Andover, about a 90-minute drive. As luck would have it, the
MX was indeed running. After about a half-hour wait, ALCo
RS-3 303, light engine, came through the snow-and-ice-filled
rock cut into “town.”(10) There wasn’t much there – a short
siding into a wood yard, an active but dilapidated wood chip
mill, and a small yard with track that was in very poor condi-
tion. The 303 switched out the chip mill (11) and then headed
a couple of miles to the Andover Sand & Gravel quarry. He
spotted some empties into the pit siding (12-13) and returned
to the yard, where he grabbed three wood chip loads and
quickly departed. We had hoped to talk to the crew to see
what work they might have on the way back to Madrid. We
scrambled around a bit and decided there would be no point
in trying to get him before White Mtn. Jct., as there were no
16
16: AGR RS3 303 creeps along at 10 mph at Milepost
4 on the White Mountain Branch.
good roads that followed the railroad. So we went ahead to
White Mtn. Jct. and got a couple of shots of him drifting past
the Prentiss & Carlisle wood yard (14-15). There weren’t any
loads to pick up at the wood yard, so the 303 and modest
train departed for Sandy River Jct. Speeds are 10 mph on the
White Mountain Branch, so we were able to get ahead of him
and grab one tight shot of him in the woods, at Milepost 4
(16). Next up was Sandy River Jct., where the 303 stopped for
the junction switch and waited. We were able to talk to the
crew, and they informed us that they would remain here until
AD1 (Allagash-Clayton Lake-Dixfield), affectionately known as
the “Lumberjack,” passed. Our luck couldn’t have been bet-
ter! AD1 was a big-tonnage train made up entirely of wood
chips and pulpwood from both the Allagash and neighboring
Atlantic Great Eastern (AGE). It served the AGR’s biggest cus-
tomer – International Paper at Dixfield.
17
17: Meet at Sandy River Jct. AD1, the “Lumberjack” is
headed for Dixfield as it passes the 303, in the clear at
Sandy River Jct.
Journey to Allagash Part 1 - 14
MRH-Jan 2014
