Maine Line Magazine Archive Volume 25

1977's Maine Lines are a mixed bag of old cover styles and new, with the only cover to extend onto the back cover in the magazine's history - being bracketed by two issues with the unofficial 'standard' full cover black and white photo with titles. The potato traffic writing was very much on the wall, with the retirement of 497 refrigerated boxcars being announced in the first issue. This would cut the fleet nearly in half, with 659 remaining on the roster of what was once the second largest fleet in the nation of temperature controlled boxcars. With financial figures published for 1976 looking significantly better than 1975 and new prospects and lines of business on the horizon, one could see good things ahead. This is countered by the radical cuts in the car fleet (although necessary) and petitions to abandon trackage. For the first time in an editorial, the president of the railroad admits that the potato traffic is gone. By the end of the year, the hope for the year to be a good one had largely fled, with figures in for the end of November published in the Winter issue, a loss of over a half a million dollars was stated, a return to the red not seen for several years at that point.

Click here for a Zip file containing all four Issues from Volume 25 along with some Bonus Material! 

	January - February - March 1977
	April - May - June 1977
	July - August - September 1977	Fourth full color photo on the cover of a Maine Line - only one to span the rear cover as well
	Winter 1977 - 1978