The clip below states that Maine Narrow Gauge may lose its lease in 2009. Along with details on that situation is a mention that the city of Portland is considering a streetcar line. Is that a real possibility, or is this just trolleycar wishful thinking?

Sloan

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/n ... 27658.html

THis is the first I've heard of it, but there is a "green" push on in Maine, and I wouldn't doubt that money will start to appear for an electric street railway. Maine used to be honeycombed with them, and it is generally agreed tht losing them was stupid and short sighted. Bringing commuter rail back in the state is being actively perused, even as the idiots in Augusta continue to talk about pulling up the Calais Branch. People, and here I mean people, not newspapers or politicians, are looking for restoration of rail connections around the state.
If you are not aware of it, Maine is a huge place, and on a good day, the population of the entire state is about 1,200,000 total. If you want anything - groceries, clothes, hardware, entertainment, you get in your automobile and drive thirty miles or more. As gasoline rises and we start worrying about what the waste gases are doing to our environment, there is a consistent call for rail service.
Note, the Maine Narrow Gauge may get booted due to lack of earnings and location. There are some wonderful tourist railroads in the state, the WW&F being premier, but Mainers are now talking real rail service.

This is typical Portland Maine at its finest.

They are in the middle of re-developing the former BIW Drydock site. As usch they promised the railroad that any track that they removed would be replaced. As it turned out Yes it would be replaced but at the railroads expense. - not the city's.

Is the idea of a trolly line in Bayside a dream? Yup. Portland trashed its trolley system years ago. Now they are trying to 'Green" the busses that replaced it. Todate they have tried electric and now propane. Go figure.

Were should the Maine Narrow gauge go? To Wiscassett and the WWF Museum. They have historical right of way to build on. A great volunteer organization and a prize location for expansion. Plus tons of historical integrity.

The Cumberland fairground proposal would simply turn it into an amusement ride. Totally out of context with the history. Phillips would is simply to far away for most would be riders plus the Portland based volunteer's would probably fall by the wayside considering that distance.

In the end the Portland waterfront was a pour choice. Cramped, bitchy niehbors and an un predictable city city government.

This is not to belittle the efforts of the many fine folks who started the museum and have struggled to operate all these years. Its just what was expediaent at the time is now a hinderance today.

Best regards,

Terry


Sorry for all the miss-spelling I was in a hurry.

This is in no way a catalyst for a flame war, but light of previous posts on this string, something to seriously consider merging any two musuem / volunteer groups.

I only know one guy from one of these two museums from a distance and through mutual friends and form what I know he pretty decent guy, so I don't know the real temperature of either or both groups. I am not pulling any punches, just provoke some thought.

Does either or both MNGRR and WW&FRR museums have an appetite for merging? Have they collaborated in the past at any level? The equipment is immediately compatible, how about the people long term? I have been around enough to know that one museum volunteer family has enough of its own issues, but combing two???? Can we say potential turf battle????

I hope a merging would work as it would greatly benefit both groups.

Ray

Speaking for myself only....
I believe that all the Maine NG RR groups cooperate. WW&F leases W&Q Coach #3 for a nominal amount from MNGRR, for instance, and is able to keep it indoors out of the elements as well as run it on it's original ROW. There are many other examples of generosity and coordination and sharing between the organizations.
MNGRR is unique in that it was 'instantly' created with a large number of maintenance hungry artifacts. While the collection at MNGRR is unique and priceless, it requires increasing amounts of money and labor to restore and maintain them, something all of us are well aware of.
Without restoration and indoor storage, many of those pieces are slowly meeting the fate that their brethren met in the 30's and 40's, except that Mother Nature is the scrapper, not humans.
I've only been there once, despite having passed through Portland many many times, because it is so depressing. Like Steamtown in VT in the 70's.
This is not meant to be a knock on the folks in Portland. From what little I know and can see they have an impossible task, and I do not know any details of who, how, or why. Edaville wasn't exactly a thriving enterprise either, to be fair, so running cute old trains is apparently not going to attract enough funds to be self sufficient.
WW&F is able to do what it does precisely because it does not have a large collection to maintain, is growing slowly, has an amazingly dedicated volunteer base, and is not situated in a valuable and crowded seaside urban landscape, and to have a number of pieces suddenly appear in Sheepscot would put it in a similar situation as MNGRR is now.
So my $.02 worth is for the state of Maine to put some tourism development money into moving the collection somewhere that needs a boost, with indoor storage and work area, preferably of late 19th century vintage, available ROW for a couple miles of track, enough people passing through that would buy a ticket, attract a loyal volunteer base, and try to jump start the local tourist economy somewhere besides the coast. An example is Lowell, MA, and the museums there based in the old textile mills. Gummint money, yes, and not a total success, but it does get things going.
A subsidy will always be required (i.e. CSRRM), no doubt, with strings attached, but otherwise the collection could go to the highest bidder, which might be far away.

I agree there is a remarkable level of cooperation between the various museums up here.

However, with the state facing a 100 mil. shortfall and the citizens saddled with second highest tax burden in the nation, looking for help from the state government is a lost cause. Plus you have to remember this is the same state government that lost 20 mil by investing in the sub-prime lending market. Do you really want these financial geniuses involved in any shape or form?

Anyway, I do think a consolidation with the WWF makes sense. The storage of equipment can be overcome. Even at the soon to be vacated Portland site storage is at a premium and much equipment is left to the elements and vandals. In fact, and I hate to say it, the weed grown site with equipment in various stages of decay scattered around really is a poster child for the NIMBY crowd.

Again I go back to maintaining historical context. Last month we had the privelege of riding the WWF during thier Victorian Christmas celebration. It was easy to image as we clicked down the line surrounded by a typical rural Maine winterday that it was indeed the 1900's. The bonfire and sliegh ride added to it as well.

Somehow the fairground at Cumberland or the current line ending in the shadow of the sewage treatment plant simply don't convey the same feeling.

Where ever the collection ends up I wish them the best.