion on the BAR that took us onto the Loring Air Force Base. The train went on base trackage right up to one of the hangers. The photo op was our train (with the F3 repainted into its original scheme) posed next to a B52. Never to be repeated.

The shot in Bangor and Aroostook, The Maine Railroad is of the small GE switcher (Something in the family of a 44-toner) in what appears to be a solid blue (shots in black and white) scheme, painted handrails - yellow or white. Top of the cab, looking from the front has 'USAF 1690'. The shot has no date, caption just says it's going into the base, and the photo is credited to the U.S. Air Force. If you find a copy of The Maine Railroad, get it. It's tough to come-by and is likely the most complete history of the B&A, the one I have here is my fathers contributor copy.

Found two sites on the Loring base at Limestone - http://www.loringairforcebase.com/index.html - http://www.all-hazards.com/loring/ - the second one has shots of the rail line as at appears today, no shots of any equipment left. Still some very interesting shots of the base. According the EPA Loring clean-up site, the base had a railroad shop.

Edit: http://www.oldfilm.org/ocg/publicMainView.cfm?id=402 - According to this site, the Bangor and Aroostook produced a film on the base.

-Justin

http://www.sdrm.org/roster/diesel/d-2104/ - While everyone has walked away from the bright light of the computer screen, I'm still here surfing around and happened to find this site about USAF 2104, that once operated at Loring and is now preserved at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum.

Ok, now I really need to work on that English paper or sleep, whichever comes first!

-Justin

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=112939 - While not the someone that at one time called Loring Air Force Base home, here is a shot of another MRS-1 in California, still earning it's keep. On a side note, I did confirm with a friend that there is still a locomotive up there, under lock, As well as a plow outside in the yard.

-Justin Franz