Pan Am Southern / Patriot Corridor Discussion

"Ladder" Engine ... Nice! It even has a bell ...

Is the NS 911 engine not equipped with dynamic brakes?

Great picture, great railroad. Feels good to be connected.

b&m 1566 wrote:Is the NS 911 engine not equipped with dynamic brakes?

It has them like all the 60s.

b&m 1566 wrote:Is the NS 911 engine not equipped with dynamic brakes?

Every six axle EMD from the SD50 on has had the dynamic brakes behind the cab instead of over the engine as on older models.

Photo by Doug Boudrow:

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/604404/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MEC407 wrote:Photo by Doug Boudrow:

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/604404/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice picture. Someday that will be doublestacks!

PAS will be getting $2.5M from NYS to reconfigure and expand Hoosick Junction. Was on Albany news.

newpylong wrote:PAS will be getting $2.5M from NYS to reconfigure and expand Hoosick Junction. Was on Albany news.

woah... 2.5mill is a lot of money though. Presumably some will go towards rebuilding the east leg of the wye. There's not a whole lot of room to add trackage there, maybe a mile of extended double track east to where the eastbound main used to split, or with some grading as far as sewer plant Xing. It wouldn't be thaaaat bad an idea to extend the #2 trk past the east wye switch, to a new CPF 444. You could have RJ-1/AD-1/VTR working at 445 without interfering with mainline traffic. I remember several times where after clearing up 445, we had to cut off and shove back to work VTR...A distant signal in North Hoosick, and an interlocking off the east leg of the wye would be a decent investment as well. When slurry unit trains ran out of North Benn, NBPO had to stop at the bottom of the hill at 445, open up, start from a stand still up the eastbound ruling grade west of the tunnel, stop on the grade to normal the switch and derail, then taxi to the head end.

When the reroute of the Vermonter was drawn up, there was talk of adding several sidings on the Hoosick Branch. It's possible this state money will go toward mitigating freight interference should that project go through. Or more likely it's necessary investment given that those same interlocking signals have been there forever, and the east leg and connection trk are trashed...

Is the VTR allowed to run out to Eagle Bridge? It seems like it would be more convenient for them to just haul the interchange right out to Eagle Bridge, and leave it there on the #2, rather than trying to make things work with the limited space at Hoosick Junction. The only downside I can see is PAS loses a spot to tie a train down.

Yes, but that would never fly as daily routine. Not going to interchange on the mainline. Not sure what the funds exactly will be used for they want to create more space.

Lame press release is source word for word of news reports:

Capital Region
SMS Rail Services, Inc., Albany County: $2.6 million to rehabilitate 14 miles of track and sidings.
PanAm Southern, LLC, Rensselaer County: $2.5 million to reconfigure and expand tracks at Hoosick Junction

Is this related to the Mickeyville expansion?...i.e. booting point-of-origin for the far west end locals and car storage for the shortline interchanges away from the IM loads into a consolidated staffing point. And perhaps pulling the North Adams local to the same crew spot? In a vacuum seems like an odd project to fast-forward right now with given that it was only months ago that he VRS interchange shifted back to Bellows Falls full-time, and given PAR's recent reluctance to participate in other such ops-streamlining grants.

I have to wonder if this is related to the potential Ethan Allen reroute, via Hoosick Jct. I attached what could maybe cost $2.5mil? (I edited this, not an actual document)

BostonUrbEx wrote:I have to wonder if this is related to the potential Ethan Allen reroute, via Hoosick Jct. I attached what could maybe cost $2.5mil? (I edited this, not an actual document)

That one is still waaay far off. VTrans just finished the Western Corridor-north track upgrades for EAE-Burlington and still has a construction season to go getting its station builds in order before Phase I extension service starts. Western Corridor-south's incumbent physical plant is in much worse shape than the north half's ever was because freight carloads to the south are so much sparser, so it's going to take 10 years and a steady diet of grant awards for VTrans to incrementally bring those miles up to full state-of-repair. And only when that bit-by-bit process is in its late stages does New York State kick into gear funding Hoosick Jct.-to-state line remainders on VRS, negotiate trackage rights on the Corridor with NS/CP, and dole out the NS grants for passenger capacity and speed upgrades.

There's no way New York is going to be doing any passenger pre-prep this early in the game on PAS, so this has to be a freight-only request. Even if they were interested in front-loading some of their passenger prep work, it's still far too many years in advance to be jumping the gun by this huge a margin. NS will probably be in Years 3-5 of outright ownership of the Corridor by the time they need to start scheduling the passenger upgrades. So there's no bureaucratic justification for involving PAR in any way, shape, or form with the prelim funding when they'll be several years gone from NY by the time first shovel gets turned on the upgrades.