by Brooks Bentz/photos by Mike Confalone
In the January issue we explored Mike Confalone’s proto-freelanced HO scale Allagash Railway (AGR), set in western Maine in the early 1980s. At the conclusion, we discussed the spin-off of some of the underperforming branch lines (otherwise known as “light-density lines”) to new short line operator Oxford County Railroad (OCTY). In this month’s issue we’ll do a deeper dive into the OCTY, the philosophy behind the concept, and how it operates in conjunction with the AGR.
The OCTY is a typical short line operator, utilizing hand-me-down, first-generation diesel power, operating on relatively poor track laid with light rail, and focused on being the low-cost carrier serving three smaller, marginal paper mills and some of the few remaining small customers on these former AGR branch lines. The name comes from the real Oxford County itself, firmly placing the operation in a distinct area of western Maine. This concept has a number of benefits including the introduction of another carrier to add operating interest to the overall layout, and the opportunity for a roster of equipment with its own distinctive identity and character.
ABOVE: Borrowed Allagash Alco RS-3 305 is fired up at North Rumford, ready to take the night job to Rumford Point.
Short Line Roster
The OCTY rosters a very interesting small fleet of secondhand Alco and EMD power, all extracted from various deadlines and saved from the torch. The power is maintained at the railroad’s wooden two-stall engine house at the home base of North Rumford. There is a fuel facility here as well as the small, ranch-style company office. Active units, at the time of this writing, include a pair of ex-Western Maryland F3s recently retired off Chessie System, a single former AGR F3, Alco RS-3s from WM and Spokane, Portland & Seattle. A couple of the units have kept their original paint and were simply relettered for Oxford County, while a few have received a full OCTY orange paint job. The deadline at North Rumford is equally fascinating and includes a unit or two in the older OCTY orange “pumpkin” scheme.
As with the AGR, all OCTY units are DCC- and sound-equipped. Some bear a weather-beaten, well-used appearance, while others have fresh, albeit basic, paint. The company has also acquired a small fleet of orange 50-foot double-door boxcars to serve on-line customers, and to roam the rail network like so many other “incentive per-diem” cars of the era that helped bolster the nation’s available pool of freight cars while generating income for smaller lines.
ABOVE: The deadline at North Rumford is full of all sorts of surprises. Former AGR RS-3 301 heads up a string of dead units, including a former WM F7. Prime movers, cut-up Alco cabs and other assorted junk add to the scene.
Operations
The operating plan for OCTY is simple and straightforward. The railroad responds to demand from their customers with a higher degree of flexibility than a larger carrier could, simply because their network is much more basic and the volume of traffic much lighter.
Like most short lines of the era, the Oxford County operates on an as-needed basis, but generally runs something like five days per week from North Rumford. Paper mills are located on branches out of North Rumford, to Rumford Point, and Newry (a fictitious former Maine Central branch). These lines are served by night jobs on an alternating basis. The mills are represented in hidden staging. In other words, the traffic is modeled, but not the actual mills.
ABOVE: Oxford County 195 is running as a light engine as it drifts past the Agway Fertilizer blend plant at North Rumford. An empty covered hopper will be pulled from the siding and added to the train for White Mountain Jct.
A typical day finds the OCTY crew grabbing a single RS-3 or a pair of F-units from the service tracks at North Rumford and switching out the cars brought in from the prior night’s run to one of the two aforementioned paper mills. In addition, at North Rumford, the railroad serves an Agway feed and fertilizer facility as well as Rand-Dunham Plastics, a salt transload, and a Suburban Propane dealer on the Martin Spur. This spur used to reach the large pit of the Martin Sand & Gravel Co. farther down the line, but in 1982, the track beyond the propane facility is out of service.
When all of the traffic is gathered and blocked, the crew will grab the road power set (usually two or three units) for the northbound road train to White Mountain Jct. Two or three units are needed because of the significant grades encountered southbound at Farmers Hill and other locations along the line…
