Housatonic Railroad Thread (Maybrook, Berkshire, Pittsfield)

[Greg Moore]

I'm trying to remember, but I know in the last decade or so I have seen some fairly long trains, but probably not 75 car trains.

So it's resolved... we need to buy out Hanlon and run this right? Who's putting up the first $5M.

[jaymac]

Even if Blessed Saint Powerball delivered on my prayers in these, my hours of needs, that amount seems kinda expensive to sign my own permission slip to get a cab ride.

[Greg Moore]

Sorry, cab ride implies you're a "passenger" doing it for fun. Nah, this you pays your $5M AND you end up working for it.

[J.D. Lang]

So it's resolved... we need to buy out Hanlon and run this right? Who's putting up the first $5M.

Ah yes you would need quite a few compadres to put up 5mil a piece in order to buy him out then upgrade the tracks from Derby all the way to Pittsfield to class II standards. Even a big score on powerball may not get you there.

J.L.

[Greg Moore]

[Jeff Smith]

^

[Jeff Smith]

Saw in the Housy FB thread that there was another derailment yesterday. No news reports yet on Google. Per the group, six cars in New Milford derailed at River Road and Rooster Trail Hollow.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Patch has a report.

Wow, not all that far from the one days earlier than when I was out that way for Reunion last June.

[J.D. Lang]

I think railfans should be very careful when shooting photos/video around the Housy. I've seen to many videos on youtube where the person taking the video is right up along the track while the cars go rocking wildly by. Not good for ones health.
J.L.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Here's another Housy spill from January near Brookfield. One more reason suggesting adherence to Mr. Lang's advice.

I think that paper best establish a full time position for a reporter to cover Housy's various "Perils of Pauline" moments.

Finally, those noted "construction materials" kind of look like garbage to me.

[DutchRailnut]

Meanwhile one car with construction debris from previous derailment in Brookfield is still next to track behind the post office.
waiting for miracle or skyhook to get it out ?

[Gilbert B Norman]

How long will it take for regulators to realize this excuse of a railroad represents a greater "public nuisance" than it ever does "public necessity"?

Is the Pittsfield-Canaan stretch apparently owned by "The Commonwealth" in any better physical condition or provide more in the way of "public necessity"?

The Berkshire line has never been my "fan favorite"; quite simply too many "Prison train" memories overriding those of the "Freedom train".

[Dick H]

Details and photo from New Milford derailment yesterday from NBC Connecticut.
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/loca ... 98433.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[J.D. Lang]

Is the Pittsfield-Canaan stretch apparently owned by "The Commonwealth" in any better physical condition or provide more in the way of "public necessity"?

A number of years ago Mass DOT gave Housatonic some money to fix the tracks from Lenox to Stockbridge on contingent that Berkshire scenic be allowed to use those tracks. So for a while that section was a good solid class 2. Since the Berkshire Scenic was booted at the end of that lease agreement and the state stepped in and bought it to the Conn. state line very minimal has been done and many sections looked to be about as bad as what is in Conn. I can think of 5 derailments that have occurred in Mass. over the last few years; one just north of Sheffield, one in Housatonic (cars hit the old freight house), one north of Housatonic, one in south Lee (where cars ended up in the Housatonic River), and one in North Lee.

Not a good "track" record.
J.L.

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

MassDOT's committed as part of the line buy to make a lot of state-of-repair upgrades to the Berkshire Line. Much like they're doing in Southeast Mass. as I.O.U.'s to the big CSX line sale. But it's not going to be instantaneous because the sale was too recent to hit a 4-year agency-wide Cap Improvements Plan budgeting window. The Mass Coastal lines feeding CSX interchange had their sale announced in 2008, took effect in 2011, and are just now getting new rail and ties dropped in advance for the '17 construction season kicking off a 3-year programmed funding blitz. "Upgrades" just don't get queued up overnight, and the Berkshire acquisition is still one CIP budgeting period outside of locked/loaded resources appearing on a programmed ledger.


As for what they're planning to spend...probably about as much as the original $18M sale agreement, since HRRC took a little off the top on price figuring it was more worth their while to take the offer of track fixes than get fined into oblivion by the FRA for safety violations. It's just enough IOU'd payback to make it reliably operable Class 1, clean out all the safety skeletons HRRC stuffed deep in the closet, and--most importantly for local commerce--get Berkshire Scenic back on its home rails without drama. But it's not, like, an "UPGRADE!"-upgrade because $20M will disappear real fast when diffused across an in-state corridor of that length...and all the disaster spots HRRC left behind on a corridor of that length. "Good solid Class 2" is probably a bit of a reach for the initial investment. Staying consistently upright with wheels firmly affixed to stick is more the type of life's little victories the state's first funding shot is aiming for.