Finger Lakes Railway (FGLK) Discussion - 2012

Under Conrail, the contract changed at least once as they could turn up with CSX power, then later could turn up with NS power. After the split, a few trains did get run via Finger Lakes, but I've heard varying reasons why it stopped, from being rough on the track to the contract ran out and went back to CSX.

In any case here's another customer lost because of the EPA.

lvrr325 wrote:Under Conrail, the contract changed at least once as they could turn up with CSX power, then later could turn up with NS power. After the split, a few trains did get run via Finger Lakes, but I've heard varying reasons why it stopped, from being rough on the track to the contract ran out and went back to CSX.

In any case here's another customer lost because of the EPA.

come to think of it I do remember the occasional NS Trains popping up every now and then going into that plant in the early to mid 90's. I do believe that the Mine that the coal trains started from landed under NS control after the Conrail split which is why the Power and the Cars were from NS at the time. It would not make any sent's to hand over NS owned Cars to CSX when it could be given to Finger Lakes but then and again it could have also gone up NYS&W just as easily. I guess we'll never know why NS did what they did at that time.

FGLK did run a Train today on 7/7/2012 around 10:00 or 10:30A.M. not sure what direction is was going

lvrr325 wrote:Under Conrail, the contract changed at least once as they could turn up with CSX power, then later could turn up with NS power. After the split, a few trains did get run via Finger Lakes, but I've heard varying reasons why it stopped, from being rough on the track to the contract ran out and went back to CSX.

In any case here's another customer lost because of the EPA.

Right I remember that Conrail brought a lot of unit train of coal in CSX hoppers to solvay... As well as NS's coal the NS unit trains went to 2 plants - one to TOM in NH and other one I forget where.. but I think a plant on hudson river.. Both of these 2 plants, delivered by NS coal, were also delieved by CR coal as well - if my memory serve me right. Right now, both plants which were delivered by NS coal are shut down I believe.

So if solvay plant is shut down. that leave us with ONE coal train goign through Rocheseter... for Kodak plant. as well as one coke unit train for ft drum.

few years ago, we had at least 5 or 6 coal trains... now its down to one. but for how long???

sd80mac wrote:

lvrr325 wrote:few years ago, we had at least 5 or 6 coal trains... now its down to one. but for how long???

Much of it has to do with the price of natural gas being cheaper and burning cleaner than coal - with many plants facing a deadline of 2014 to be brought in compliance with much stricter EPA regulations. You're going to see many coal plants reduced to reliever status (to absorb demands for electricity on hot days when the nuke/hydro/gas plants can't keep up) or shut down altogether. I know AES Somerset - which was in bankruptcy and offline since March - was just recently sold. Kodak's coal plant needs to be upgraded as well - and my guess is if they can't find the $$$ to do that - they'll just convert to natural gas or something. And as we know RG&E Russell Station is in the process of demolition now.

I guess it can't be all bad news for the railroads - they're reporting higher traffic levels now than they ever did before in spite of the decline in coal traffic (which itself is down 20% nationwide).

With the CR split anything off NS runs NS as far as possible, too - Mt. Tom trains, for instance, would go Southern Tier to Binghamton and D&H to Albany. The Hudson River trains were short-lived, they always ran, but routing them via Buffalo was a mid-90s thing and after the split they went back to going via New Jersey and up from the south.

A certain guy once said he'd make coal so expensive that he'd drive the industry out of business, and with these EPA regs he seems to be succeeding.

At least lines like Finger Lakes have a shot at new traffic as fracking takes hold in the market.

Speaking of trains, it seems that traffic between Himrod and Watkins Glen has dried up for the past month or so. Maybe one train a week now. Indication of the lack of traffic is that the ROW (including between the rails) is severely overgrown with weeds and the rail heads are evidencing a lot of oxidation. Kind of strange since salt shipments normally pick up in July. The track to Penn Yan actually looks like it has had heavier use lately.

Poppyl

poppyl wrote: Kind of strange since salt shipments normally pick up in July.
Poppyl

Perhaps most of the customers still have piles of leftover salt from last year given the no-snow winter.... JS

Everything seemed normal with FGLK when I saw HW2 one month ago today.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07505.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07511.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07540.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07562.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07589.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07610.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m231 ... C07629.jpg

All photos taken by me Monday 6/11/2012 in Reading, Watkins Glen, Starkey and Himrod, NY.

Matt;

I remember your reference. This is a relatively recent occurrence and it may just be a cyclical situation. Early this PM FGLK brought a five car consist up from Watkins Glen. The power may have gone down light. This was the first traffic in over a week. Normally at this time of year they are operating M-W-F and once in a while on the weekends with at least eight to ten cars going each way. Nothing wrong with the salt business, however, as truck traffic remains heavy at both facilities.

For those interested, we are talking about salt in granular form, not rock salt.

Poppyl

Gotcha, Poppy. Just speculation on my part, but maybe Cargill and US Salt shut down for the holiday last week?

I did catch FGLK 2306 running North on July 3ed coming up the Corning Line on the West end of Geneva with 29 cars if that means anything to anyone.... I believe the time was around 11:30 or 1:00p.m. or so.

Indication of the lack of traffic is that the ROW (including between the rails) is severely overgrown with weeds and the rail heads are evidencing a lot of oxidation.

Oxidation on the railheads is an indication of lack of traffic. Severely overgrown with weeds is an indication of a lack of maintenance.

poppyl wrote:Matt;

I remember your reference. This is a relatively recent occurrence and it may just be a cyclical situation. Early this PM FGLK brought a five car consist up from Watkins Glen. The power may have gone down light. This was the first traffic in over a week. Normally at this time of year they are operating M-W-F and once in a while on the weekends with at least eight to ten cars going each way. Nothing wrong with the salt business, however, as truck traffic remains heavy at both facilities.

For those interested, we are talking about salt in granular form, not rock salt.

Poppyl

Granular as in table salt?

Auburn branch near Martisco has quite a bit of weed growth going between the rails, too. May be a system-wide issue.

bwparker1 wrote:

poppyl wrote:Matt;

I remember your reference. This is a relatively recent occurrence and it may just be a cyclical situation. Early this PM FGLK brought a five car consist up from Watkins Glen. The power may have gone down light. This was the first traffic in over a week. Normally at this time of year they are operating M-W-F and once in a while on the weekends with at least eight to ten cars going each way. Nothing wrong with the salt business, however, as truck traffic remains heavy at both facilities.

For those interested, we are talking about salt in granular form, not rock salt.

Poppyl

Granular as in table salt?

Yup. Both plants in Watkins Glen use a brine extraction process wherein lake water is pumped into salt formations (east of the lake for Cargill and west of the lake for US Salt); the water dissolves the salt into a brine; the brine is pumped to the surface; and the water is then evaporated leaving granular salt as a residue. Pretty simple and straight forward process.

Poppyl