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Hi Folks, From a cross post on the MBTA "Commuter Rail Delay" discussion forum, MBTA F40 1000 suffered a major mechanical failure in Fitchburg, MA on June 28th. The "Crankcase Button" popped and the unit became completely disabled. Not sure how big a failure it was- sister unit 1...

Let me shine a little light by saying it is a "crankcase" button not crankshaft. There is a device within the crankcase that monitors pressure and any rise in the pressure will cause it to trip which can be potentially dangerous. One of the first things you learn as an engineer is leave t...

Hi Folks- Bad Morning on the Fitchburg Line this morning (Friday 6/28). Shortly after Train 408, powered by F40 1000 came into the Fitchburg Station from the layover yard, the crankcase button blew. Of course, this rendered the train inoperable. MBCR dispatch directed Train 410 to pick up 408's pass...

Early Morning Fitchburg Trains (406 and 408) were delayed about 15 minutes this morning (5/30) due to signal problems at CPF-Derby, east of Leominster. I was on #408. When we reached CPF-Derby we waited for about 5 minutes until we were cleared past the malfunctioning signal by the Pan Am District 3...

DogBert wrote:It is in IAIS paint. When it left NY&A, I was wondering who would buy a 1966 gp38. I should have guessed Pan Am.

Hi Folks, I spotted GMTX 2081 in the consist of SEPO (Selkirk, NY- Portland, ME) early this morning 5/20. Observed in Ayer, MA from MBCR's inbound Train #408. It was behind SEPO's usual CSXT power. There was also an ex-BNSF leaser in there. Unfortunately, I only observed it from a distance- it is ge...

>>So does anyone know for sure if the C&PA rails were pulled in the same 1974 time frame as the Wellsville Branch ? I looked through my WAG stuff last night and here are a couple of relevant blurbs from "The Shortline" magazine from that era.. May 1973- ICC Order (Finance Docket 25726)...

The WAG Wellsville-Galeton was being pulled up during the summer of 1974. Took photos of the scrapping equipment at Brookland, PA on 07 August 1974. Would love to see a picture of that.. I wonder if they pulled up the line in two sections- from Galeton west/north and from Wellsville south/east up t...

[quote="Cactus Jack"]After the floods in 1972 the WAG abandoned the line into Wellsville, NY is my understanding. Can someone explain if all this was closed at the same time (Wellsville to Galeton, PA) ? When were the rails physically torn up from Wellsville south ? Hi Jack- I believe the ...

Hi Folks, While riding by the BET on the outbound Fitchburg train on 4/9, I observed one of the MBTA's Genset work engines parked outside with a big blue tarp over the roof in the middle part of the hood. Not sure if the Gensets have turbochargers, but this would be the location of the turbo on 'con...

I will try to take a stab at these questions... Now my 'beginner' questions: - why did the inbound have the double deckers sandwiched between gons? Safety? Logistics? Just coincidental? I think the gons were used as "spacers" so the train could run at "track speed" for signal act...

From the transit police blog about the Fitchburg Route incident: http://www.tpdnews411.com/2013/03/trespasser-struck-by-train-in-acton-ma.html Train 424 hit a trespasser about 2 miles east of South Acton station. I was on Train 425, the 4:40 North Station departure aka the "Superexpress."...

Can anyone explain why the Fall Brook even built into Ulysses ? I believe Ulysses was the terminus of the Coudersport & Port Allegany Railroad and the Fall Brook made an end-to-end connection with the C&PA there. If I recall correctly from the C&PA book, the line to Ulysses was abandone...

The evening rush hour Fitchburg Route was a mess last night (3/4). I was on train #425 the 4:40 "Superexpress" outbound departure from North Station. We left North Station a few minutes late, but did not encounter real trouble until west of CPF-WL. Seems like Pan Am's POSE (Portland, ME- S...

The delay wasn't posted on www.mbta.com last night, but MBCR #429, the 5:20 PM Fitchburg Line "semi-express" encountered mechanical difficulties enroute. Just prior to Lincoln, the HEP on GP40MC #1136 died. The crew made several attempts to restart it- no luck. We were held in South Acton ...