Millers Falls interchange yard

Signs of activity: On 07-30-2010 at 0745, there was only the start of fresh rust from the NECR side, and there were two gons and an MT lumber spine up towards the PAS end.

So I assume this is now an active interchange?

gprimr1 wrote:So I assume this is now an active interchange?

Has been since last year...

I haven't been up that way in a good long while.

I am trying to go this month

How active is the interchange?

With just the single track connection, this essentially limits
the use of the interchange to eastbound PAS trains and
northbound NECR trains. If there was a second track in
the yard with switches on both ends, this would allow the
use by trains in both directions. This was probably the
case in the "old days". However, if the second track
was re-installed, it would likely have to cross East Main
St and the NECR would not want to fund the expense of
installing and maintaining another track in the crossing.
At any rate, PAS must have seen a reasonably positive
benefit to the interhange there or they would have not
spent the funds to re-install the connection.

Hello all,

Haven't been following RR activities terribly close for the last couple years. Pleased to see that Millers interchange up and running. I remember hearing about six-seven years ago about a local person trying to get a transload facility built in that vicinity...does anyone else remember it? There was a front-page write-up in the Greenfield Recorder and I heard nothing else after that.

Construction progressing on the new Greenfield transportation facility, pleased to see that in preparation for Amtrak. In addition, I can appreciate the routing - Northampton will have a bigger passenger base, even though three of the five colleges are located in Amherst. PVTA provides regular enough service from UMass to Hamp (every twenty minutes on the weekday) to get passengers to and from the train.

So with the interchange now being done at Millers and as previously mentioned the WRJ traffic going via NECR, would the Vermonter be the only service north of East Northfield on Guilford/PAR trackage besides that Bernardston Agway?

Thanks for the help.

CD

Agway in Bernardston is south of East Northfield - which is the end of Pan Am trackage. Pan Am maintains trackage rights to customers over the NECR that they served when the line was sold to them, though the rumors are they are trying to work something out so they don't have to go north of Bernardston anymore.

Thanks Trinnau!

How many customers does PanAm actually have left up that way besides the Bernardston Agway?

I think only 3, and each with a real low volume of traffic - which may or may not have to do with service levels. Pan Am doesn't run a regular train up the Conn River at this point, only happens as the demand warrants.

Well way back on page 1 of this post I questioned the validity of the NS interest and Amtrak funding to pay for the restoration of the Conn River line north of Springfield. I received a lot of admonishment and rebuttals that is was gonna happen and that my sources were wrong. Well, it has been a year and a half and I still have not seen the Amtrak rail train show up to start the work. All I have heard on this front is that with the economy in the tank the funding has been shelved. So where are all the updates guys? Hmmmm...just saying...sometimes those of us in the business do know what is going on afterall...

ProRail wrote:Well way back on page 1 of this post I questioned the validity of the NS interest and Amtrak funding to pay for the restoration of the Conn River line north of Springfield. I received a lot of admonishment and rebuttals that is was gonna happen and that my sources were wrong. Well, it has been a year and a half and I still have not seen the Amtrak rail train show up to start the work. All I have heard on this front is that with the economy in the tank the funding has been shelved. So where are all the updates guys? Hmmmm...just saying...sometimes those of us in the business do know what is going on afterall...

OT Much? Is gprimr1 your source?

The economy has nothing to do with the release of the FEDERAL funds for the PUBLIC investment into the Conn River line. Pan Am crews are tied up in ME on the expansion of the Downeaster service. Funding for the Vermonter is with state of VT funds, and I haven't heard of any impending cutback. The only thing Amtrak would be worried about are the Tea Drinkers in Washington, and if you've been following the news, they are quickly running out of steam (pun intended).

It's not nice to spread fear.

------

Back on topic, how much use has the interchange been seeing lately? Are they really expanding the interchange this summer?

While I addressed your un-necessary condemnation of tea party members in another thread, I will add this here.

Economy affects tax revenue, tax revenue affects what can be paid for.

Now we can get back to the yard.

On 05-09-2011 during a 0855 drive-by, the only thing on the interchange track was a day or more of rust. Keeping with the rust theme, the tool car and the orange MOW claw were still on their respective Rusted-In-Place tracks.

It's rare to see the interchange empty. There are usually 5-10 cars when I drive by. Scrap, lumber, low sided gons and covered hoppers seem to dominate the traffic going through Miller's.