Southern Tier - West of Binghamton

Patience is a virtue for an answer: Here goes:
 NS Ingate To Reopen at Ayer, MA Thursday 11/03 1200
 
Service into and out of the Ayer, MA Intermodal Terminal has been restored.
 
22K-28 that departed Chicago, IL last Friday, arrived in Ayer this afternoon and all loads have been grounded.
 
NS is planning to run 23K-03 outbound from Ayer to Chicago later tonight.
 
22K-29 is expected to arrive at the terminal after 23K departs, and customer loads will be available in the morning.
 
Since trains have begun moving again, NS is reopening the ingate at the Ayer Terminal effective at 12:01 pm tomorrow, Thursday November 3rd.
 
They will work through the backlog of traffic as quickly as possible so that customer delays are minimized.
At this time the embargo for traffic destined to Ayer remains in place.
Additional updates will be provided as the situation progresses.

 
NS has over 15,000' of traffic backed up between Chicago & Ayer, which will take several days to clear up. Because of this, it is likely that the Chicago gate will not reopen for Ayer destined traffic until the end of the week.
Please understand that these are only tentative plans, which are subject to change at any time, depending on how the recovery progresses.

thats good news for railfans, bad news for the railroad

550

K4Pacific wrote:Well an H88 crew grabbed a 13T and passed CP-Elmira at 1500. Only train since 38T this morning. I don't have any idea what's going on and even the railroaders don't know. That coal train is a 38T crew just so you know and is the next eastbound with the NS 8888.

206 in the siding at CAM today with just one unit. 38T recrew took coal loads East from HORN, then taxied back and got on 310 at East Ave. in Hornell.
The coal loads were the only good daylight move today, the 38T recrew didn't get on the 310 train until about 16:30.

Mike S.

Can't comment outside of the Tier, but East of Deerfield yard was shut down since Saturday night and only re-opened today. Not a lot of spare sidings available west of there to store 15K' of trains on a single-track road. Also wondering if they've ever fully got through the backlog from Irene?

Also I have learned the locals are being shaken up where road trains will be doing a lot of the work similar to the traveling road switcher of Conrail Days. Oooo doggie.

Got a nice daytime 206 by Elmira at 1045. Nice chase on into Binghamton. Now if there is a crew for it at Bing? Nope.

Not sure if this will help the current situation, but NS will be conducting walk-in hiring interviews at locations around Harrisburg, Baltimore, and Winchester. Ads have been appearing on and in various media outlets throughout the area. The fact that appointments aren't needed tells me that NS has a system-wide human resources issue and they need warm bodies.

Poppyl

K4Pacific wrote:Got a nice daytime 206 by Elmira at 1045. Nice chase on into Binghamton. Now if there is a crew for it at Bing? Nope.

Expect another late 206 on Thurs. Going through a bad circuit between Mentor and Willoughby, OH as I type. 310 is right on his heels.

Edit: "206 Clear Mentor" at 1:43AM. DS wants to get them to Buff by 4:30

WOW! I havenent seen or heard a train since 1250:pm in hornell!?-Iwas at o.t.b.(next to the S.T.L.) till 5ish been home (my apt looks over the main next to the depot) nothing on the scanner-on strike?-no cews?-no place to park em, derailment( Ihpe not!)-last train I caught was a loaded coal of the meadville line

oops,posted too quick-23k east thru c.p. cass (hornell city?) 11;07pm. dang near 12 hours since last train!

Nice small yet amazing derailment at CP-Elmira right near the 1867 Elmira Station last night. Not one thing has moved all day. Covered hopper rolled right over into the Hillard Parking lot right next to the station closer to 4th St., than 5th Street.Good Luck with that and all the white trucks and hard hats. I don't know if it was the H1G early this morning or not.

K4,

That nice small yet amazing derailment has all sorts of things screwed up on the CP Sunbury Sub and I'm sure the Freight Sub as well! There was a couple 12T's tied down on the Sunbury, a 13T and W0T were tied down on the D&H because of crew issues caused by the other outlaws. Not to mention CP was missing all sorts of westward connections for its Allentown and Harrisburg trains the past couple days making things run VERY LATE and screwing up the CP crew/power pools as well. Seems like stuff is starting to get on the move slowly but surely now that things are up and running again.

Its just amazing to me how interconnected all of the lines in the interior Northeast are now. Something happens on the CP side, the NS side grinds to a hault. If something happens on the NS side of things, the CP side grinds to a hault!

Jim Cerulli
cprsunburysub yahoo group Owner/Moderator

I can't keep anymore either Jim. I have a picture of the hopper. 10 mph today by CP-Elmira today. Good Lord, I don't know if it'll ever straighten out and comes winter and a few Southern boys that don't know what is coming.

At least it came down on that side, imagine if it had come down into the transformer station a few feet south behind the library!