Does anyone know the meaning behind the logo with what appears to be a tree in the middle with water on the bottom and a mountain on top?
It seems to easy to believe that I am right and just looking for an answer.
This Railroad is not one I am familiar with at all.
Thank you
Steamloco35

Bangor & Aroostook- known up there as the "B&A" (not the southern New England B&A- which was Boston & Albany)

Operated in Maine, which has:

Trees (lots of forest products- lumber and paper- hauled by B&A)
Mountains (lots of them, for the railroad to go up, down, and around)
Water (lots of lakes, and lots of seacoast)

Bangor & Aroostook once hauled a LOT of Maine potatoes, and they were known for their large fleet of refrigerator cars, and red-white-blue "STATE OF MAINE PRODUCTS" boxcars (insulated for potatoes, and non-insuated for paper and other general merchandise.

Howard P.

Interesting side note to this thread, Howard. It's well established that loss of the potato harvest was one of the factors which signaled the end of the BAR, as well as the massive scrapping of scores of potato reefers in the 1970's. When the paper industry collapsed, it was the coup-de-gras. Portions of the beloved old railroad were sold off to form a small number of shortlines, including the MMA, the CM&Q, New Brunswick Southern. The Canadian Pacific has purchased back much of their old line through Maine and a substantial portion of the old BAR.
Today's Bangor Daily News reports that 35 refrigerator cars are loading potatos in Van Buran, Maine, through an arrangement with the CPR, UP and one of those shortlines. Maine potatoes are once more being shipped by rail to Washington state! It is noted that rail is faster because the trucking industry can't meet the needs of shippers.

One thing not mentioned is the insulated potato cars need heated. The BAR cars had charcoal heaters for this purpose but they needed refuelled periodically.

Penn Central destroyed the 1970 potato harvest when they abolished the NH car floats at Bay Ridge (where the NH crews knew how to handle the potato cars) and rerouted the cars via Selkirk where the PC crews didn't know what to do. Nobody reads a waybill. The crop froze and was destroyed. The shippers filed a claim, which disappeared into the PC bankruptcy. Maybe they got something when CR came in.

I'm glad they're moving potatoes by rail again. Do they need heated? Tomorrow's high will be 16 above and next morning's low 16 below at Van Buren.

Phil Mulligan

Good questions, Phil. There is an extensive follow-up article on shipping potatoes by rail in today's Bangor Daily News, which can be accessed online. Seems the shipping takes longer by train but the volume speaks for itself. Most of these spuds will become potato chips and a single mechanical reefer holds the equivalent of 40 tractor trailers. The report says the grower/shippers have trainloads well into the middle of 2022 and are encouraging more rail shipping out of Maine.
This may not really fall under preservation as a topic, but it certainly speaks to restoration.

So, a loaded tractor trailer rig only carries 5,000 pounds of potatoes? Somebody's math is wrong, methinks.

Shoot the messenger? Just reporting.