New England Central Railroad (NECR)

[Dick H]

Major Track Stability Failure north of WRJ 7/2/17
http://www.wcax.com/story/35797847/verm ... ck-damaged" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[NHV 669]

Word that there is an SW 1500 amongst the power coming to pick up the stranded Vermonter train left at WRJ tonight...

[Allouette]

Based on WCAX's photos, local news sources and aerial photo identification (Google Maps) the location is around mile 17 on the Roxbury Sub, just west of the VA Cutoff Road in Hartford Village. The bank above the NECR leads up to US route 4, the former Woodstock Railroad's grade. The "Upper Valley" got hit with a chain of heavy rainstorms Saturday 7/2, with lots of area towns taking heavy road damage. The NECR main south of White River Jct is also subject to flooding, though it hasn't washed out along the Connecticut in a long time.

[NHV 669]

Correction, MP15DC. And south out of Windsor, not WRJ.

Photo by Kevin Burkholder:
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/621846/

Lots of track floating in the air where it was washed out, based on pictures taken since the storm, gonna be a minute to get that track open again.

[Allouette]

Amtrak 56(5) went north across the new fill...

[Jeff Smith]

RTandS.com

MassDOT releases freight plan; applies for federal grant to upgrade NECR
...
In addition to releasing the draft plan, MassDOT and Massport have applied for federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) funding for capital projects to upgrade the freight corridor and a shipping berth in South Boston, to improve the I-495 corridor area and to upgrade the capacity of the Massachusetts portion of the New England Central Railroad (NECR) rail line.

MassDOT's INFRA grant request would upgrade more than 31 miles of rail and twenty bridge structures on the NECR route. MassDOT says the project "will allow shippers and receivers to 'max out' the carrying capacity of each rail car and thereby make rail shipping more cost-effective." The work in Massachusetts is necessary to close the last "gap" in the 286k-lb. rail network that is being built in Vermont and Connecticut and allow for significant growth in freight shipments.

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

That's good. Palmer-Northfield is the last part of the line they need to uprate to 286K before they have that loading capacity all the way from CN to the docks at New London.

[ebtmikado]

speaking of New London---
Since the south end of the railroad has been serviced at night by 610, I haven't seen any trains south of South Windham,
due to its being dark. Besides CC Lounsbury, Kotfkoff (K&L?), Freeport McMoran, and UBS, are is there any other business at present down that way?
How often does the train go to New London?

Lee

[ANRP2]

Can anyone help with track speeds on NECR in Vermont?

Thanks

[Allouette]

Max track speeds in Vermont (Passenger/Freight) minus some slow zones:
E. Northfield MA - Brattleboro 59/40. It may still be 50/40, but it was supposed to go up in 2013.
Brattleboro - White River Jct North (Roxbury MP 15.9) 79/45
White River Jct North - St Albans 59/40
St Albans - East Alburgh 40/25. The distance between speed restrictions due to bridges and curves is short enough here that an increase in MAS (Max Auth Speed) probably wouldn't make much difference in train performance. The long Missisquoi Bay water crossing is 10 MPH.

Some of these are old, but they remain "ballpark". There are areas where speeds are reduced significantly, like Bellows Falls - No. Walpole, and around Windsor and White River Jct.. There are also lots of short curve, bridge and "downtown" slow zones. The 79MPH speed is achieved in spots, at least to hear the NECR TDD at Balloch's in Cornish NH tell it (even though it does say "BNSF Railway...")

[ANRP2]

Thanks! That's very helpful.

[Train60]

Max track speeds in Vermont (Passenger/Freight) minus some slow zones:
E. Northfield MA - Brattleboro 59/40. It may still be 50/40, but it was supposed to go up in 2013.
Brattleboro - White River Jct North (Roxbury MP 15.9) 79/45
White River Jct North - St Albans 59/40
St Albans - East Alburgh 40/25. The distance between speed restrictions due to bridges and curves is short enough here that an increase in MAS (Max Auth Speed) probably wouldn't make much difference in train performance. The long Missisquoi Bay water crossing is 10 MPH.

Some of these are old, but they remain "ballpark". There are areas where speeds are reduced significantly, like Bellows Falls - No. Walpole, and around Windsor and White River Jct.. There are also lots of short curve, bridge and "downtown" slow zones. The 79MPH speed is achieved in spots, at least to hear the NECR TDD at Balloch's in Cornish NH tell it (even though it does say "BNSF Railway...")

Looks like the MAS for passenger from East Northfield to Brattleboro, for the most past, is now 59 according to the data points shown on map linked below.
https://asm.transitdocs.com/train/2018/03/14/55

[ANRP2]

That's an interesting info source.

[Allouette]

Looks like the MAS for passenger from East Northfield to Brattleboro, for the most past, is now 59 according to the data points shown on map linked below.

That doesn't surprise me. By Vermont standards it's pretty straight, and was part of the rail/tie upgrade. A couple of intermediates between Brattleboro and E. Northfield would complete CTC from Springfield to White River Jct.

[johnpbarlow]

Apparently a CWR train has been delivered by NS/PAS to NECR at Brattleboro and the rail fan buzz is the rail is headed for Willimantic. Anyone have any confirmation and details what work is being done? Is the NECR-P&W interchange track being upgraded perhaps? Thanks.