St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR/SLQ)

While driving today I noticed the Safe Handling Caboose parked out by the facility has been repainted. It is still white with the black trim but has a Savage logo with the New "Savage Safe Handling" print.

Anyone have ideas on how SLR's traffic breaks down, i.e., how much of SLR's traffic comes from interchange with PAR, how much from warehouse/transloading, etc?

Not that I've seen their traffic reports, but I know that a lot of what the SLR handles is received from the CN and terminates on their own line at places like NEPW (Woodpulp) and Safe Handling (Chemicals). I think there's also a large LPG terminal in the Auburn area as well as some other general freight receivers (i.e. lumber, etc). They do interchange quite a bit with Pan Am; they receive some outbound Paper from the mills, some stuff going to Safe Handling and some Cement from Dragon and they deliver some Caustic going to the mills. Depending upon PAR's service levels and equipment situation, I think they at times do a lot of transloading of Paper from truck to rail. Best guess is that maybe 25-30% of what they handle is interlined with ST.

I happened to catch during my day job one of the GP-15's heading south through Falmouth around 13:00 yesterday with one covered hopper, presumably to B&M. Caught it heading back north around 14:30, again with one covered hopper. Seemed to be moving at a pretty good clip.

Eric

A friend in Quebec let me know that yesterdays CN 394 to Richmond had about 30 cars of windmill turbine motors on them. Anyone know where they are going and where they are now?

Apparently cars are coming down tonight on 394, and will be spotted at Allen's for unloading.

Another Station along this line is being preserved. This one in Gilead, Me.

http://www.sunjournal.com/oxford-hills/story/1068451

I just heard from a friend that a vessel recently unloaded wind turbine blades in Portsmouth for a project in northern NH. I'm assuming that the turbines were going to the same spot (?)

miketrainnut wrote:Another Station along this line is being preserved. This one in Gilead, Me.

http://www.sunjournal.com/oxford-hills/story/1068451

Very nice. It's always good to hear about an historic station being saved. Ford Reiche, president of Safe Handling, deserves major kudos for helping to save that station.

Cowford wrote:I just heard from a friend that a vessel recently unloaded wind turbine blades in Portsmouth for a project in northern NH. I'm assuming that the turbines were going to the same spot (?)

There has been some parts hauled in to Allens (Gilead), blades hauled by train, other parts by truck. The old gravel pit there habecome a storage yard for this.

Mike

The recently released Feasibility Study for rail passenger service to Auburn by the Maine Department of Transportation has mention of the following:

Service. Between Yarmouth Junction and Danville Junction, the SLR operates up to two freight
trains per week. These trains operate during the night.13

13 refers to the footnote which reads as follows:

Existing operations, per St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, October 2010.

Although a careful read of "up to" make it obvious that they are stating a maximum as opposed to minimum level of service I take the statement to confirm (at that time) that SLR is/was still operating to B&M in Portland? I can't think of any other customers they might have in that area. I know we've talked about this from time to time.

I'm assuming that PAR handles all interchange with SLR at Danville Junction at this time and that there is no interchange activity at Yarmouth Junction (nor has there been any for several decades??)?

Further reading of the Feasibility Study released by MDOT reveals some operational details that have been the subject of discussion from time to time.

1. Yarmouth Junction to Danville Junction

3.2.4 Yarmouth Junction to Danville Junction (SLR)
This 14 mile single track segment was originally a part of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, but has
recently been acquired by the state of Maine.

 Service. Between Yarmouth Junction and Danville Junction, the SLR operates up to two freight
trains per week. These trains operate during the night.13

 Track & Right-of-Way. The railroad ROW width of the segment between the Yarmouth Junction
and Danville Junction is sufficient to accommodate a second track where it may be necessary.
However, the existing embankment or other railroad infrastructure may require modifications in
order to accommodate the second track or siding. Private residences and various commercial
enterprises share a border with the SLR ROW. The track in this segment is in a poor state of
repair and is maintained only to FRA Class I standards thereby restricting trains to speeds of up
to 10-15 miles per hour.

 Signal. This segment of track does not have a signal system installed.

2. Danville Junction to Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center

3.2.5 Danville Junction to Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center (SLR)
These two miles of railroad are heavily used as SLR has many customers in the area who use it to
facilitate operations into and out of the busy nearby Intermodal Freight Transfer Facility. This segment is
projected to see an increased volume with the recent improvements that were made at Danville Junction.

 Service. Between Danville Junction and Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center, the SLR has
numerous train movements throughout the day. The SLR uses the multi-track portions of railroad
between Danville Junction and Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center to make up their road trains
and also for local switching operations and interchange with PAR.

 Track & Right-of-Way. From Danville Junction to Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center, the
railroad ROW width is sufficient to accommodate a second track where it may be necessary. The
track is in a good state of repair and allows for train operation at Class II speeds.
 Signal. There is a CTC signal system installed between Danville Junction and Auburn Intermodal
Passenger Center.

3. Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center to Bethel

3.2.6 Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center to Bethel (SLR)
This 42 mile segment includes the most heavily used segment of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad
as it serves both the trains traveling to and from the Intermodal Freight Transfer Facility and is home to
the SLR engine house at Lewiston Junction and the many freight customers located between the Auburn
Intermodal Passenger Center and South Paris. The railroad in this segment is maintained to allow for
FRA Class II freight speeds.

 Service. Between the Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center area and Bethel, SLR operates four
trains per day – two locals servicing customers between South Paris and Auburn, and two road
trains operating between Danville Junction and St. Rosalie Junction, QC. These trains have no
scheduled time to operate, but primarily run at night. There are no passenger trains that operate
on this segment.

 Track & Right-of-Way. Between Auburn Intermodal Passenger Center and South Paris most of
the ROW is approximately 45’ wide. In this segment of track, the track is in a good state of repair
and allows for train operation at FRA Class II speeds. Private residences, various commercial
enterprises, and recreational locations share a border with the SLR right-of-way.
From South Paris to Bethel, the existing railroad embankment is narrow and bordered in many
locations by wetlands. However, there are some locations where the existing embankment
widens to accommodate the two tracks that already exist. Like the previous segment, the track is
in a good state of repair and allows for train operation at Class II speeds. Private residences and
various commercial enterprises share a border with the SLR ROW.

 Signal. This entire segment of track is all “dark” territory, meaning that there is no signal system.

 Bridges. Starting in the early 1990's, the SLR began replacing obsolete non-controlled cooled rail
on its main line running from Portland, Maine through western Maine, the North Country of New Hampshire, and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont to the Vermont - Quebec border through a
combination of private investment and state and federal grants. The main line rail in the State of
Maine has already been replaced and all but three miles of the rail have been replaced in
Vermont.
The state of New Hampshire was recently awarded a Transportation Investment Generating
Economic Recovery (TIGER) II Grant for rail upgrades in the state. The upgrades proposed for
this project will replace 20.6 miles of rail with continuous welded, control-cooled rail that allows for
larger-size 286,000 pound rail cars thus completing a rail corridor project that began a decade
ago.16 As a result of this upgrade, it is assumed that all bridges between Auburn and Bethel will
be able to accommodate passenger trains operating at higher than freight speeds (FRA Class III
minimum).

4. Bethel to Montreal

3.2.7 Bethel to Montreal (SLR/SLQ and CN Railroads)
As previously mentioned, the SLR is presently upgrading its existing track in Coos County, New
Hampshire and Essex and Orleans Counties in Vermont. The upgrades will complete the series of
infrastructure investments initially started in the early 1990s to increase the safety, capacity and reliability
of the SLR mainline. These upgrades will increase the weight of cars that can operate over the track from
typical the 265,000 pound railcars up to 286,000 pound railcars.

 Service. Like existing freight services between Auburn and Bethel, only two road trains operate in
this segment on a daily basis.
A mix of 20 intercity VIA (the Canadian Rail operator) and AMT (Agence Métropolitaine de
Transport) commuter trains use the segment of track between St. Rosalie Junction and St.
Lambert. Up to 22 trains per day operate between St. Lambert and Gare Centrale.

 Track & Right-of-Way. Between Bethel and St. Rosalie Junction the railroad embankment
appears wide enough to accommodate only the existing tracks. Like the other previous segments,
the track is in a good state of repair and allows for train operation at FRA Class II speeds. Private
residences, various commercial enterprises and recreational locations (e.g. golf courses) share a
border with the SLR ROW.

Between St. Rosalie Junction and Montreal, the Canadian National (CN) mainline has at least two
tracks with a ROW embankment of at least 40’ in width. Track is maintained for Class V speeds
(89 mph).

 Signal. With the exception of Danville Junction and St. Rosalie Junction, the SLR and SLQ do
not have a CTC signal system installed. Between St. Rosalie Junction and Montreal, the railroad
has a CTC signal system.

 Bridge Upgrades. Like with service from Auburn to Bethel, it is assumed that the recent track
and bridge upgrades allowing for freight operation of 286,000 pound railcars will be sufficient to
allow passenger rail service between Bethel, ME and St. Rosalie Junction, Quebec to operate at
increased speeds. It is also assumed that since the railroad between St. Rosalie and Montreal is
used by existing passenger and commuter rail services, that no upgrades are required in this
segment.

Although it makes for a long post we have discussed a lot of this in the past. Now it will always be available for future reference.

I was very surprised to see the information regarding the track rebuild. Apparently with the inclusion of a signal system Class IV speeds are not out of the question.

The memory of this old dub gets fuzzier by the day but I seem to recall that the MEC/SLR interchange at
Yarmouth Jct. was closed as part of a deal between the two railroads and the State as part of the first
"improvement" at Danville Jct.- the crossover between the two mainlines beyond the yard towards Portland
down by Brown's Crossing. Also believe there was some State money involved but I'm working out of State
and don't have access to references. Never really understood the reasoning behind it on the part of the
State as it is just another roadblock to any operator of the Rockland Branch.

I caught SLR 394 headed through Waterville, QC on August 16, with 806-3805-3804-804 hauling about 70 mixed freight and three 3-unit well cars. There were some 16 flatcars carrying wind turbine parts near the head end, wearing GIMX and PEYX reporting marks. I took a whole slew of photos of much of the train:

http://trainiax.net/mephotosearchresult ... erpage=100

I don't get to see 394 very often anymore, so I don't know how often these turbine loads have been in the consist.

I saw LLPX 1512 headed in reverse with a single covered hopper car in tow coming from B&M in portland going through yarmouth at 3 pm. It was only going about 15 mph and i noticed it stopped at the PAN AM (low road)diamond for about 30 seconds before it continued to auburn. I also noticed that the signal at the diamond facing SLR portland direction did not light up.