Grafton & Upton Railroad (G&U) Discussion

Things may have changed by the time I was able to post this, but the 1206/08-12-2015 drive-by showed that North Grafton was still there.

jaymac wrote:Things may have changed by the time I was able to post this, but the 1206/08-12-2015 drive-by showed that North Grafton was still there.

If it means anything, I can provide an independent verification that Grafton is still standing.

jaymac wrote:Things may have changed by the time I was able to post this, but the 1206/08-12-2015 drive-by showed that North Grafton was still there.

Why wouldn't it be?

Cosmo » Wed Aug 12, 2015 9:13 pm
jaymac wrote:
Things may have changed by the time I was able to post this, but the 1206/08-12-2015 drive-by showed that North Grafton was still there.
Why wouldn't it be?

Absolutely no reason at all, despite the concerns of some of those in town.

Just when you thought it couldn't get a little uglier, check out the last paragraph.. Yeah.. Wow.. [Document images from the Friends of The Grafton and Upton Railroad's facebook page]

Was in RI this morning, so on the return trip, poked around the G&U line. Observations:

Milford - nothing new to report, same old, same old. New track as North as far as Rt 140 behind the bowling/sports center.

Hopedale - New track in Rt 16 crossing, but line ends right past Rt. 16 with a "STOP" marker. Yard was full of lumber and box cars.

Grafton Center - two sidings built behind Cumberland farms, looks like the ballast needs tamping, bumpers also installed.

North Grafton - 2 locomotives next to the office, 2 boxcars in yard. LNG facility, tanks are in place, some excavator equipment there. Otherwise, no action. Saw a large number of "NO LPG" signs on surrounding lawns.

JoeF

Has anyone heard anything on when the Grafton & Upton will connect the line from Hopedale to Milford? I'm guessing the railroad bridge in Hopedale is the hold up? Has any work been done on this section over the summer? Thanks for the scoop...

Henry Coleman

hrcoleman3 wrote:Has anyone heard anything on when the Grafton & Upton will connect the line from Hopedale to Milford? I'm guessing the railroad bridge in Hopedale is the hold up? Has any work been done on this section over the summer? Thanks for the scoop...

Henry Coleman

Actually, it's probably more the propane terminal construction in N. Grafton and other business deals that have pre-empted it more than anything else. Which at the end of the day is very nice problem to have. There isn't a lot of urgency to hurry up and finish the track because CSX would much prefer getting the interchange biz from these new opportunities sooner rather than later. They have no problem serving Milford-Franklin a year longer than originally planned if that's what gives G&U the space to put all hands on deck finishing these mutually lucrative new customer projects.

Are there any customers between Franklin and Walpole? My guess is not, since it would be hard for CSX to handle them after shedding Franklin - Milford to G&U.

I'm assuming the current setup is a semi-road job leaves Framingham for Middleborough with work en route, including a set off at Walpole. And a local job serves Walpole to Milford.

BostonUrbEx wrote:Are there any customers between Franklin and Walpole? My guess is not, since it would be hard for CSX to handle them after shedding Franklin - Milford to G&U.

I'm assuming the current setup is a semi-road job leaves Framingham for Middleborough with work en route, including a set off at Walpole. And a local job serves Walpole to Milford.

Correct. Nothing on-line between Walpole Jct. and Franklin Jct. or any future prospects, so it lets CSX shed a particularly low-margin weekly and one more job that has to be staged semi-remote out of Walpole. One fewer direction on the compass they have to worry about and a smidge more ops consolidation at Framingham. This one's the ultimate no-man's-land 'tweener job: too tiny to care about, but still a few too many tiny customers total to risk pissing off with poor service. It looks mighty big to G&U, however, and if they grow the business CSX ends up profiting all the same at N. Grafton interchange.

New division post will probably be at the Route 140 overpass right by Franklin station. Not that G&U is ever going to be running enough cars across the Franklin Jct. switch to get within 2 blocks of that area when it's serving the Franklin Industrial. CSX is sitting on everything Walpole-Franklin just as landlocking protection in the event any future reconnection of the Franklin main to the P&W main leaves them with an exposed competitive flank. I'm sure the transfer of rights will also paper-barrier G&U to the hilt from ever interchanging with someone else.

If the railroad bridge in Hopedale is safe for the RR to use, why would they have to upgrade it? The issue is with the Hopedale fire department and the size of their equipment. If the state or the town is willing to fund a fix to the problem, then the RR could go ahead and raise it (or lower the street), but it should not be the RR 's problem as long as the bridge is safe for them to use.

It's a low-hanging bridge with lots of truck strikes, and forces garbage trucks to take a winding detour to get to the town transfer station that's right up the street. G&U agreed to raise the bridge as means of buying some cooperation from Hopedale for the stuff they were building in the yard, and because it suits G&U's own interests to not have to incur cost sending an inspection crew out there every time an idiot truck driver whacks the thing. Something they have to do today even in its unused state. Hopedale, to their credit, has been the most cooperative overall of G&U's host towns and is more than happy to give its emergency personnel a breather on constantly having to respond to truck strikes. So the deal on raising the bridge is mutually beneficial. IIRC, the raised bridge will still have a height restriction...but it'll be above the level of the garbage and dump trucks that are the primary strike culprits and eliminate 90% of the risk at that spot. Still won't be able to drive a big rig through there, but this isn't on any route where big rigs need to regularly go.


But nobody's in any hurry if they're busy busy bees tending to customer-related construction in N. Grafton and elsewhere around the yards. It'll get done when they have the crews available; CSX knows N. Grafton interchange is what butters everyone's bread and isn't holding them to a deadline on the less-consequential Milford-Franklin handoff.

All is quiet on the G&U today.

All 5 locos and the caboose were in the N. Grafton yard today, all shut down.

A pair of scruffy looking CSX ballast hoppers were parked on the Wheat-a-bix siding next to the transfer dock and building.

The one track for the propane terminal was being used to store center-flow hoppers. The other track was empty. Construction equipment was parked in the lot in front of the tanks. There was an open trench from the street to the house with many plastic pipes at the bottom, but the excavator did not look like it had moved in days.

I think they were taking an extra long weekend.

Has there been any news on the G&U court case.

st687 wrote:Has there been any news on the G&U court case.

http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sou ... &play=true

We need to get a pool going on on the date the decision is handed down.. I know we can't do money so just for laughs, I'll say Monday, October 12th, 2015 both cases. In favour of the STB.