Connecticut River Line (Pan Am)

If I had to guess, I'd say the PAR boys are getting everything ready to roll for the NS gangs arrival next month.

gokeefe wrote:Half a century (or more) of decay...being reversed one tie, one plate, one spike at a time. Still amazing to see this project happening.

Anything is possible with taxpayer money!

Here's a brief summary of the major points from this evening's Passenger Rail Advisory Committee in Northampton.

- The re-route of the Vermonter, to the Conn Rive Line, is [still] expected to occur sometime in December 2014.

- In Northampton the new plan calls for the construction of a temporary platform just south of Union Station later this year. The temporary platform will be replaced by a 400' high-level platform by the end of 2015. MassDOT then expects to be able to reuse the temporary platform for a future project.

- Crews are now upgrading the grade crossings along the line. They are currently working North to South. Earlier today they upgraded the crossing at Depot Road in North Hatfield. The Damon Road crossing in Northampton will probably be replaced in August, but this will require a great deal of coordination, i.e. to deal with the re-routing of truck traffic.

- A 150-person Norfolk Southern work crew will start installing welded rail (from Greenfield to Springfield) starting on Monday, July 7th. They expect to install 2 1/2 miles per day and complete the job, of installing ~30 miles of new rail, in about 2 weeks.

- The planned bike underpass in Northampton, to connect the rail trails, will not be built until 2015.


This information is based on statements made by Tim Doherty, Director of Rail Programs, MassDOT.

Man, 30 miles in weeks. Wish they would have NS come in and help out with more MOW projects! They sure know how to get the job done in a timely matter!

BM6569 wrote:Man, 30 miles in weeks. Wish they would have NS come in and help out with more MOW projects! They sure know how to get the job done in a timely matter!

If you have 150 bodies to throw at something I guess it moves along!

a brief reading of fd35842 filed yesterday indicates that necr owns a portion and wants pas to pay more than 44.72891 cents per car mile. i gather that 'amtrak 1' , superceded by 'amtrak 2' has expired. as such necr seemingly now owns the former cv and b&m portions and is asking stb to re-do the trackage rights pricing et al. i found the verbiage to be mind-numbing so i ask ' is pas upgrading trackage owned by necr? according to the original icc docs, the track had to maintained at class 3. does pas pay necr trackage? ken patrick

Moderator Note:

Guys, if you have something to say to Ken, or something to say about Ken, please do it via private messaging. This isn't the place for it. Thank you.

KEN PATRICK wrote:a brief reading of fd35842 filed yesterday indicates that necr owns a portion and wants pas to pay more than 44.72891 cents per car mile. i gather that 'amtrak 1' , superceded by 'amtrak 2' has expired. as such necr seemingly now owns the former cv and b&m portions and is asking stb to re-do the trackage rights pricing et al. i found the verbiage to be mind-numbing so i ask ' is pas upgrading trackage owned by necr? according to the original icc docs, the track had to maintained at class 3. does pas pay necr trackage? ken patrick

I believe they do pay, but a fairly small fee. This is why they are making a stink - because Pan Am is going to move VRS cars BF - WRJ for them and doesn't have to pay as much. If the NECR moved the cars in a timely fashion the conversation between VRS and PAS wouldn't have even happened. Interesting coming from a company who just got an entirely new mainline in Vermont for 2 trains a day for free.

The states of VT and MA are rebuilding NECR and PAS trackage respectively, but no intermingling there.

What is going to be done at East Northfield? The old switch is still in use and is 10MPH.

parkerdog wrote:Today there was a crew working just behind Prolube Auto Center in Northampton (right at exit 18) building a large, tall retaining wall, I imagine to strengthen the embankment that the rails run on top of. Very cool to see!

Rich

Some backhoes clearing more brush on each side of the main line today. This was along side of Rt 5 not far from the connection to Rt 91.
A couple backhoes and shredder under 91 overpass.



Rich

Rail truck picking up old ties and brush. Ties being dropped in piles about a hundred feet apart today.



Rich

Caught them Wednesday afternoon clearing brush, as well as PLED right behind longer northbound train by PCA (ED-1?)

Cadet57 wrote:Caught them Wednesday afternoon clearing brush, as well as PLED right behind longer northbound train by PCA (ED-1?)

ED-1 is the first trick hump switcher, probably ED-2.

Crane operator stopping for lunch at the Smokin Caboose. Electro magnet crane. He headed back South.




Rich

Here's a link to a set of 12 images that were taken in Hatfield and Northampton a few days ago:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/26316537@ ... 310160565/

Just 15 days to go until the Norfolk Southern work crew starts installing the welded rail between Greenfield and Springfield.
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