Pan Am Southern / Patriot Corridor Discussion

Pan Am owns the abandoned Glenville side still (including the active yard office) so it probably wouldnt be a problem.

rovetherr wrote:

WN&P wrote: Does this guy have some vested interest in the something being shipped over the D&H or this just how he as a good time?

From my readings of his many, many filings, very much the latter. He actually managed to get the D+H disposal of their trackage rights south of Sunbury halted on a technicality, at least until the D+H amends its filing (they missed 13 area codes and a county that would be effected by their filing). But this appears to be the first actual success he has had, and it is just a delaying tactic at best.

Ironic that the guy who is trying to throw a wrench in things actually ended up helping the filing by making the parties aware of such a significant error prior to issuance of a decision.

Don't worry...he'll be back. He always comes back. Another time, another place, another rail transaction to interfere with.

Riffen appealed the decision yesterday. What a clown.

NS is having a "Network" moment (Hear! Hear!):

Excerpt from STB filing:

"... Norfolk Southern Railway Company ("NS") hereby petitions the Surface
Transportation Board ("Board") to initiate a rulemaking to establish: (1) a pre-approval
process for filings made by individuals with an established history of being abusive filers,
of filing for harassment purposes, of filing in proceedings in which they lack standing or
any cognizable interest, or in the context of the offer of financial assistance ("OFA")
process, of not being financially responsible; (2) new rules to create a presumption in the
OFA process that individuals who previously have been found not financially responsible
or have been bankrupt are not financially responsible; and (3) new rules to require
additional certifications in the OFA process regarding the financial responsibility of
potential offerors..."

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... 238469.pdf

I can't believe that something like that isn't already in place. Accepting filings from these clowns has to be a waste of staff time.

http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/headline.asp?id=22759" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note: "Railroad" man is a pretty loose interpretation of the word haha.

Norfolk Southern Patriot Corridor money hard at work:

10 MPH:
Passing CPF385
395-397
Bridge St - 409
411-412
River Road
428-429
435-436
452-53

Only stretch of 40 MPH left is 450-452

A joke really.

They p!ssed that away quickly, didn't they?

Is there something basically wrong with the sub whatever-it's-called? I mean, why doesn't this happen on the likes of the BNSF up on the northern tier? The weather is even more severe there than it is in New England.

Subgrade. If there was it would be a recurring issue in one area like MP 428 in Williamstown. That area has been a problem for 50 years.

No it's the same old story - do something half a** and the problems creep back within a few years. Not weather related.

Of the work that has been completed or is currently ongoing on the system has occurred on lines that benefit passenger trains more than the core Freight Main Line. In 2009, now six years ago, Norfolk Southern came to the old B&M to rebuild the Fitchburg to Mechanicville portion of the line. Since then, a handful of rail trains, all from NS with NS crews has put spot rail on curves here and there, but no real sizable tie work has been done to the line since 2009. Same holds true for the Downeaster, except the bulk of that rebuild project happened in 2001. Since then, Guilford and now Pan Am, with their small amount of MOW equipment and crews have been confined to working on the Brunswick Extension (2010 and 2011) and the Conn River Line (2012-Present) while just doing simple routine repairs to the rest of the system. This is why the Patriot Corridor trains and the Downeaster service are suffering now. Pan Am probably should have considered hiring contractors to do both the Downeaster Extension and the Conn River Line rebuilds and focused their own MOW efforts on their core FML where most of their revenue comes from.

newpylong wrote:Norfolk Southern Patriot Corridor money hard at work:

10 MPH:
Passing CPF385
395-397
Bridge St - 409
411-412
River Road
428-429
435-436
452-53

Only stretch of 40 MPH left is 450-452

A joke really.

I video'ed EDRJ last Sunday at Bardwells Ferry Rd and thought the track there (~ MP 394) looked pretty decent by Pan Am standards. EDRJ had a lengthy train of empties pulled by 2 x GP40s and 2 x SD40s. The head end seemed to running at 20+ mph (ie, faster than a sprinter) when it passed me but by the time the FRED passed it seemed like 10mph. Apparently it must have been the speed restriction MP 395 and not the grade that caused the slow down. Bardwells Ferry crossing is a bit off the grid and quite scenic but photography is challenging given the tightness of the foliage around the track and limited access.

Questions: is PAR making progress toward achieving 286K car capability on District 3 between Hoosick Jct and Ayer? Current weight limit map on PAR website says Freight Main should achieve 286K status this year. No target date is given for the Conn River line which is claimed to be being enabled for 286K cars - is the Vermonter track work addressing this? TIA.

http://www.panamrailways.com/includes/t ... Limits.jpg

johnpbarlow wrote:

newpylong wrote:Norfolk Southern Patriot Corridor money hard at work:

10 MPH:
Passing CPF385
395-397
Bridge St - 409
411-412
River Road
428-429
435-436
452-53

Only stretch of 40 MPH left is 450-452

A joke really.

I video'ed EDRJ last Sunday at Bardwells Ferry Rd and thought the track there (~ MP 394) looked pretty decent by Pan Am standards. EDRJ had a lengthy train of empties pulled by 2 x GP40s and 2 x SD40s. The head end seemed to running at 20+ mph (ie, faster than a sprinter) when it passed me but by the time the FRED passed it seemed like 10mph. Apparently it must have been the speed restriction MP 395 and not the grade that caused the slow down. Bardwells Ferry crossing is a bit off the grid and quite scenic but photography is challenging given the tightness of the foliage around the track and limited access.

Questions: is PAR making progress toward achieving 286K car capability on District 3 between Hoosick Jct and Ayer? Current weight limit map on PAR website says Freight Main should achieve 286K status this year. No target date is given for the Conn River line which is claimed to be being enabled for 286K cars - is the Vermonter track work addressing this? TIA.

http://www.panamrailways.com/includes/t ... Limits.jpg

Conn River should be done with 286K unless there is any bridge work scheduled for the summer as final closeout work. Bridge work would be handled by a separate contractor and not NS crews because of the extra structural engineering expertise required and MassDOT assistance with road detours. So there could be 1-2 small outliers like that still scheduled for completion. But they'd all be small road overpasses and the like. The big water crossings on the Conn River are all finished.

Northfield to WRJ is also officially 286K. That uprate went official very early on in the Vermonter upgrades.

Given the extent of the NS system I would say they are more than capable of any engineering requirements, probably more so than MassDOT. But their work on the Conn River only consisted of the rail.

14 student Conductors training between Mohawk and Ayer currently, supposed to be 14 more next month.