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  • Guilford crews take a cab

  • Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.
Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.

Moderator: MEC407

 #59707  by cpf354
 
Getting the sense from my occasional railfan observations of Guilford train ops. that crews are being driven to just about any train that they're needed on from their designated OD locations. Example-LA-1, the Lawrence local crew, was taxied from Lawrence to Gardner to take a loaded coal train to Bow recently. Today I saw an eastbound leave Ayer called AYPO, but somehow I got the feeling that train could just as well tie down at Wamesit and get re-crewed by a MOPO crew from East Deerfield. Anyway it sounds as if the manpower situation on GRS is requiring a lot of driving miles. Also, train symbols are just paper, not reality, witness WARJ going nowhere near Rotterdam Jct by taking a left at Ayer with CSX power to Worcester. :wink:

 #59717  by wolfmom69
 
This "cabbing" of GRS crews has gone on for years,at least up here in District 1. Madison Local crews use same cab 'tween Waterville/Madison,for example. Guess GRS is paying the taxi firms better;at one time they owed a N.H. outfit five figures. The new "Phantom Train" of Guilford is PH-1(sorta like PHantom,huh?). Used to be "The Portsmouth Switcher",based in Portsmouth,N.H. Would run to Rockingham Jct. 5 days a week to exchange cars with the Freight Mainline,and an occassional trip to Lawrence on Saturdays. It did the Hampton and Newington Running Tracks,plus any Portsmouth/Kittery Navy Yard work. Not any more! Based out of Rockingham Jct. and yesterday I caught it leaving Rigby at 13:00 with 72 cars for the west. Had to a power swap with a huge(122 car)EDPO at CPF 201,as one of its 2 units had only 300 gals. of fuel,not enough to get to E/Deerfield. Have heard PH-1 in Lowell,Lawrence,Ayer etc! Bud

 #59868  by NellsChoo
 
We were chatting about that subject at Ayer yesterday. Would Guilford be better off with a staff of drivers? It was pointed out that they would have to cover some rather far distances...

Do other railroads use so many taxis as well?

Jonelle

 #59962  by wolfmom69
 
:( Jonelle; I've thought about GRS using their own vehicles and employees to "cab" crews,but;1)It's cheaper to use taxi firms. Most of the cabs they use are "rent a wrecks" and small operations,who can use the small,but steady income GRS provides(when they finally send a check!)20GRS employees would be "on call" for this taxi service and their hourly wages are far more than "cabbies". 3)GRS has a fleet of vehicles that are not very dependable and this extends to PanAm! Wife and I saw an older PanAM Explorer in Kittery a while ago that sounded horrible:Not a good "ad" for the mechanical rebilabity of the planes we said! I know the SLR will sometimes use taxis,but they have a company car based at the engine facility in Auburn(ME) for 394s crew to take to the motel for their rest and to return in when they report for the return leg as 393. When 394 runs out of hours,somewhere west of Auburn,one of the local switcher crews will take the car and meet the train,giving the car to 394s crew to go straight to the motel,and the local switcher crew will bring the train "in" to Auburn. Usually this is either 516 or 513s crew. GRS crews staying at HoJos Motel in S.Portland(ME) will have the motel van pick them up and drop em off at Rigby Yard,less than a mile and 1/2 from the motel. Bud :-)

 #60020  by NellsChoo
 
Hmmmmmmmmmm... ok then, how about this:

Set up a trailer hitch on the last car in a train, and tow along a little car like people with campers do!!!

:wink: