CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

The only other ways to create a progressive move would be to restore the wye at Mechanicville - really challenging from a permit/engineering standpoint with houses and crossings, plus they would need rights on CP from Kenwood. The other is to rebuild the D&H old main from the Selkirk Branch at South Schenectady to about where the GE plant is on the Freight Main. This line has a really steep grade though which is why the D&H bypassed it. NS or CP owns all the abandoned ROW still and I think PAS's rights to Mohawk actually extend all the way down to where the junction was - if not they come close.

With DP the Rotterdam Jct. shuffle probably wouldn't be too bad. Train arrives at RJ, engineer walks to the rear end, backs out onto the main with the conductor staying in the lead unit to protect, then reverse direction and roll into Selkirk.

Regardless, the only stuff that CSX will send to PAS will be terminal traffic, all the traffic on EDPO that PAS is bridging from PAR to the west end is going to swing over the B&A eventually. Josh has doubled down on this story, but it is dubious at best.

That direct route through Schenectady I think would require trackage rights over NS for a short stretch that I don’t think csx currently has. My guess is they would move most traffic via Rotterdam. Intermodal to Worcester and Springfield from the west need not hit Selkirk. And, historically, I understand nyc, pc and conrail interchanged a lot of tonnage with B&M at Rotterdam so I think it can be done

NYC27 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 8:29 am The other is to rebuild the D&H old main from the Selkirk Branch at South Schenectady to about where the GE plant is on the Freight Main.

I like this idea. Only 1.25 miles of new track.

Yup. I noticed that trinket too. That would be a no-brainer.

At the very least this could be used temporarily while the bridge gets a major overhaul or rebuild.

newpylong wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 9:34 am

NYC27 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 8:29 am The other is to rebuild the D&H old main from the Selkirk Branch at South Schenectady to about where the GE plant is on the Freight Main.

I like this idea. Only 1.25 miles of new track.

That is it, it is more like 2.5 miles though, the track is high above the D&H main where you show it connecting. The actual junction is much closer to downtown....and the track is in place to from the south to the first crossing. It completes the wye at SS. A trackage rights deal would be needed, but could be worked into the overall negotiations.

You're right, I should have known better I went to school right there.

Was that ROW taken over by the power company? I seem to remember utility poles on it, but maybe I am thinking of somewhere else.

Google Earth street views show the power lines off to the side and RR bed is the access road. Online County GIS tax maps show it as railroad property still. Not clear if it is NS or retained by CP in the sale. It was serviceable into the 1970s from what I understand.

Seeking Alpha article re: CSX acquisition interest in Pan Am. IMO, here is the most important bullet in Seeking Alpha's superficial analysis:

CSX is flat in premarket trading.

The market is yawning...

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3635551-c ... ent=link-3

Obviously the Perlman Bridge could be a big factor on how all of this would play out. But since we’re all creating different scenario’s I’d like to throw out my own; "Conrail Shared Assets New England".

Both NS and CSX would team together and all traffic from Selkirk east through all of NE be shared by both companies. I would do the flip of what some are proposing and abandon D-3 from Greenfield to Mickyville. The B&A west of Springfield is in good shape, full DS cleared and rated 310K with class 4 track. Combining NS and CSX trains on that line could easily be handled as it would amount to almost the same amount of trains that Conrail used to run when the converted it from 2 tack ABS to CETC back in the eighties. Both companies would share the cost of the bridge rebuild and would result in greater asset utilization and eliminate redundant infrastructure. This is part of the PSR mantra so you wouldn’t have to spend a dime to make D-3 as efficient as the B&A. Send NS traffic up the Conn. River line through a greatly reduced or almost eliminated ED yard where EDBF trains could make the run to Vermont for slurry or propane with VRS interchange and the other trains could head east to Ayer.

Also back in the eighties Guilford/ST and Conrail started the run through deal with NESE/SENE with all Northern NE traffic blocked at Selkirk taking a lot of the blocking out of Rigby. Obviously this still goes on today.

To me it makes no sense routing all traffic through D-3. Just my thoughts.

Mr Lang, may I ask clarification of several of your immediate points?

First, you note the Pearlman Bridge. I presume you are addressing the Alfred H. Smith Bridge X-ing the Hudson.

Secondly, when you address a "Conrail Shared Assets" arrangement, it appears you wish to include all CSX properties East of the Hudson and all Pan Am properties in their entirety.

If so, it appears you have in mind abandonment of the PAS West of Greenfield which would include the "maintenance hog", clearance restricted, Hoosac Tunnel with the rest remaining at FRA Class 2 sufficient to access the existing on-line industries to the East. So much of that, Fitchburg and East is FRA Class 4, compliments of the public trough for MBTA passenger trains - and more if the passenger agency seeks to serve Greenfield.

Now will this entity you envision actually be part of the Consolidated Rail Corporation or a new one, is of course open.

One way or the other, looks like Timmy will be "pulling the pin", so I would guess he could, maybe, chair the Trump '24" election committee.

I think JD Lang is on the right track, ending through service on the Fitchburg and running PAS/NS traffic on the B&A is a definite possibility, but NS needs to swallow its pride admit they lost and start working with the new guy for anything to move forward (sound familiar?).

I think everyone is overestimating how much leverage NS will have with the STB here though. I don't expect them to get much for concessions on the PAR proper. The STB protects competition not competitors these days. The only place CSX and PAR overlap is around Boston with really just one shipper - the scrap yard in Everett.

The rest of the system has access to one railroad now and one going forward. The fact that Class Is don't work well together is usually downplayed by the STB, also boxcar traffic is exempt from regulation. The reasoning is that the highways provide the competition to keep the railroad in check, so the paper mills can only voice concerns about raw materials moves. The fact that CSX is going to rebuild D1 with the aid of the two CRISI grants, improve service and create many single line lanes is going to outweigh freezing NS out of PAR points. I ask CN9634 - are the mills going to be for or against this? My guess is they are going to do backflips.

Yes Mr. Norman I meant the Alfred Smith bridge, my bad.

Second, yes all CSX properties east of the Hudson and all of Timmy's property. All Pas west of Greenfield abandon or sold to the state.

I'm not sure how the arrangement between NS & CSX works on Conrail assets in NY/NJ but it seems to have work well over all of the years so it would be something similar up here just much larger in scope. It's a radical idea and of course as you and Mr. Barlow just pointed out not a peep out of Wall Street or the business community so one wonders if CSX is actually making the move or not. It's "still anything could happen" in this saga. It's a very interesting topic because the biggest changes ever in NE rail transport could be unfolding.

If you're going to abandon west of Greenfield you might as well go the whole nine yards and abandon east of there right out to Wachusett. Gardner becomes a moot point if they can get the PW-NS traffic via CSXT in Worcester. Otherwise there are only 2 light customers left between Greenfield and Wachusett.

Personally I think any talk of abandonment is cockamamie. There are three (two big) customers in Adams/NA. The Berkshire Scenic and Battenkill would be isolated. NS to VRS haulage over the CR makes no sense from a cost perspective either.

We aren't talking 500 miles of double track Class 3 track here. We're talking 132 miles of Clsss 2 single iron with some sidings. In the grand scheme of things it is not a lot of trackage to keep on the balance sheets. I could see ownership going to the state, maybe, but that's even a stretch.

True the abandonment would be North Adams-Greenfield and Montague-Otter River or Wachusett, but there is the matter of a 5 mile tunnel that just had a collapse. The other issue may be PTC...will there be a regional exemption going forward for the PAS as a 50/50 NS/CSX operation? Maybe, maybe not. Who wants to spend that money if they don't have to. Plus NS would get the benefit of full doublestack clearance on the B&A after they clear Worcester-Ayer.

There are no passenger trains beyond Wachusett, so no PTC required.