Connecticut River Line (Pan Am)

Here's a link to a set of 9 images that I took in Northampton today:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/26316537@ ... 175001108/

The images are of the 25-car Norfolk Southern camp train that is currently parked on the Northampton Running Track.

If you wish to see these cars I would suggest parking behind the Catholic church at 99 King Street and then walking north on the bike path. Keep in mind that the camp train is only scheduled to be in town for about two weeks.

Here is a link to a Daily Hampshire Gazette article published today about neighborhood complaints about the work train that has set up camp in Northampton:

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/12682366 ... orary-camp

Thanks for the link, parkerdog.

Brief quotes from the article, in case anyone has trouble accessing it:

GazetteNET wrote:Dieringer and many other neighbors complained to Pan Am Railways officials, contacted the city’s Health Department and enlisted the help of Ward 3 City Councilor Ryan R. O’Donnell.
. . .
Pan Am confirmed Tuesday that it has begun a work surge in which 100 railroad crews from as far away as Tennessee are working to lay the new rail between Springfield and the Vermont border as part of the $83 million Knowledge Corridor project.
. . .
Scarano said work crews report to the camp for meals and snacks, but they sleep at a “home base” in Holyoke. “They don’t sleep there,” she said.
. . .
Two workers outside the camp Tuesday said many crew members sleep in the cars after a workday that begins at 6 a.m. and ends at midnight.

parkerdog wrote:Here is a link to a Daily Hampshire Gazette article published today about neighborhood complaints about the work train that has set up camp in Northampton:

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/12682366 ... orary-camp

You can please some of the people some of the time......

Can imagine the complaints when commuter rail service starts up and trains are running more than 10mph on the tracks. Oh the horror of it all! NIMBY's, get used to it, it's called progress....

Forgot to mention a few years ago was asked by a Northampton resident for an estimate on restoring a victorian home (part of my business). The home owner insisted that ALL restoration work be done with hand tools vs. power tools as "power tools are not harmonious with the old wood in a house". They wanted the work done the old fashioned way....with hand saws and tools. I bailed on that project.

J

I can only imagine people in Northampton not handling this very well. Interesting inhabitants.

This is the ideal geographical location for the camp train but there are other places that would have worked.

frrc wrote:Can imagine the complaints when commuter rail service starts up and trains are running more than 10mph on the tracks. Oh the horror of it all! NIMBY's, get used to it, it's called progress....

J

They want the progress, they just want unicorns and elves to deliver it while they sleep

Went by there on my bike twice this morning. Nice looking Harriman car. Three generators.

Saw the news paper article. Lol. Moving near and railroad line or airport and complaining. Whatever.

Rich

I was up in Greenfield today. CWR has been installed north and south of the Greenfield station location (as far as I could see). There was a group of about 15-20 orange contraptions working on the Conn River Line stretching from just south of the station location to the Deerfield River bridge (just next to Rt. 5/10). I'm assuming they're installing the CWR. It looks like they're working south.

Read the article in question, and I have to say that I'm not the least bit surprised by the neighbors' reactions. Northampton is a nice city, but it has MORE than it's share of elitist snobs and crybabies like those interviewed in the article, who are out of touch with reality. During the 1990s when Coca-Cola built it's new bottling plant they wanted rail service, and Guilford was more than happy to have them as a potential customer, and was all ready to build a spur to the plant. The local residents raised such a fuss (Our poor children! Having trains go through our neighborhood will be so dangerous!), that the City threw up so many obstacles in Guilford's path (Including INSISTING that Guilford shoulder the entire cost of building a tunnel for bicyclists under the tracks) , that the railroad finally said F*** this and gave up. So now there's plenty of heavy truck traffic in this particular neighborhood, BUT NO TRAINS! Hope they're all satisfied.
Some really nice photos by the way, keep up the good work guys!
Peace,
Jonathan

My cousin who hails from Cambridge, calls Northampton the "People's Republic of Cambridge of Western MA"...

frrc wrote:My cousin who hails from Cambridge, calls Northampton the "People's Republic of Cambridge of Western MA"...

Entirely accurate. Sadly.

Also, if they're already down in Northampton, I'm guessing they'll be in Holyoke and Chicopee soon? Will definitely have to catch them when they roll thru.

Soon they will have fast Amtrak trains and (hopefully) an increased volume of PAR freights to complain about.

I feel a little sympathy for them having a "hotel" and generators in their neighborhood - many probably do not have a/c so they need open windows. I doubt that they would have left town if they have received advance notice- they just would have had a better plan of attack. That was clever sending the health department.

Drove through Springfield a few Sunday afternoons ago (6/22) and saw an idling southbound PAR freight on the tracks just north of the B&A. Hope to see more of those.

Given the work train location it's a shame the town didn't offer to contribute to a power hookup to avoid the noise/nuisance of generators, no?

The Daily Hampshire Gazette just published another story that was posted earlier today on their web site:

"High-speed hopes: Rail crews install new tracks; planner hopeful for Dec. 29 service start"
http://www.gazettenet.com/home/12697479 ... vice-start
The Daily Hampshire Gazette
July 9, 2014

Looks like they still need to do quite a lot of brush clearing on parts of the line.

I'm sure that many more pictures, from members of this group, will be soon to follow.