CSX Track Upgrades & Infrastructure of Pan Am

jwhite07 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 6:49 am Interesting how at least one of the gons has clearly been marked for the torch per AAR Rule 90 (interchange prohibited) but there it is, still in service with a foreign road mark (SPSX = Progress Rail Leasing).

Question: what are the markings in question? I zoomed in and couldn't see anything in writing other than the "Do Not Hump" warning.

The Railroad Police Vice Squad is in charge of enforcing the Do Not Hump rule.

markhb wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:16 pm Question: what are the markings in question? I zoomed in and couldn't see anything in writing other than the "Do Not Hump" warning.

neman2 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 03, 2022 3:47 pm Today at 14:24 hrs MEC 7541 dropped 11 gondolas modified to carry turnout panels at CPF-307, Westford. Nine of these cars have pre-assembled turnouts in them, two appeared to be empty (above the side of the gondola nothing visible to me)

Does anybody know where all these turnouts are going?

A post in the Pan Am Worcester Line thread has confirmed my suspicion that these came from Clinton, where 2 turnouts were unloaded and installed for the Clinton siding .

From Spider Hill's post on the Pan Am Worcester Main Line thread-----
"3. The material gons that were on the Clinton siding for much of the summer are gone.
4. Clinton east and west switches have been replaced."

I’m pretty sure that it was reported that the turn outs for Clinton were dropped months ago before the rail trains

That is correct. Those turnouts were less complete than the ones in those photos. A lot of the assembly was done onsite. The Clinton gons were mostly NS, CR, and a couple CSX reporting marks. They were not modified for carrying turnouts. The Westford gons are not the same ones that were in Clinton.

Thanks for the correction on that, I forgot about that post about the turnouts being dropped off.

NHV 669 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 4:26 pm

markhb wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:16 pm Question: what are the markings in question? I zoomed in and couldn't see anything in writing other than the "Do Not Hump" warning.

Thanks! Somehow I overlooked that pic in favor of the second one.

I see they completed the Burncoat area. I observed the Corman truck on the Geendale siding. The Xray train is parked on the siding track as well. Where is the work being done now?

Surprised that CSX has not started a tie replacement program on the Stony Brook and Lowell Branch to pull the 10s out and get running times improved between Ayer and Rigby. Pan Am installed a lot of new rail over the past few years, even on the MBTA owned segment between CPF-NC and CPF-BY, but no new ties or surfacing.

Entire Stoney is 25 most of Lowell branch is too, probably not a high priority. Only so many men and equipment too.

Agreed 25 is so much better than the 10 MPH or less crawl seen for years under Pan Am/ Guilford. More important areas to address first.

Any word on the 2 crossings that (according to the CRISI doc) will be upgraded to gates? My wild guesses would be 231 (172.18) in New Gloucester and Leeds Junction Rd. The former has a significant curve on one side as well as Blake. The latter is double-tracked and one of the major CPFs on the line.

Quiet around here lately.

Found out that Herzog ballast train that went up to Nashua and back was for the Worcester Main but froze so they sent it up there out of their way to thaw out.

I was told they gutted PT tower and the Rigby yard office completely. Rigby is going to be the Division HQ. There are all new switches on new leads at each end of the yard. Still a lot of work but things are looking up.

They are hoping to get Keag reopened as a gateway in the spring.

Last time I drove by Rigby, they were putting brand new metal roofs on both Tower PT and the yard office, which I took as a very good sign of things to come.