MILLINOCKET -- The Millinocket Town Council passed a resolution for the support of the Bangor and Aroostook Rail System.

In its resolution, the Council urges state and federal officials to assist in the effort to preserve an active Bangor and Aroostook Rail System in its current form, with connections to the port at Searsport, the Canadian Pacific Railway in Van Buren, Eastern Maine Railway in Brownville, and with Guilford Rail System in Hermon.

In its resolution, the Council further urges state and federal officials to monitor bankruptcy proceedings and sale negotiations, identifying strategies to ensure that the northern and eastern Maine are not left without stable and efficient railway service.

The United States Bankruptcy Court in Portland has placed the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in response to a request by creditors owed more than $7 million.

Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said that the resolve would be sent to state legislators, Governor King, and to Maine’s congressional representatives.

The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was chartered in 1891, and the building of the BAR was an epic story in Maine’s railroad history.  In the winter of 1893, the track was completed from a junction with the Katahdin Iron Works, through Millinocket, to Houlton.  Further expansion extended the rail line to Caribou, and Fort Fairfield a year later.  The following year, the Patten and Ashland branches were opened, and in 1902 the Ashland branch was extended to Fort Kent.  A few years later, in 1905, the railway was extended south to Searsport, where a modern seaport terminal was opened.  In 1910, the network was completed with extensions from Squa Pan to Van Buren and St. Francis.

The BAR was credited with extending the reach of Aroostook County’s potatoes beyond the county line.  Prior to the opening of the BAR, potatoes were grown in Aroostook County, but seldom shipped out of the county.  By 1900, the annual crop had reached 2 million bushels, and by 1910 it had climbed to 18 million bushels. Aroostook County now produces 16 percent of the nation’s potatoes.

Today, the primary source of traffic for the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is the pulp and paper industry. The importance of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad to Great Northern Paper Company was demonstrated by Brian Stetson, when he explained that Great Northern is expecting to ship 90 percent of the paper from its Number 11 machine by rail. According to Stetson, shipping by mail is the mode companies prefer to use in receiving their product.

Representative Stephen Bailey said that a stable rail system was critical, and he pointed out that since September 11th, more people were looking to rail service.

-- Ken Anderson