Allagash Railway

The Allagash Railway was Mike Confalone’s proto-freelanced model railroad, set in the north woods of Maine and modelled through the late per diem and early Guilford period. It was conceived in 2009, after Mike walked away from his earlier Woodsville Terminal shortline and the prototype Lamoille Valley Railroad. Those railroads had charm and character, but their light traffic and pokey day-to-day operation left him wanting more. The Allagash was the answer: a big regional with muscle, long freights, and a reason to run trains with purpose.

Maine was the natural choice. Its paper mills, rugged scenery, and mix of roads, such as the Maine Central, Bangor & Aroostook, Canadian Pacific, and Grand Trunk, provided fertile ground for modelling. The Allagash took its name from the wilderness waterway in Aroostook County, but in Mike’s hands it became a fully fledged system: a major player in New England railroading, a bit smaller than the Maine Central but more robust than the Bangor & Aroostook. In concept, it was invented, but in feel was anchored: the industries made sense, the rosters looked plausible, and the geography read as Maine.

From the start, the Allagash had presence. It connected with real railroads, fielded convincing motive power, and moved long freights over realistic grades and sidings. It was firmly rooted in place and time, yet entirely Mike’s own creation. The trick, and the reason it convinced, was that the “freelance” parts rarely shouted. They sat quietly on top of recognisable New England practice.

For Mike, operations were never the point-scoring exercise some people make them, but the reward for good planning and years of trial and error. The aim was always the same: make it feel like a real railroad, but keep it enjoyable.

On 22 December 2024, Mike retired the Allagash as a “fallen flag,” transitioning the narrative to the Androscoggin & Western Maine Railroad. That later change does not diminish the Allagash years, but it does put a full stop under a remarkably complete body of work.

Chronology and Era

• Early concept: originally framed around spring 1977.
• Later settled into late winter / early spring in Maine during the early 1980s.
• Facebook group created: 25 October 2019.
• By November 2019, Mike was explicitly framing the layout as early spring 1985, with the Allagash under Guilford Transportation Industries, with power from sister roads Boston & Maine, Delaware & Hudson, and Maine Central freely mixed with AGR power.
• By the mid-1980s version of the story (March 1985), the Allagash sits within the Guilford family, with power from sister roads Boston & Maine, Delaware & Hudson, and Maine Central freely mixed with AGR power.
• Since October 2020, the narrative was backdated (first to 1984)
• On 19 May 2023, backdated again to spring 1982, when the Allagash was still independent.

Identity, Colours, and Visual Credibility

The Allagash Railway logo was primarily designed by Otto Vondrak, editor of Railroad Model Craftsman. While Mike Confalone collaborated with Otto on the final design, the majority of the creative work was Otto’s.

The colour mix for Allagash Railway Gold was improvised based on what was available, typically starting with Scalecoat 2 Reefer Yellow, a touch of Reefer Orange, and a drop or two of Roof Brown, resulting in slightly different shades with each batch. An approximate mix was an 85/15 ratio of yellow to orange, with a few drops of brown to soften the tone and shift it closer to gold. Allagash Spruce Green, on the other hand, was simply BNSF Green, also from Scalecoat 2.

A major “credibility jump” came when Mike pushed the narrative into the Guilford era. It forced a full rethink of train symbols and operating patterns, and it brought in that visually striking mix of sister-road power. Friends were sceptical at first, but in hindsight, Mike felt it made the railroad more interesting to run and better to look at.

Track, Scenery, and Modelling Methods

Train lengths are ideally limited to 25 cars. Mike uses a 50% rule, where for every 1 car on the Allagash, it would be 2 cars on the prototype, with 25 to 30 cars typical for road trains. That single rule does a lot of heavy lifting: it keeps trains impressive without becoming toy-like, and it keeps meets and switching believable.

Trackwork is Code 70, originally Micro Engineering #6 turnouts, but later PECO. Track and ballast are then unified by weathering rather than by brand. Ballasted with grout, sand, dirt, PanPastels, artist oils, etc. A key theme across the Allagash is mixed media: inexpensive base materials, then careful colour control.

Trees: White Birch made from Caspia (dried flower). This is a signature technique on the Allagash, because it produces slender, irregular trunks that look like birch rather than generic “model trees”.

“Sandy River”: the resin is typical Envirotex, with just a very thin coating. The key here is to apply several thick coats of Mod Podge on top of the resin to give the illusion of motion. Honestly, the resin is not even necessary and if/when I do it again, Mod Podge only. This is worth keeping because it is practical, repeatable, and it matches the Allagash aesthetic: restrained, not glossy.

Lighting: “The key to the look of this scene is the directional light coming from a bank of halogens off to the left. This represents the rising sun. All other lights in the room are off… Most of the time, I have just the overhead 5000K fluorescents…” This is a useful reminder that the Allagash is not only built well, but it is also photographed with intent. The mood is part of the model.

The railroad itself is large by most standards: 58ft x 24ft, occupying the entire basement and the former two-car garage of Mike’s New Hampshire home. Formal operating sessions began around 2010, even when much of the railroad was still plywood. By late 2019, around 85% of the layout was fully scenicked, and the operating scheme had been refined into something Mike described as fun and rewarding.

The Oxford County Railroad

In 2019, Mike created a significant addition to the Allagash: the Oxford County Railroad. This was not an arbitrary expansion. It was a response to operations. Over time, he refined the Allagash operating plan and ran fewer trains, which left surplus staging capacity at the south end of the Kennebec Subdivision (Waterville). Instead of leaving that space idle, he repurposed it into a short line along the fascia, visually separated from staging by a low backdrop.

The Oxford County occupies North Rumford. The backstory is bleak and plausible: the Allagash abandoned the branch to Rumford Point because washouts and a marginal mill did not make economic sense. The assumption is that the State of Maine stepped in and appointed an operator to resume service to the mill. Right from the start the Oxford County is on borrowed time, which gives the scene its tone and its operating logic.

Industries are deliberately modest: a paper mill at Rumford Point (represented by staging), an Agway fertiliser blend plant at North Rumford with a hopper unloading pit, and local pulpwood loading. The Oxford County also gives the Allagash something it otherwise largely avoids: a live interchange on the visible layout, with the rest still represented by staging.

Motive power was intentionally conservative. Former Allagash Alco S-2 no. 104 was the primary unit. Rather than invent a fresh scheme, Mike retained Allagash Spruce Green, painted out the Allagash name and herald, and applied simple “Oxford County R.R.” lettering in gold. Weathering did the storytelling: the locomotive looked like a one-horse operation kept alive by habit and necessity. A dead S-2 used as parts supply and an old 40ft boxcar converted into a tool shed underlined the point.

Scenically, North Rumford is where Mike pushed beyond broad “macro-scenery” into what he described as micro-scenery. The narrow bench forced simplicity in landform, so the detail carried the scene. Dirt-only track where appropriate, individual tie weathering, rust-toned rail colouring, oil and PanPastel grease around the engine standing point, grout-built roads and crossings, ditch debris, tie plates, piles of ties, and even small paper trash give the location its worn, workaday feel. A particularly good choice was the abandoned gravel pit in otherwise awkward dead space: not rail-served, possibly no longer active, and far more believable than forcing in another siding.

Operations were simple but satisfying. A morning crew goes on duty at North Rumford, gathers cars from the prior evening’s work, then heads down the White Mountain Branch to Andover to interchange with the Allagash and, in later practice, switches a couple of customers there. Returning to North Rumford, the crew drops empties and then heads to Rumford Point (staging). Later, the job is re-crewed to bring the train back, finish the day’s switching, and tie up by the yard office. The typical train is one to five cars, which suits the concept and makes the short line feel fragile but real.

By Mike’s 2019 operating-era framing, the White Mountain Branch itself had shifted into Oxford County territory, giving the short line a larger “stage” and reinforcing that sense of a regional railroad shedding marginal lines.

Route

The Allagash Railway was organised around three principal corridors: the Northern Division main line, the Kennebec Subdivision, and the Androscoggin Subdivision, with several secondary branches feeding key industries. What follows traces the railroad geographically from north to south, highlighting the locations that define its operating character.

In operating terms, the geography is only half the story. The other half is how Mike chose to run it: enough structure to feel like a railroad, but not so much procedure that it becomes a paperwork simulator.

Northern Division Mainline

The Northern Division formed the railroad’s gateway to connections with BAR and CP, funnelling traffic south toward the busy Kennebec corridor.

North Staging

Allagash/Dickey/St. Francis (BAR)/Jackman(CP)

Madrid

• Yard (Division Point)
  Madrid Engine Terminal – modern late 1970s early 1980s 2 stall engine house which would have replaced a roundhouse, diesel fueling facility (Walthers), sanding tower (Walthers), coaling tower (Walthers)

Kennebec Subdivision

The Kennebec Subdivision is the operational heart of the Allagash, hosting the heaviest traffic levels and the railroad’s most important online customers.

• Birch Siding
• Bear Hill – Bear Hill Variety Country Store (closes for the Winter Season)
• New Portland Junction (for New Portland Branch – St. Regis Pulp Mill)

New Sharon

New Sharon – passing siding, a common location for meets. Sandy River Farm & Building Supply Blue Seal, Franklin County Feeds (the largest customer – Scratch-built by Neil Schofield). Switch for Farmington Falls Branch (no longer in service but a short stub for storing Maintenance of Way equipment). 42 car passing siding.

• Atlantic Junction (for Atlantic Branch)
• Rome
• South Staging – Kennebec Junction/Waterville(MEC)

Atlantic Branch

The Atlantic Branch originally went to Lincolnville. There was a port of sorts there, undefined.

Androscoggin Subdivision

East of the Kennebec, the Androscoggin Subdivision pushes into more rugged territory, where paper, pulpwood, and secondary industries dominate the traffic mix.

Sandy River Junction

• Sandy River Bridge
• Sandy River Junction (for White Mountain Branch)
• MP7

Weld

Weld is a small, rural town in Franklin County, Maine, located in the foothills of the western Maine mountains. It is the only town modelled on the Allagash, featuring a mainline and passing track, an old station, residential buildings, a church, a town hall, and a firehouse. The area also includes an old creamery, now abandoned, where pulpwood is loaded. Classic white New England buildings contrast with the red of the grain mill.

• MT. Blue Garage
• Weld General Store
  Based on a real building in Weld, the Weld General Store is a popular stop for crews grabbing a drink or lunch.
• R.K. Osgood Grain Feed Mill
  The R.K. Osgood Grain Feed Mill, handling Blue Seal Feeds, fertiliser, and pet supplies, is a scratchbuilt structure based on the real feed mill in Morrisville, Vermont. Mike, who previously modelled the Lamoille Valley Railroad, used this building as a signature piece for Weld, capturing the unique characteristics of the original. The adjacent white building is used for storing bagged products.
• Team Track

Knox Farm

Spruce

.

Carthage, ME

A lonely outpost with an “International Paper” wood yard for pulpwood and a team track for lumber transload. Top of the northbound grade, heavy helper district in the days of steam. A long passing track starts here and runs to Holman Summit. The old station is used by the maintenance of way crews. 2% Holman Summit grade.

Holman Summit

• Mill Junction (for East Dixfield Paper Mill)
• Low-Level Staging – Dixfield (Local Customers/International Paper Mill)/Bethel(CN)

East Dixfield

Androscoggin Paper at East Dixfield, Maine. Switching includes spots for coal, inbound pulp, inbound chemicals, titanium dioxide, and outbound finished paper. Another large rail-served building is planned beside the truck loading docks for finished paper, with two spots accommodating four 50-foot cars. Trains typically range from 8 to 12 cars and are handled by a single Geep and a caboose.

The mill is located on a branch off the Androscoggin main line. Nearby are several modest homes, the beginning of a grade crossing, and some hills and woods—an area where less is more.

By 2019, the Oxford County connection was depicted as running through to Madrid, although the formal interchange remained Sandy River Junction. Following the later backdating of the Allagash narrative to spring 1984 (October 2020), the Allagash is again shown operating the full White Mountain Branch to North Rumford, where interchange with the Oxford County takes place.

White Mountain Junction

White Mountain Branch (Oxford County)

White Mountain Junction (for Berry Mills Branch and Georgia Pacific Paper Mill – not modelled, staging track for locomotive and 5 cars under Knox Farm). Probably Mike’s favourite location on the railroad. Track Car shed where White Mountain crews are based.

Andover

Andover Wood Production with loading platform. Oxford Mills on the photo backdrop. Old wood passenger station thanks to Rich Cobb. White Mountain branch used to continue westwood into the White Mountains but that is long out of service and only a small stub track remains.

• Rumford Point Junction (for Rumford Point Branch)

Rumford Point Branch

East Andover

The pole yard at East Andover was inspired by a prototype yard in Concord, NH, served by PanAm but also handles lumber.

• North Rumford (Power plant and Rumford Point)
• Martin Spur

New Portland Branch

Allen

Barn by Rich Cobb

New Portland

St. Regis Pulp & Paper Mill in a 6-foot wide by 2 1/2-foot deep space.

Martin Spur

Scenery

The Bare Forests of Early Spring
The Allagash Railway’s forests are a defining feature of Mike Confalone’s layout, but they aren’t the lush, green woodlands typically seen in model railroading. Instead, these forests reflect the stark, raw appearance of early April in New England, where trees remain bare, and the landscape is caught between winter’s retreat and spring’s arrival—the “fifth season.” This unique aesthetic demands a thoughtful and resourceful approach to tree modelling.

Deciduous Trees
Mike’s bare deciduous trees are crafted using a “mystery weed” found in a single location in New Hampshire. With its intricate, twig-like structure, the weed serves as an ideal armature for leafless trees, perfectly capturing the skeletal look of the season. “You can never have enough trees,” Mike says, acknowledging how fortunate he is to have discovered this material, which is both highly effective and cost-free.

White Birch Trees
In addition to the bare deciduous trees, Mike models White Birch trees using Caspia, a dried flower material. Caspia’s delicate, branching structure lends itself well to creating the slender, distinctive trunks of the White Birch, adding further variety to the scene.

Eastern White Pines
While the forests are dominated by bare deciduous trees, Eastern White Pines add variety and a touch of evergreen to the scene. These trees are hand-built, the result of a collaboration between Mike and the late Carol Vreeland, a skilled modeller and artist. Carol crafted the intricate armatures, while Mike applied green electrostatic grass to mimic the fine texture of pine needles.

Creating these trees is a labour-intensive process, and since Carol’s passing, Mike has had to rely on his remaining stock. “There’s no quick and easy way to make a prototypical Eastern White Pine,” he explains, highlighting the effort required to achieve this level of detail.

A Seasonal Landscape
The bare forests of the Allagash Railway reflect Mike’s commitment to capturing the subtleties of New England’s seasons. Rather than defaulting to lush, green scenery, he has embraced the challenge of portraying the subdued, rugged beauty of early spring. This approach adds a layer of authenticity that makes the layout stand out, drawing viewers into the time and place it represents.

Trains & Operation

MBS Forms (Manual Block System)

Job Cards

• BEJA – Bethal – Jackman
• CPIP – Canadian Pacific-International Paper. Jackman (North end staging)
• DFME – Dixfield-Mechanicville
• BM2 – Bethel-Madrid (28 cars?)
• MK1
• AGWA (Allagash-Waterville)
• V1
• JABE (Jackman – Bethel)
• M2 – Androscoggin Local
• MA3 – East Dixfield Turn
• MA4 – Carthage Turn sometimes… East Dixfield Turn (April 2020)
• MABE (Madrid-Bethel)
• MAME (Madrid-Mechanicville) “The Paper Train” – Box cars of finished paper from online paper mills at the Allagash, Dixfield and Bearning Mills for the Delaware & Hudson at Mechanicville and to Conrail at Rotterdam Junction
• MEMA (Mechanicville-Madrid)
• MEDF – Mechanicville-Dixfield
• N1 New Sharon Switcher
• P1 – New Portland Switcher
• AD1 / Extra “The Lumberjack” – a dedicated train of pulpwood and woodchips for the big International Papermill at Dixfield. Loaded at the chip mill at Dead River siding.
• AK1 – Allagash-Kennebec Junction
• Coal Extra – Originates on Conrail in Western Pennsylvania to Central Maine Power Station at Bethel (16 Hoppers)
• W1 White Mountain Switcher
• W2 White Mountain Switcher – not modelled
• WM1 White Mountain Switcher
• WAAG – Waterville-Allagash (Madrid)

The East Wind – “We simply extended it up to Allagash. It just kinda fell out of favour and seemed like a bit of a stretch. Who knows, maybe I should consider bringing it back. Right now we run an occasional pig flat in a road train, but that’s about it.”

Coal Extra

23 cars

Kadee 58

In 2019, Mike typically ran operating sessions every four or five weeks. He had a pool of about seven regular operators, but found five was the sweet spot, with seven an absolute maximum.

Early sessions used a formal dispatcher, radios, and written track warrants. After a few years, Mike concluded the warrants and a dispatcher “stuck in a closet” were not adding value, so he dropped the dispatcher and paperwork but kept the radios. Crews now work with a roaming dispatcher (often Mike) plus the yardmasters at Madrid and New Sharon. It keeps the flavour, but removes the chore.

The Allagash uses waybills as one-way tickets, rather than car cards that need flipping and constant handling. It is simple, prototypical, and has worked reliably for years.

A big, practical change was splitting a full operating “day” into two separate sessions. That eased the stress, particularly around Madrid Yard, and made the pace feel more like northern New England in the 1980s, where things often moved more slowly than the rulebook suggests. At the end of session two, any trains that did not run are usually dealt with by Mike in a quiet, clean-up session, sometimes at night with the room lights out.

Mike is clear that operations should be relaxing, not stressful. He also makes the case for lowering expectations: early sessions were clunky, and that is normal. If you wait for perfection, you may never operate at all. Better to start with the bar set low, learn session by session, and lean on people who understand prototype practice, then adopt only what genuinely improves your enjoyment.

Paint Schemes

For any proto-freelance line, the test of credibility lies as much in its paint shop as in its roster. A locomotive fleet without a convincing visual identity is just a line-up of models. On the Allagash, the colours have evolved in a way that mirrors the fashions of the real railroads of Maine and New England, so that by the time the viewer sees them parade past on an operating night, the illusion is complete.

The earliest diesels on the Allagash, delivered in the late 1940s and early 1950s, wore a deep Spruce Green with Deluxe Gold lettering. It was a sober, workmanlike scheme, inspired by the Bangor & Aroostook and Maine Central but not copied directly. These first units carried the old herald on the cab sides but none on the nose, which gave them a stark, almost austere look in contrast to some of their more flamboyant neighbours. For a while this was the house style, a plain green dip with enough presence to suggest a railway serious about modern traction.

By 1973 the fashion had changed. With the arrival of three wide-cab MLW M420s, the Allagash flipped its palette. Yellow became the base colour, green the trim. It was not unlike what Maine Central had done with its GP38s a few years earlier, and the resemblance was deliberate. The new M420s looked modern and bold, their green roofs echoing regional practice, their large lettering and the newly-designed pine-tree “A” logo leaving no doubt that the Allagash was moving into a new age. One of the M420s, renumbered 200 in 1976, was treated to a Bicentennial costume in red, white and blue. It was a touch of theatre that placed the Allagash squarely in the New England of the mid-seventies, where almost every railroad seemed to have at least one patriotic unit for the photographers.

The yellow theme broadened through the later seventies. Shop repaints and the new GP38-2s of 1977 came out in what became known simply as the “yellow dip.” It was a pragmatic choice — bright, economical, easy to maintain — but it also gave the fleet a certain unity just as the roster was beginning to balloon with second-hand ALCOs of all colours and conditions. Against the battered black of Penn Central and the tired blue of Conrail, the dip yellow looked modern and corporate, even if the units beneath were anything but.

Yet the wheel turned again. By the early 1980s, as the Allagash edged towards Guilford ownership, the Kennebec shops began returning to green. Two home-chopped GP7s, 507 and 508, became the test pieces. Both were cut down from high noses around 1981, given new cabs and new paint. The 507 was finished in an experimental scheme: solid green bodywork with yellow stanchions and handrails, a hint of what might have been had the idea caught on. The 508 carried the final pre-Guilford scheme, a solid green arrangement that harked back to the earliest days but in a sharper, more contemporary interpretation. Between them they stand as markers of the last independent Allagash, before the corporate tones of Guilford set in.

Not all paint stories were so straightforward. The Hornell-rebuilt C424s, numbers 240 and 241, emerged in 1980 in a smart green and yellow with white safety striping, a scheme strongly reminiscent of the Delaware & Hudson sisters outshopped at the same time. It was a flashy look, almost too modern for the rest of the roster, but it made sense. These were, after all, the newest power on the property, given a second life and expected to show it. At the other end of the spectrum, one elderly F3 lingered in its original black and gold, patched only with a modern herald slapped on the nose, a faded reminder of the first rush to dieselise.

The Allagash had two principal logos. The first was a classic roundel with a sober, almost regal air, used in the green-dip years. The second was the bold pine-tree “A,” designed by Otto Vondrak, that captured the clean lines and modern confidence of the 1970s. Jim Abbott of Highball Graphics translated both into high-quality decal sheets, an investment that paid off in the consistency of the fleet’s image. Together the colours and the logos gave the Allagash a corporate identity that looked authentic, evolved naturally over three decades, and always nodded to Maine Central and Bangor & Aroostook without ever falling into mimicry.

That, ultimately, is the genius of the Allagash paint shop. The liveries feel earned, like choices a real regional would have made as tastes and times shifted. Green to yellow, Bicentennial flourishes, back to green with experimental flourishes on home-rebuilt GP7s — it is a lineage that convinces the eye long before the first horn blows.

Locomotives

If the paint shop gives the Allagash its face, the locomotives themselves give it muscle and voice. The roster is not a tidy catalogue but a working record of decisions taken under pressure: builder loyalties made and broken, bargains snapped up, shop ingenuity stretched to keep orphans on the road. It begins with ALCO in the forties, bends towards EMD in the fifties, returns to Schenectady and Montreal in the sixties, and by 1980 is a fascinating patchwork of green, yellow and patched-out cast-offs, all somehow made to feel like a coherent fleet.

The Allagash’s first diesels were Alcos — RS1s and S2s delivered from 1946, all in plain black. They did the yards, locals and the rough work, gradually proving their worth. Two RS2s arrived in 1948, three more in 1949, and while the salesmen from Schenectady were still smiling, EMD broke through with a half-dozen F3s in 1949. By 1950–51 GP7s were arriving in numbers, followed in 1955 by GP9s. For the next decade, the Allagash ran with a solid, unflashy EMD core. The RS1s and RS2s thinned out, the GP7s and 9s settled into their roles, and the black smoke of steam was gone for good.

Traffic growth in the early sixties forced a look again at horsepower. With EMD order books heavy, two RS32s were bought in 1961, followed by an RS36 and a pair of C420s. These low-nose Alcos added adhesion and brawn, a good fit for a road where grades and heavy drags were part of the deal. Yet by 1967 the pendulum had swung back again, and the Allagash ordered its first GP38s. Delivered in stages between 1967 and 1969, they replaced older cab units and became the road’s front-line power.

In 1973 came the MLW M420s, wide-cab units 205 to 207, oddballs in the American scene but perfectly logical in northern New England. One of them, renumbered 200, was repainted in Bicentennial colours in 1976, while the displaced C420 200 was re-numbered 220. These, and the GP38-2s that followed in 1977, marked the last time the Allagash went shopping for new power.

After that the philosophy shifted. By the late seventies Class 1s were dumping their ALCos cheaply, and the Allagash, with a strong diesel shop at Kennebec, knew a bargain when it saw one. RS11 7605 came in from Conrail, still in Penn Central black with only a stencil to show its new owner. Ex-L&N and Conrail C420s appeared, along with C425s 2418, 250 and 251, many arriving tired but all made serviceable by local talent. The two Hornell-rebuilt C424s, 240 and 241, were the star acquisitions, smartly outshopped in green, yellow and white, and mechanically sound. They stood out against the worn Geeps and battered Alcos that surrounded them.

Through this period, the Allagash shop forces also found time for their own heavy work. Two GP7s, 507 and 508, were chopped down and rebuilt around 1981, showing off the experimental green schemes that marked the end of the road’s independence. The shop culture was strong: these were men who would strip an incoming basket-case down to its last bolt and coax it back into service, often with improvements. The variety of sources made the fleet visually diverse, but the common paint schemes and the audible throb of ALCO 251s and EMD 567s tied it together.

In operation, the GP38s and 38-2s led the hot freights, dependable four-motor EMDs with timekeeping in mind. The ALOCs took the rougher work, locals and transfers, their adhesion and weight an advantage on stiff grades. Switchers still clung to their jobs in the yards, long after most roads had retired them, and one or two F-units limped along in patched black and gold, ghosts of an earlier time. It was not a tidy fleet, but it was one that made sense, and that is why it convinces.

The sound of the Allagash is as much part of its truth as the paint. By the mid-2000s, virtually every locomotive carried a sound decoder, at first Soundtraxx Tsunamis fitted with care to preserve resonance and weight, drawing on recordings made specially on Delaware–Lackawanna ALOCs. Later, as the era nudged into Guilford years, ESU LokSound took over, with its superior motor control and more detailed sound sets. Four GP38s lifting a heavy drag out of Kennebec, each growling in harmony, is about as close to the real Maine woods as an HO layout can get.

By April 1980, the moment in which the Allagash story is usually frozen, the roster had settled into this distinctive mix of standard Geeps, bargain Alcos and the last few hangers-on. Soon after, the Guilford years would recast the fleet again, with paint and policy shifting towards a different corporate tone. But in that spring of 1980 the Allagash had its own character, expressed in a roster that was neither neat nor chaotic, just real. That, above all, is what makes the green and yellow growlers so convincing.

Reporting Mark	No.	Class	Livery	Model	Seen	N Scale
AGR	103	ALCO S2
AGR	105	ALCO S2	Allagash Green. Later stored on the deadline at Madrid.
AGR	106	ALCO S2
AGR	107	ALCO S2	Allagash Green. Later stored on the deadline at Madrid.
AGR	108	ALCO S6	Allagash Green. Resin shells mounted on Proto 2000 Alco S3 mechanisms built by Bob Harpe with a ESU LokSound decoder and Scale Sound Systems speakers installed by Mike Rose.		Facebook
AGR	109	ALCO S6	Allagash Green. Resin shells mounted on Proto 2000 Alco S3 mechanisms built by Bob Harpe with a ESU LokSound decoder and Scale Sound Systems speakers installed by Mike Rose.		Facebook
AGR	152	EMD SW1500	Red ex ENSH acquired around 1981/82 relettererd		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	153	EMD SW1500	Red ex ENSH		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	203		Allagash Green
AGR			Allagash Yellow
AGR	200	MLW M420	Allagash Bicentennial
AGR	202	EMD GP38	Allagash Yellow with Green roof… later… Solid Spruce Green body, including fuel tank and trucks, larger Allagash lettering, modern Allagash logo, black numbers on white number boards and all-yellow handrails and stanchions.	Atlas Master Series. Dynamic brakes
AGR	203	EMD GP38	Allagash Green, new herald	Atlas Master Series.
AGR	204	EMD GP38	Allagash Yellow with Green roof… later… Solid Spruce Green body, including fuel tank and trucks, larger Allagash lettering, modern Allagash logo, black numbers on white number boards and all-yellow handrails and stanchions.	Atlas Master Series. Dynamic brakes
AGR	206	MLW M420	Allagash Yellow. The first units were delivered in the Dulux Gold/Spruce Green paint scheme, with green on the roof and top of the nose.	Kaslo Shops.	Allagash Story Volume 2. Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	208	ALCO C-420	Allagash Yellow. Repainted into Solid Spruce Green in Oct 2020. Originally #200, the only remaining C-420 on the roster. Sister #201 was wrecked in 1979, and replaced by an ex-L&N 420 which has since been deadlined. The 208 gave up its original 200 number in 1976 when the AGR painted M420 207 into Bicentennial colours as their 200.
AGR	209	EMD GP38	Allagash Green, old herald	Atlas Master Series.
AGR	210	EMD GP38	Allagash Green, new herald	Atlas Master Series.
AGR	211	EMD GP38	Allagash Green, old herald	Atlas Master Series.
AGR	212	EMD GP38	Allagash Green, old herald	Atlas Master Series.	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	213	EMD GP38-2	Allagash Yellow Dip, new herald	Proto 2000
AGR	214	EMD GP38-2	Allagash Yellow Dip, new herald	Proto 2000
AGR	215	EMD GP38-2	Allagash Yellow Dip, new herald	Proto 2000
AGR	216	EMD GP38-2	Allagash Yellow Dip, new herald	Proto 2000
AGR	240	ALCO C-424	Allagash Green	Atlas Kato	Allagash Story Volume 2
AGR	241	ALCO C-424	Allagash Green	Atlas Kato
AGR	250	ALCO C-425	Allagash Yellow		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	251	ALCO C-425	Allagash Yellow		Facebook
AGR	301	ALCO RS-3	Western Maine Blue		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	302	ALCO RS-3	Allagash Yellow. Briefly to the Oxford County, backdated to Allagash in Nov 2020.
AGR	303	ALCO RS-3	Allagash Green
AGR	307	ALCO RS-3
AGR	400	EMD F3		Athearn Genesis
AGR	405	EMD F3	Allagash Green
AGR	425	ALCO C-425	The only Guilford Grey. Formerly Penn Central 2418 detailed by Neil Schofield
AGR	430		Allagash Yellow
AGR	360	ALCO C636	Former Conrail 6786. Sold May 2021.	Bowser	Facebook
AGR	361	ALCO C636	Former Conrail	Bowser
AGR	500	EMD GP7	Allagash Spruce Green	Athearn Genesis	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. Facebook.
AGR	502	EMD GP7	Allagash Green	Athearn Genesis	Allagash Story Volume 2. Facebook.
AGR	504	EMD GP7	Allagash Green		Facebook
AGR	506	EMD GP7	Allagash Green	Athearn Genesis	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	507	EMD GP7u	Allagash Spruce Green		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	508	EMD GP7u	Allagash Solid Spruce Green with a yellow nose		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	509	EMD GP9	Allagash Green	Athearn Genesis	eBay $450.00
AGR	510	EMD GP9	Allagash Green	Athearn Genesis	Facebook.
AGR	512	EMD GP9	Allagash Yellow	Athearn Genesis	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit. Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	513	EMD GP9	Allagash Green	Athearn Genesis	eBay $450.00
AGR	602	EMD F7	Allagash Green, new herald	Athearn Genesis, sold in April 2020	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	607	EMD F7	Allagash Green, old herald	Athearn Genesis	Facebook
AGR	630
AGR	700	ALCO RS32	Allagash Green	Atlas Trainman	Allagash Story Volume 2
AGR	701	ALCO RS32	Allagash Green. Later stored on the deadline at Madrid.	Atlas Trainman
AGR	702	ALCO RS36	Allagash Green was super detailed and painted by Bob Harpe. The only RS36 on the roster.		Allagash Story Volume 2
AGR	703	ALCO RS11	Former CR (Penn Central) 7605. Custom-detailed/kitbashed by Jim Six detailed in Model Railroading October 1998. Sold to Mike Rose and then Mike Confalone. Acquired from Conrail around 1980
AGR	704	ALCO RS11
AGR	800	EMD SW8
AGR	801	EMD SW8
AGR	821	ALCO RSD15	Allagash Green
AGR	825	ALCO RSD15	Allagash Green
AGR	2057	ALCO C430	Former Conrail, former Penn Central
AGR	2058	ALCO C430	Former Conrail, former Penn Central
AGR	2059	ALCO C430	Former Conrail, former Penn Central		Facebook
AGR				Atlas Master Series
AGR	7605	ALCO RS-11	Ex-Conrail (former Penn Central) Penn Central black, original road number, AGR stencil	Atlas Kato. Custom detailed by Jim Six and Earl Murphy, featuring wire grab irons, Penn Central–specific details, and a Valley Associates metal frame.	Facebook
BM	207	EMD GP38-2	Boston & Maine Blue Dustin Dip		Facebook
BM	211	EMD GP38-2	Boston & Maine Blue Dip		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
BM	303	EMD GP40-2	Boston & Maine Blue Dustin Dip
BM	316	EMD GP40-2	Boston & Maine Blue Dustin Dip		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
BM	1118	EMD SW1	Boston & Maine Blue
D&H	405	ALCO C-420	Delaware & Hudson Blue Dip		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
D&H	408	ALCO C-420	Delaware & Hudson Blue & Gray Lightning Stripe		Facebook
D&H	409	ALCO C-420	Lehigh Valley Red		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
D&H	420	ALCO C-420	Atlas model, Guilford Grey		Facebook
D&H	2311	GE U23B			Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
D&H	7401	EMD GP39-2	Delaware & Hudson Blue
D&H	7413	EMD GP39-2	Delaware & Hudson Blue		Facebook
MEC	226	GE U25B	Maine Central Harvest Gold, since February 2022, Guilford Grey. Painted by Bob Harpe, fitted with sound and lighting upgrades by Mike Rose, and finished with detailing and weathering by Mike Confalone.		Facebook: No AGR Power Today
MEC	262	EMD GP38	MEC Harvest Gold		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
MEC	290	GE U23B	Maine Central Ex D&H Grey		Facebook
MEC	293	GE U23B	Maine Central. Guilford Grey. Atlas re-lettered and numbered the unit. Added proper D&H horn, Sinclair antenna, nose headlight, plow, m.u./ air hoses, wheel slip modulation, speed recorder, side-mount bell. LokSound-equipped.	Atlas	Facebook: No AGR Power Today
MEC	402	GE U18B	Maine Central Harvest Gold		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
MEC	404	GE U18B	Maine Central Harvest Gold		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack, Facebook: No AGR Power Today
MEC	406	GE U18B	Guilford Grey
MEC	407	GE U18B	Maine Central Harvest Gold		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
MEC	408	GE U18B	Guilford Grey		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
MEC	572	EMD GP7	Maine Central Maroon. Repainted the Athearn factory paint, which was too dark and brownish, into the Maine Central’s 1980s Maroon and Gold scheme. A custom blend of Scalecoat 2 paints were used: Lehigh Valley Cornell Red, State of Maine Red, and Harvest Yellow. All red areas were brush-painted, including intricate details like the stripes within the gold band, using a 3.5x opti-visor for precision. Numberboards were redone from white-on-black to black-on-white. Pilot stripes were corrected to white, which was particularly challenging.	Athearn	Facebook
MEC	577	EMD GP7	Maine Central Harvest Gold	Athearn
MEC	590	EMD GP7u	Maine Central Harvest Gold by Neil Schofield
OCTY	104	ALCO S2	Oxford County, former AGR 104. Sold Oct 2020.	Atlas
OCTY	108	ALCO S6	Oxford County, former AGR 108. Originally used on the AGR Madrid Drill elephant style with 109. Later back to AGR in early 2021.
OCTY	109	ALCO S6	Oxford County, former AGR 109. Originally used on the AGR Madrid Drill elephant style with 108. Built by Bob Harpe.
OCTY	110	ALCO S6	Oxford County, former AGR 110
OCTY	195	ALCO RS-3	Oxford County, former Western Maryland/Chessie
OCTY	301	ALSO RS3	Oxford County, former AGR 301 Blue
OCTY	302		Oxford County
OCTY	305	ALSO RS3	Oxford County, former AGR 305
OCTY	307	ALCO RS3	Oxford County, former BN/SP&S
OCTY	703	ALCO RS11	Oxford County, former AGR 703, PC 7605
OCTY	1061	ALCO	Oxford County
OCTY	7607	ALCO RS11	Oxford County

Maine Central is Scalecoat 2

Oxford County orange is a custom mix, Scalecoat 2 Reefer Orange and maybe some Roof Brown.

LokSound Decoder Settings

The LokSound decoder settings commonly employed for the Allagash locomotive fleet reflect a balance of consistent performance, realistic sound balancing, and prototypical throttle response.

• Speed Curve: Linear, chosen for predictable throttle response.
• CV2: Set to 3, defining the starting voltage.
• CV3: Set to 150, controlling acceleration delay.
• CV4: Set to 200, determining deceleration delay.
• CV5: Default value of 150, adjustable to customise maximum speed and response characteristics. This is the only CV altered during speed-matching of multiple locomotives; all other CVs remain unchanged to maintain uniformity.

Sound Settings:

• Horn Volume: Set to 100%, ensuring it is the dominant sound.
• Prime Mover Volume: Adjusted to the range of 40–60%, balancing realism with personal preference.
• Bell Volume: Lowered slightly compared to the horn to reduce potential annoyance, making it the second-most prominent sound.

Advantages of LokSound Decoders:
Mike prefers LokSound decoders over other options, such as Soundtraxx. He regards LokSound’s audio files—particularly the 539 and Alco recordings—as vastly superior. Mike’s involvement in recording sessions for Soundtraxx in 2007 gives him unique insight into the quality and limitations of their sound files.

One of the primary issues he identifies with Soundtraxx decoders is their reliance on a notch-by-notch throttle transition, which he describes as cumbersome and unrepresentative of a real prime mover’s operation. In contrast, LokSound’s recordings allow for fast throttle-up and rapid decay when the throttle is reduced, providing a more prototypical and satisfying experience.

Adjustments to CV2, CV3, or CV4 are discouraged as they may disrupt performance. Following this configuration ensures smooth operation and reliable speed-matching. Additionally, both CV66 and CV95 are typically set to 125 to refine directional lighting and momentum effects.

Freight Cars

★★

AGR Covered hoppers (grain service) would be in the low 5600 series (4750) and 5500 series (4427).

Rock trains – A mix of Bowser 100-ton and Accurail 70-ton with a single Kadee 2-bay on the rear and a single ballast car.

Pulpwood loads- “That’s whatever I was able to trim from trees in the yard. Birch, Poplar. Cut the wood to 8′ length. Cook it in the over to draw out the moisture, then build the load piece by piece with Elmers Carpenters glue. Takes a lot of time, but worth the effort.”

Reporting Mark	Number	Road/Company	Colour	Prototype	Model	Seen	N Scale
ACFX	19906		Black			YouTube
ACFX	46230	Engelhard	White	ACF 4650 Cubic Foot 3-Bay Covered Hopper	Intermountain	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Intermountain 67062-01 ★
ACFX	46500	Thiele		ACF 3-Bay Covered Hopper	Atlas	YouTube. eBay $98.41
ACFX	46590	Continental Grain Company	Grey	ACF 47′ 3-Bay Center-Flow Covered Hopper	Accurail	eBay $75.00
ACFX	47746	Cargill	Green		Intermountain. Sold Jul 2020		Intermountain 10-71-20 ★
ACFX	48753	Sterling Salt	White
ACFX	48871	Sterling Salt	White			Facebook
ACFX	49249	Engelhard	White	Covered Hopper		YouTube
ACFX	98319	American Hoechst Plastics Division	Grey	ACF 5701 Centerflow Plastics Covered Hopper	Atlas Master	Facebook
ACL	1503_	Atlantic Coast Line		Another Cushioned Load Athearn	Athearn	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
ACL	88905	Atlantic Coast Line	Grey	GATC 2600 Airslide Covered Hopper	Athearn	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Athearn
AFPX	945732		Grey		Atlas Master 50000484	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	12	Allagash Railway		Caboose		Facebook.
AGR	18	Allagash Railway	Red	Standard NE6 Caboose	Atlas	Facebook
AGR	20	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Standard NE6 Caboose	Atlas	eBay $92.00
AGR	23	Allagash Railway	Red	Wide-Vision Caboose	Rapido	Facebook
AGR	24	Allagash Railway	Red	Wide-Vision Caboose	Rapido	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	40	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Wide-Vision Caboose
AGR	56	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Bay Window Caboose
AGR	817	Allagash Railway	Green	ACF 70-Ton Welded Drop-End Gondola	Tangent 10728-01	Facebook
AGR	829	Allagash Railway	Green	ACF 70-Ton Welded Drop-End Gondola	Tangent 10728-02	Facebook
AGR	1021	Allagash Railway		Hopper		Facebook
AGR	1033	Allagash Railway	Red	Woodchip Hopper		Facebook
AGR	1078	Allagash Railway	Black	100T 3-Bay Hopper		eBay
AGR	1500	Allagash Railway	Black	100T 3-Bay Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	1503	Allagash Railway	Black	100T 3-Bay Hopper	Bowser	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. eBay
AGR	1510	Allagash Railway	Black	100T 3-Bay Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	1522	Allagash Railway	Black	100T 3-Bay Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	1523	Allagash Railway	Black	100T 3-Bay Hopper		Facebook
AGR	2101	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Facebook
AGR	2105	Allagash Railway		3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton
AGR	2106	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	2110	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red “Allagash Woodchip Services”	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	2115	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	eBay $76.00
AGR	2118	Allagash Railway		3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton
AGR	2123	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Facebook
AGR	2125	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack, Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	2128	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper.	Accurail 70-ton. Sold Sep 2020.
AGR	2129	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Allagash Railway Scenery Modeling Outside the Box Volume 1
AGR	2144	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper	Accurail 70-ton	Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	2180	Allagash Railway		Woodchip Hopper		Facebook
AGR	2201	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Woodchip Hopper. Only model in yellow, now sold in September 2021 via eBay.		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
AGR	2202	Allagash Railway	Black	Woodchip Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
AGR	2205	Allagash Railway	Black	Woodchip Hopper		Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	2207	Allagash Railway	Black	Woodchip Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
AGR	2211	Allagash Railway	Black	Woodchip Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
AGR	2301	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2312	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2340	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Facebook. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	2341	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2342	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	2343	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	2344	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2349	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	2352	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2353	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2358	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	2360	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Facebook: No AGR Power Today. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	2363	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	2369	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar
AGR	2371	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Facebook
AGR	2372	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Pulpwood	Walthers 50′ Sieco Pulpwood Flatcar	Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack, Facebook Photo
AGR	2411	Allagash Railway	Black “Woodchip Services”	3-Bay Woodchip Hopper
AGR	2420	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Woodchip Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
AGR	2456	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Woodchip Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
AGR	2489	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Woodchip Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack, Allagash
AGR	2589	Allagash Railway	Green	40′ Box Car		Facebook
AGR	2724	Allagash Railway	Green	40′ Box Car	Kadee PS1 7′ Door	Allagash Story Volume 2
AGR	2734	Allagash Railway	Green	40′ Box Car		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	3021	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red			Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	3024	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	50′ Box Car		Facebook
AGR	3044	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red
AGR	3242	Allagash Railway	Green			Allagash Story Volume 2
AGR	3400	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car	Kadee 40′	eBay $87.00
AGR	3401	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car	Sold Sep 2020
AGR	3406	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car	Kadee 40′	eBay $111.00
AGR	3442	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car
AGR	3444	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car
AGR	3456	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car
AGR	3621	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car		YouTube
AGR	3623	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car	Kadee 50′ Cushion Underframe PS-1	eBay $96.00
AGR	3634	Allagash Railway	Yellow			YouTube
AGR	3635	Allagash Railway	Green	PS-1 Box Car		YouTube
AGR	3644	Allagash Railway	Yellow			YouTube
AGR	4107	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		YouTube
AGR	4145	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	4167	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service	Exactrail 5377	Allagash Story Volume 2
AGR	4178	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service	Intermountain	eBay $132.50
AGR	4189	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	4223	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit. Facebook.
AGR	4281	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service
AGR	4412	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
AGR	4434	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		Allagash Story Volume 2. Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
AGR	4478	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Cushion Service		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
AGR	4490	Allagash Railway	Red?	Covered Hopper	Tangent 4427	eBay $127.50
AGR	4612	Allagash Railway	Guilford White	Box Car	Modified Intermountain	Facebook
AGR	5414	Allagash Railway	Red?	ACF Covered Hopper	Intermountain
AGR	5532	Allagash Railway		Box Car	Rapido PC&F 5241 50′
AGR	5553	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Box Car	Rapido PC&F 5241 50′	eBay $91.88
AGR	5587	Allagash Railway	Yellow	Box Car	Home Shops Rapido PC&F 5241 50′	eBay $91.00
AGR	6107	Allagash Railway	Green			Facebook: No AGR Power Today
AGR	6125	Allagash Railway		Pulpwood
AGR	9800	Allagash Railway	Box Car Red	Hopper		Facebook
AGR	X77	Allagash Railway		Snow Plow
AMCX	6549	Amoco	Grey	ACF 5701 Cu Ft Centerflow Plastics 4-Bay Covered Hopper	Atlas 20002508	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Atlas Master N 50001464 ★
ATSF	12764	Santa Fe	Box Car Red			Facebook
ATSF	302614	Santa Fe	Box Car Red			Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
ATSF	302971	Santa Fe	Red	50′ PS-2 CD 4427 Covered Hopper	Walthers Mainline 910-7453	Facebook
B&O	11137	Baltimore & Ohio	Black		Atlas 70 ton triple Hopper
B&O	602038	Baltimore & Ohio			Accurail	Facebook
BAR	6621	Bangor & Aroostook				Facebook
BAR	10172	Bangor & Aroostook	Blue, White, Red	50′ Single-Door Boxcar	Atlas Trainman 751-50001593	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Atlas 50 001 593 ★
BCIT	871203?	British Columbia Railway	Green	72′ Centerbeam Flatcar	Walthers 932-4118		Red Caboose RN-16605-31 ★
BM	5418	Boston & Maine	Blue	Evans 4780 Covered Hopper	ExactRail	Facebook	Micro-Trains
BM	5543	Boston & Maine	Grey	PS-2 Two Bay Hopper	Kadee?	Facebook
BM	7056	Boston & Maine	Black	AAR 70-Ton Offset-Side 3-Bay Hopper	Accurail
BM	70003	Boston & Maine	Blue	ACFI. 5900 Series 50′ Welded-Side Double Door Steel Boxcars… or Boxcar, 50 Foot, X41?	Accurail	Facebook	Microtrains?
BM	77340	Boston & Maine	Blue	50′ PS-1	Kadee	eBay $137.50
BM	78169	Boston & Maine	Blue	Sieco 50′ Box Car	Athearn Genisis	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Athearn 10541 ★
BM	80000	Boston & Maine	Blue	FMC 50′ Box Car		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	The Freight Yard 2526A ★
BM	80007	Boston & Maine	Blue	FMC 50′ Box Car		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
BM	80017	Boston & Maine	Blue	FMC 50′ Box Car			Athearn
BN	219***	Burlington Northern	Green	Evans-USRE 5277 Box Car	ExactRail		ExactRail
BO	186009	Baltimore & Ohio Chessie System	Black	Coal Hopper
C&O	2187	Chesapeake & Ohio	White	PS2 Three Bay Covered Hopper	Athearn		Athearn 11359 ★
C&O	462877	Chesapeake & Ohio	Blue	Box Car		Facebook
CCR	6431	Corinth & Counce	Blue	FMC 50′ Box Car	Athearn 92525		Fox Valley
CN	3742	Canadian National				YouTube
CN	400350	Canadian National	Box Card Red with Yellow Door			Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
CN	400518	Canadian National	Box Card Red with Yellow Door			YouTube
CN	414020	Canadian National	Box Card Red			YouTube
CN	557418	Canadian National	Brown with Green Door	NSC 5304	Rapido	Facebook
CN	557634	Canadian National	Brown with Green Door	NSC 5304	Rapido	Facebook
CNW	172458	Chicago North Western	Green	Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, ACF 4650	Accurail		Intermountain [Trovestar Search]
CNW	753811	Chicago North Western	Green				Atlas 5543C ★
CO	189370	Chessie System	Black	100 Ton Hopper Car	Bowser 40690
CP	81216	Canadian Pacific	Green Script	NSC Newsprint Box Car		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Micro-Trains?
CP	124082	CP Rail	Red Multimark	50′
CP	200070	CP Rail	Red Multimark	5300 Series 50′ Combination Door	Accurail?	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Micro-Trains?
CP	252286	CP Rail	Red Multimark			Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
CP	269546	Canadian Pacific	Red Multimark	40′ PS1	Walthers Gondola	Facebook. eBay $50.00
CP	340200	Canadian Pacific	Red Multimark	Gondola	Walthers	eBay
CP	365367	Canadian Pacific	Black Multimark	70T 3-Bay Hopper	Bowser	eBay
CP	380259	Canadian Pacific	Black	Slab Side Hopper Car	TrueLine Trains 300333	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
CP	381111	CP Rail	Black	Slab Side Hopper Car	TrueLine Trains	eBay $132.50	?
CP	387502	CP Rail	Black	4-Bay Cylindrical Covered Hopper	Intermountain	Facebook
CPCX	7059	Chevron Phillips Chemical	Grey	ACF 5701 Covered Hopper	Atlas		Atlas 50 002 463 [Trovestar]
CPI	85010	CP Rail	Green Multimark	NSC Newsprint 50′ Box Car	Life-Like Proto 1000	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	True Line Trains
CPI	85154	CP Rail	Green Multimark	NSC Newsprint 50′ Box Car	Life-Like Proto 1000	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	True Line Trains
CPI	85250	CP Rail	Green Multimark	NSC Newsprint 50′ Box Car	Life-Like Proto 1000	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	True Line Trains
CPI	85490	CP Rail	Green Multimark	NSC Newsprint 50′ Box Car	Life-Like Proto 1000	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)	True Line Trains
CPI	86190	CP Rail	Green Multimark	NSC Newsprint 50′ Box Car	Life-Like Proto 1000		True Line Trains
CN	3742	Canadian National
CN	378235	Canadian National	White	NSC 59′ Cylindrical Hopper	Walthers 910-7176	Allagash Trackside Action Episode 3: The Lumberjack
CR	208262	Conrail	Box Car Red	60′?		Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
CR	266873	Conrail	Box Car Red	50′ 5077 Evans Smooth Side Boxcars	Walthers Mainline 910-1916	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
CR	437268	Conrail	Box Car Red	70-Ton 12-Panel 3-Bay Hopper	Bowser 6-41246	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
CR	471333	Conrail	Box Car Red	100 Ton 45 Foot Triple Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Micro-Trains
CR	471336	Conrail	Box Car Red	100 Ton 45 Foot Triple Hopper	Bowser	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Micro-Trains
CR	483499	Conrail	Box Car Red	100 Ton 45 Foot Triple Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
CR	490917	Conrail	Box Car Red	100 Ton 45 Foot Triple Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
CR	876261	Conrail	White	PS 260 2-Bay Covered Hopper	Athearn 95525	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Athearn
CR	885217	Conrail		ACF cylindrical covered hopper	Atlas		Bowser
CVC	404020	Central Vermont	Box Car Red			YouTube
D&H	12076	Delaware & Hudson	Grey	PS-2 Covered Hopper		Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
D&H	27203	Delaware & Hudson	Yellow	50′ PS-1 Boxcar	Athearn	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
D&H	29161	Delaware & Hudson	Yellow	50′ PS-1 Roofwalk removed, ladder cut down	Kadee	Facebook
D&H	35797	Delaware & Hudson		Extended Vision Cupola Caboose	Atlas 150-19263	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Atlas 30268 ★
DHNY	50000	Delaware & Hudson	Blue & White	50 Foot, PS-1 Box Car	Kadee 6339		Athearn
DUPX	37234	Dupont	Orange	ACF 5701 4-Bay Hopper	Atlas 20 000 001		Atlas 50 000 012 ★
DUPX	80017
EL	20059	Erie Lackawanna	White	PS-2CD 4427	ExactRail	eBay $91.25
EL	21393	Erie Lackawanna	White	ACF 2790 2-Bay Covered Hopper	Athearn 93912	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Atlas 3902
EL	33828	Erie Lackawanna	Black	70-Ton Hopper Car		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Bluford Shops
EL	33858	Erie Lackawanna	Black	70-Ton Hopper Car	Bowser	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Bluford Shops
EL	33882	Erie Lackawanna	Black	70-Ton Hopper Car	Bowser	eBay $91.00
EL	63572	Erie Lackawanna	Box Car Red	50′ Box Car	Accurail	eBay $75.00
EL	67947	Erie Lackawanna	Box Car Red	50′ DD Box Car		eBay $96.00
EL	68313	Erie Lackawanna	Box Car Red	50′ Box Car	Moloco 50′ General American RBL	eBay $104.50
EL	70550	Erie Lackawanna		AAR 1944 Box Car			InterMountain ★
ELTX	116	Soltex Polymer	White	ACF 5701 Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF Centerflow	Atlas 20000009	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Atlas 50000020 ★
ELTX	14_	Soltex Polymer	White	ACF 5701 Covered Hopper, 4-Bay, ACF Centerflow
FGEX	798219	Fruit Growers Express	Yellow	50′ FGE Insulated Boxcar	Walther’s 910-2004	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
FGMR	13421	Fruit Growers Express	White		Athearn 60′ Reefer	eBay $75.00
FLIX	599	Farmland	Grey	ACF 4650 3-Bay Centerflow Covered Hopper	Atlas 1460-2	Facebook
FLIX	612	COOP	Grey	Pullman-Standard PS-2CD 4750 Covered Hopper	Tangent 11247-01	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
FLIX	3438	COOP	Grey	ACF 3-Bay Covered Hopper	Accurail 80873	Facebook
GATX	3716	General American	Black			YouTube
GATX	3738	General American	Black			YouTube
GATX	3766	General American	Black			YouTube
GATX	24947	General American	Black/White	General American 8,000 Gallon Welded Acid Tank Car	Tangent 13012-02	Facebook
GATX	27494		Black	20,700 Gallon Non-Insulated Type 20 Saddles Tank Car	Atlas 20 000 270		Atlas 50 000 475 [Trovestar]
GATX	28246	General American	Black			YouTube
GATX	54526	General American	Black	Tank Car		Facebook
GATX	293765			Tank Car
GNWR	710013	Genesee and Wyoming			Athearn PS-2	eBay $162.50
GTW	113926	Grand Trunk Western	White	Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, PS-2 2893	Athearn	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Athearn 11442 ⓣ
GTW	315183	Grand Trunk Western	Blue	ACF 4750	Intermountain	eBay
GTW	315209	Grand Trunk Western	Blue	P-S Covered Hopper	Tangent Scale Models?	YouTube
GTW	315215	Grand Trunk Western	Blue	P-S Covered Hopper	Tangent Scale Models?	Facebook
GTW	315222	Grand Trunk Western	Blue	P-S Covered Hopper	Tangent Scale Models
GTW	315238	Grand Trunk Western	Blue	P-S Covered Hopper	Tangent Scale Models??	YouTube
GTW	597084	Grand Trunk Western	Blue	Boxcar	Accurail	Facebook
ICG	562864	Illinois Central Gulf		50′ Boxcar w/8′ Superior Door	Accurail 5551		Micro-Trains
LEF	1153	Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion	Yellow	Evans-USRE 5277 Boxcar	ExactRail		ExactRail
LV	65100	Lehigh Valley		Box Car		Allagash Railway Scenery Modeling Outside the Box Volume 1
LV	88536	Lehigh Valley		Box Car	Accurail 50′	eBay
MDW	10081	Minnesota, Dakota & Western	Green	50′ FMC Combo Door Boxcar	Athearn	Facebook
MDW	10088	Minnesota, Dakota & Western	Green	50′ FMC Combo Door Boxcar	Athearn	Facebook
MEC	2481		Grey	PS2 Covered Hopper		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Atlas
MEC	9142	Maine Central	Green	50′ Box Car		eBay $75.00
MEC	9155	Maine Central	Yellow			eBay $75.00
MEC	31128
MEC	31249	Maine Central	Yellow	Box Car		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
MEC	32127			50′ FMC 5347 Boxcar			Athearn 24205 [Trovestar]
MILW	100501	Milwaukee Road – America’s Resourceful Railroad	Yellow	Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, PS-2			Intermountain 672249-02 [Trovestar]
MNS	49771	Minneapolis Northfield & Southern	Blue	P-S 5344 Boxcar	ExactRail EP-80903-6	Facebook
NAHX	93877			North American Car Corp. PD3000
NAHX	94105		Grey	Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, NACC PD 3000	Spring Mills Depot 13110-07	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)	Trainworx ★
NATX	16160		Black	Tank Car		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
MNJ	120679	Middletown & New Jersey	Blue	50′ Berwick Boxcar		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Athearn
MP	250354	Missouri Pacific Lines	Brown	50′ Gunderson 5200		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	ExactRail EN-50811-1 ★
NW	44025	Norfolk and Western	Black	40′ PS-1 Box Car	Kadee
NW	693516	Norfolk and Western		50′ General American RBL Box Car	Moloco		Atlas
NSL	100044	St. Lawrence and Raquette River	Blue	50′ Berwick box car	Branchline		[Trovestar]
MTW	4136	Marinette Tomahawk & Western	Green	50′ FMC 5347 Boxcar	Athearn 91407	Facebook	Athearn 11185 / 11214 [Trovestar / Trovestar]
PC	473972	Penn Central	Black	100-ton coal hopper	Bowser	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
PC	479452	Penn Central		100-ton coal hopper	Bowser
PC	515730	Penn Central	Green	Gondola		Facebook
PC	837840	Penn Central	Grey	Flexi-Flo	Rapido	Facebook
PTLX	33013	Cargill	Green	Pullman-Standard PS-2CD 4750 Covered Hopper			Exact-Rail
PTLX	120284	General Electric Railcar Services	Black	50′ RTC 20900 Gal GS Tank Car	Athearn 40-73911	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)	Athearn
PROX	74128	PROCOR	Black	23,000 Gallon Funnel-Flow Tank Car	Walthers 932-7264	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
PRR	223380	Pennsylvania	Black	3-Bay Hopper	Bowser 6-40660	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
PRR	259943	Pennsylvania	Grey	ACF 3-Bay Hopper		eBay $75.00
RBOX	1534
RBOX	34411	RailBox	Yellow	50′ FMC 5347 Boxcar	Athearn 29653	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)	Athearn
RBOX	34639	RailBox	Yellow	50′ FMC 5347 Boxcar	Athearn 29654		Athearn
RBOX	34932	RailBox	Yellow	50′ FMC 5347 Boxcar	Athearn 29655	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit
RDG	41427	Reading	Black	100T Bethlehem 3-Bay Hopper	Bachmann 18711	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
SAN	10097	Sandersville Railroad	Brown	50′ PS 5347 Boxcar	ExactRail EP-80905-6	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
SCL	20133	Seaboard Coast Line	Box Car Red	50′ PS-1	Intermountain	Facebook
SLR	177	St. Lawrence & Atlantic		PC&F 5241 50′ Box Car	Rapido	eBay
SOO	18452	Soo Line	White	Soo Line-Built 7-Post Boxcar w/Diagonal-Panel Roof Boxcar	Fox Valley Models 30005	Allagash Trackside Action, JABE over Holman Summit	Fox Valley Models
SOU	140914	Southern	Brown	Bulkhead Flat Car		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
SOU	140915	Southern	Brown	Bulkhead Flat Car		Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
SOU	244937	Southern	Brown	50′ PC&F Boxcar	Athearn Genesis	Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
SOU	98042	Southern	Grey			Facebook
SPFE	452811	Southern Pacific		Pacific Fruit Express reefer Reefer, 57 Foot, Mechanical, PC&F R-70-20	Intermountain		Athearn
SRN	5114	Sabine River & Northern	Red	Box Car	Athearn 50′	eBay $51.00
TLDX	3075	Pillsbury	Grey	Pullman-Standard PS-2CD 4427 Covered Hopper	Walthers PS2 CD 4427	eBay $98.71
TLDX	578?	Cargill	Yellow	Pullman-Standard PS-2CD 4427 Covered Hopper			Exact-Rail
TLDX	7529	Cargill	Yellow	Covered Hopper, 3-Bay, PS-2-CD 4427	Proto 2000		Athearn
TP	781199	Missouri Pacific	Brown	50′ PD Youngstown Box Car	Athearn 91265	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon. Allagash Up Close & Personal – White Mountain Switcher (2020)
TSBY	4949	Tuscola & Saginaw Bay		3-Bay ACF4650 Center Flow Hopper	Atlas
	506397	Southern
	98042	Southern		3-Bay ACF Centerflow 3560
UELX	10023	ADM			Sold Sep 2020.
UNPX	122110	Procor			Rapido Procor 5820 plastic pellet covered hopper	eBay $98.71
UP	163533	Union Pacific		Box Car	Athearn combination door box car	eBay
UP	273182	Union Pacific		72′ Centerbeam Flat Car	Walthers 932-4123
UTLX	14855	Hydrochloric Acid	White	23,000 Gallon Funnel Flow Tank Car	Walthers 932-7263	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon
UTLX	25495			16,000 Gallon Funnel Flow Tank Car			–
UTLX	125137		White	13,600 Gallon Acid Tank	Athearn 96124	Facebook	Athearn
VCY	142022	Golden West Service	Blue	60′ FMC Boxcar
V&O	38671	V&O Appalachian Lines	Blue	PS 5344 Cu.ft. Single-Door Box Car	Sold in April 2020?	Facebook	Fox Valley 81253 ★
WM	188002
WM	603434	Chessie System	Yellow	ACF 4650 Covered 3-Bay Centerflow Hopper		YouTube
WM	602436	Chessie System	Yellow	ACF 4650 Covered 3-Bay Centerflow Hopper	Atlas 20000629	Weathering with Mike Confalone. Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Intermountain 67006-08 ★
WM	602444	Chessie System	Yellow	ACF 4650 Covered 3-Bay Centerflow Hopper	Atlas 14574	Allagash Trackside Action, MAME at New Sharon	Intermountain 67006-15 ★
X77		Allagash	Green	Plow

Piggyback Trailers – AGRZ 2534

About Mike Confalone

Mike Confalone is a New Hampshire–based modeller and publisher best known for his proto-freelanced Allagash Railway. He became involved in model railroading in his early teens in Smithtown, New York, later returning to the hobby after a period focused on railfanning.

In addition to his modelling work, Mike publishes the Northeastern prototype railroading magazine Railroad Explorer and has authored multiple books on prototype subjects.

More Information

• Confalone, Mike. Allagash Story Volume 1: Conceiving, Designing, and Building the Layout. Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine, 2014.
• Confalone, Mike. Allagash Story Volume 2: Planning and Building the Loco and Rolling Stock Roster. Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine, 2014.
• Confalone, Mike. Allagash Story Volume 3: Planning Prototype Operations. Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine, 2014.
• Confalone, Mike. Allagash Story Volume 4: Bringing the Layout to Life. Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine, 2014.
• Confalone, Mike. “Coal Trains on the Allagash.” Model Railroad Hobbyist, March 2018, pp. 170-195.
• Confalone, Mike. “The Allagash Gets a Shortline Connection.” MRH Running Extra, January 2019.
• Confalone, Mike. “Over the Road with the JABE (Madrid Yard – Holman Summit).” Allagash Trackside Action, episode 1, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine, 2019.
• Confalone, Mike. “Working New Sharon, ME (Madrid–Mechanicville, MAME).” Allagash Trackside Action, episode 2, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine, 2019.
• Confalone, Mike. “The Lumberjack (Sandy River – Holman Summit).” Allagash Trackside Action, episode 3, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine, 2019
• Confalone, Mike. “Operations in Allagash Country.” Model Railroad Hobbyist, no. 117, November 2019.
• Confalone, Mike. “The Ultimate Allagash Railway Tour.” Model Railroad Hobbyist, September 2022.

Epilogue

Over its life, the Allagash wore several coats: the independent of 1977–1980, the Guilford-controlled version of the mid-1980s, and the leaner 1982 pre-Guilford form. Each had its strengths. I liked them all, though the Guilford era always spoke to me most. The former B&M, D&H and MEC power rubbing shoulders with the home-road fleet gave it a gritty, workaday atmosphere that rang true. Whatever the guise, the Allagash caught not just the look but the feel of New England railroading when boxcars still crowded the sidings, paper mills throbbed, and Alcos sat growling beside Geeps and GEs.

On 22 December 2024, Mike Confalone drew a line under the Allagash, retiring it as a “fallen flag” after 16 years. That act felt less like an ending than a turning of the page. The Allagash had told its story, and it was time for something new.

The next chapter is the Androscoggin & Western Maine Railroad, set in the late 1980s and built around Railtex’s purchase of former Allagash assets. A second-hand Alco fleet, harder economics, a more unsettled New England – that’s the landscape Mike has chosen. He calls it “wicked cool,” and from the first glimpses he’s shared, it looks every bit that.

For me, the Allagash was always worth following. It showed how proto-freelance could be both inventive and convincing, how a made-up line could feel real. With its passing, I’ll close my own notes on it. But I’ll be watching the Androscoggin & Western Maine with interest, curious to see where Mike’s imagination leads.

Thank you, Mike, for the Allagash – and for what comes next.

–

NP = 10 June 2021