Spotlight on Southern Maine
As warmer weather finds it way north the sounds and detours created by construction sites seems to pop up everywhere. With these distractions come change not only to the physical landscape but to an area’s economic well being. Guilford Rail System has done its best to bring economic growth to the cities and towns along its lines. Here are some examples of the different ways Guilford Rail has had an impact on the changing environment of Southern Maine.
Railing in the Dough
J.J. Nissen Baking Company approached Biddeford’s Office of Economic Development about consolidating its offices and bakery in Portland and moving them to the Biddeford area. Nissen had two primary requirements for its site, natural gas and access to rail. Biddeford Economic Office Director Bob Dodge contacted Guilford Rail System’s area Marketing Representative Bob Farley to develop a site plan.
“Bob, along with Guilford’s engineers, were paramount in making this work,” said Dodge. “They moved quickly and were able to demonstrate to Nissen how rail could be provided in time for our first site presentation.”
At present Nissen’s bake shops and offices are scattered around Portland, Maine with its shipping routes running down cramped side streets. “We can’t expand the way we’re laid out now,” said Shelley Dunn, J.J. Nissen Communications Manager. “We wanted rail, natural gas, to be near the highway and enough land to expand.”
With that in mind, the team of Bob and Bob were able pool their resources and present Nissen with a location on Route 1 in Biddeford, along Guilford’s main line, accessible to natural gas and with enough land for expansion.
(L to R) Bob Dodge, Director of Biddeford’s Office of Economic Development and Guilford Rail System’s Bob Farley look over the construction of what is presently the largest bakery being built in the world.
Under its 6 acres of roof, the new bakery will make over 200 different food products and deliver them to 40 different locations in New England , Northern New Jersey and New York City.
“The railroad gives us more options for how we ship in the ingredients,” said Dunn. “It allows us to bring in a greater volume and the new facility can handle our storage needs.”
Hopefully for the City of Biddeford and neighboring towns, the move by Nissen will bring increased volume of marquee businesses to the area. J.J. Nissen expects to generate approximately $600,000 a year in property tax revenues to the city of Biddeford.
In one case, the ripple effect has already been felt. Portland-based company Yale Cordage has agreed to relocate to Biddeford into a 100,000 square foot building, subletting half. Yale Cordage produces high end rope for the pleasure marine industry its mooring and sailing lines are used by and America’s Cup qualifiers.
Hot for the Presses
Just up the road in Scarborough, Guilford Rail linked up with the P.D. Merrill Marine and Transportation Company of Portland and their new storage facility to keep their paper business off ice.
What makes this facility unique is its ability to keep tons of paper from freezing during Maine’s harsh winter months. If paper freezes it must be warmed until it properly thaws. This can take up to 5 days and potentialy disrupt production. With the new tempature-controlled facility, the paper only sits as long as it has to, greatly improving turnaround time.
Located in Scarborough and owned by area businessman Mr. James McBrady, the warehouse is leased by P.D. Merrill and consists of 157,500 square feet of storage area. Guilford Rail connected its lines to the warehouse’s existing tracks and began service May 1, 1997.
Approximately 50% of the Building is being used to store printing paper with the other 50% being used for storage of starch. The paper arrives by boat to the Merrill Marine Terminal at Portland and is trucked to the facility. From there it moves via rail to various sites. The building has a siding that will hold 8-9 cars and four doors for loading rail cars.
Casco Bay Bridge
Moving further north, Guilford Rail proved instrumental in the construction of the Casco Bay Bridge connecting Portland and South Portland. Nearby land on Commercial Street in South Portland was leased from Guilford Rail to establish a concrete batch mixing plant. The unique set up of mixing on site eliminated a great deal of trucking and rehandling costs from the bridge’s construction budget. Mixed concrete was loaded onto a conveyer belt and moved directly to its final location.
Guilford Rail also shipped in massive steel sheeting used to build coffer dams. The dams are temporary structures that allow work crews to dewater an area for construction. Each sheet piling runs approximately 90 feet in length and had to be shipped in by rail to once again avoid expensive trucking costs. The bridge’s planners expect to begin moving traffic across the bridge by the end of August.
Demolition of the lower “Million Dollar Bridge” (nick-named for its cost to build in 1915) is expected to begin soon after the Casco Bay Bridge’s opening in August.