CSX Charlotte Runner

I suppose by comparing it to a mainline wreck it was not such a big one, but to a young kid in the neighborhood it sure was. "C2629" may be able to help with a date. School was closed because of an ice storm but it was somewhere about January 1960 I think. The First Belt was headed north with a fairly long train, and derailed I'm going to guess about 10 or 12 cars right at Dewey Avenue northward. It was not just a couple wheels, they crossed them up pretty good and Dewey was blocked for quite a while. The wreck train came with crane X29 - no Winters or Corman back then! I have some photos of it, but after changing rolls of film I was standing on the parallel B&O tracks and dropped my camera squarely on the rail. The hard rail, the brittle plastic of those days and the cold resulted in the camera breaking open and ruining whatever shots I had in there. So I have a few photos but not as many as I had taken.

Thanks for sharing, BR&P, I was unaware of that derailment.

Discussed this with C2629 off forum. He recalls it was between Christmas and New Years, hence the no school. Roughly Dec 29 or 30th. We both THINK it was 1960, but could possibly be either '59 or '61. The Rochester D&C had a small blurb on it so if anybody is looking to kill some time while at the library.....

Sorry for the uncertainty but that's getting to be a LONG time ago I do seem to recall some of the cars involved were PRR hoppers similar to the one the Rochester NRSH has, with the end sill "ledge" running across the end of the car.

I can't vouch for the validity of this, but this came across my [email protected] mail list.

Subject: [rochester_railfan] ROCH NEWS-A COUPLE OF TIDBITS
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:41:37 -0000
From: larry.quill <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

from my dad,
recently the bigshots were here from Jacksonville,FLA
toured the Charlotte runner,
word from a reliable source is,
track to be abandonned
from MP QCR 8.0 (Petten St) to the lake,
Pettin St is last grade crossing before River St.
that goes to a small marina/dock area
no word on the swing bridge
i'll sniff for more info

Considering they still service the"Boxshop", to Abandon at MP 8.0 is rather unusual. I'd sooner think they'd either go just beyond River St. MP 9.2 to preserve the runaround track or say 500 ft North of Weirhauser switch. Makes no sense to stop at MP 8.0. But with this company, who knows.

roadster wrote:Considering they still service the"Boxshop", to Abandon at MP 8.0 is rather unusual. I'd sooner think they'd either go just beyond River St. MP 9.2 to preserve the runaround track or say 500 ft North of Weirhauser switch. Makes no sense to stop at MP 8.0. But with this company, who knows.

I'm guessing they'll abandon just past the box shop switch and shove back to Kodak Park to runaround. Doesn't make sense to stop just short of Petten - there's nothing up there. Of course this is all speculation til the STB decision comes down.

Maybe the city has offered them a deal they could not refuse for the track and property along River St.. The City has been after that segment for a few years for their rehab. and enhancement projects with the old Station and surrounding area. I think we both agree that cutting the line just beyond what is needed to switchout the Weirhauser shop. Near MP 7 would make more sense than Pettin st..

Well - with no more coal traffic to Russell, abandonment would have been happened sooner or later anyway. I'm guessing someone at City Hall knew this and they're quietly waiting for it to happen.

Has the track north of the Box Shop gone "out of service" yet?

nessman wrote:Has the track north of the Box Shop gone "out of service" yet?

I doubt it. CSX is still using the old west yard to store those unsightly, non neighbor friendly, cars that have been in the news.

speaking of CSX cars in storage..
yesterday I drove over the mainline on Union street in Chili..all the stored autoracks are gone!
they had been there a few years..

CSX could now move the Charlotte coil cars there, if they wished..

Scot

Most stored autoracks were returned to service early in Sept.. Of late, Kodak bound coal trains are getting held there as Rochester Yard itself has been very busy with inbound mty and outbound loaded Salt cars along with the misc. traffic which is coming to Rochester from Lyons. Q381 and Q390 dailey drop and pickup 60-90 cars. Leave the cars stored in a static yard.

I just saw a string of about 20 flat cars and about 35 gons heading south from Charlotte. Anyone know what prompted the move?

In addition to the cars moved this afternoon, about 9 o'clock tonight they moved the roughly 90 coil cars back to the city from Charlotte. Either CSX has new plans or Chuck Schumer is having his way.

It could be that the cars are needed now.

Hojack One wrote:In addition to the cars moved this afternoon, about 9 o'clock tonight they moved the roughly 90 coil cars back to the city from Charlotte. Either CSX has new plans or Chuck Schumer is having his way.

I doubt it was Chuck..
the coil cars sat there over a year!
(I like to imagine that CSX just laughed at Chuck behind his back, then ignored his pompous rantings..)

Scot