Boston Autoport

Anyone have an idea of what type of vehicles come into the Boston Autoport? Are they destined for New England distribution or a broader market? Are they still exporting vehicles to West Africa? After digging through the archives of this and other forums I realize that any chance to capture any of this traffic dockside via rail would be a Herculean effort with clearances, and routings, etc, but is any trucked to a either Ayer or East Brookfield as a backhaul for CSX or PAS/NS? I have found vehicle counts processed through the port (upwards of 50,000 which would support rail I would think) but have not found any makes or destinations for them. Just curious.

Dunno if you've already Gearthed the Autoport's address, 100 Terminal, Charlestown, MA, or not. While I can't supply any of the details you're looking for, if you go a bit to the west, just southwest of the school bus lot, you'll see the ROW remains from more-railroad-oriented times for the port of Boston. A bit more to the west shows that the former ROW has been greenwayed. Renewing the stub back to the dock is probably a low order of probability, in part because of the repurposing of parts of the area and the operational difficulties -- vehicular traffic and occasional flooding that characterized the stub's last couple of decades.
As stated in the MassPort website, the Autoport is highway oriented. One additional element in helping keep it that way may be the very near proximity of the offices of a group with political influence, Teamsters Local 25 on Main Street, Charlestown. Local 25 is a trucking local and not directly involved with the Teamster Rail Conference.

Are you referencing flooding on the Sullivan Sq end or along Medford St? You raise a good point about the Teamster's local. Anyone know when that line last saw a revenue trip? Lafarge or US Gypsum maybe?

BLET Local Div. 57
A division of the Teamsters Rail Conference
Address is 544 Main street C town, same as 25's.

Subarus produced in Japan are brought in by ship, Subarus produced in the US are railed to East Brookfield then trucked to Charlestown. All these cars are processed, then shipped to NY/ Northern NJ. Cars are still exported to both Africa and Lebanon I believe. It is also a major drop-lot for many Boston area new car dealers. The railline that runs closest to Terminal street, approx 75' inside the fence looks usable and is intact, it doesn't extend to the entrance under the bridge, and its just a single line.

Davisville RI is the processing center for New England Subarus, the domestically produced cars are railed directly into the port. Fords are also railed into Davisville. The recieve huge numbers of VW and Audis, but they are trucked as far Michigan and Ohio, maybe Indiana also. VW are railed into Chicago for distribution, but I don't know what port puts them on the rail, maybe Baltimore? As far as I know, no cars are railed out of Davisville, but I could be wrong.

The branch is, or was, the Mystic Wharf Branch. It was used breifly back in the 1990s for moving COFC to Ayer, to be forwarded on the westbound CP Rail intermodal train that ran at the time. They made only a few infrequent runs and then the terminal was eventually converetd to autos only. It seemed at the time the best chance for direct dock to rail service for the Port of Boston, but it was not to be.

Teamdriver-
Thanks for the reality-slap upside the head. Just guessing that more dues come from rubber than rail?

fogg 1703-
I know it's dangerous, but relying on my memory of non-specific decades-ago complaints by unremembered Boston crews about shape of track and water at/over the rails...

-jaymac

Dude

Not a slap at all, trains, trucks, we're all buds!!

The Autoport is pretty active. I commute over the Tobin every day and usually see a couple auto carrier ships a week come in.

Teamdriver-
Reality slaps upside the head are never painful, only informative.
Bigger and better than buds -- Brothers!
-jaymac (AFT, retired)

Thanks for all the info. As FatNoah pointed out it is a pretty busy facility and seems like the volumes could support rail in a perfect world with no clearance, routing or rebuilding issues, but it appears that existing rail facilities may be handling the traffic adequately. I suppose if NS really wanted to they could try and get the traffic back either via the Ayer ramp or rebuilding/upgrading clearances to the port for the marginal traffic that may arise. Again union politics must play a large role as East Brookfield is a non union shop IIRC.

jaymac wrote:Teamdriver-
Reality slaps upside the head are never painful, only informative.
Bigger and better than buds -- Brothers!
-jaymac (AFT, retired)

Indeed - Teamdriver, retired teamster

Actually, it is possible to serve the Autoport without having to raise clearances, the biggest obstacle. Wabash has made RoadRailer autocarriers before. This is one option most people are not aware of. Since NS is the RoadRailer king, it surely would be the ideal situation for a NS/PAS auto service to the Boston Autoport.

SOME INFO: As customers began buying RoadRailer, Wabash introduced modified versions for new purposes including the AutoRailer, a trailer that could fully enclose up to six autos for transport. With AutoRailer, an automaker or shipper could drive three vehicles onto a rack in the trailer, placing them end to end. When an electric system then raised the rack to the top level and locked it, three more cars could be driven in under the top level. With AutoRailer's air-ride suspension, autos did not have to be tied to racks, but could be locked into place with a nylon belt wrapped over one tire. The AutoRailer was then shut, and the cars were ready for shipment to dealers via railroad or highway. Since cars were not tied to racks and were totally enclosed from the factory until their final destination, damage to the vehicles was minimized. When the vehicles arrived at their final destination, moreover, dealers could simply drive the cars out of AutoRailer.

The AutoRailer is Wabash National's latest entry in the intermodal marketplace. With a 117-inch interior height, it can carry six full-size automobiles (based upon a vehicle size of 210 inches in length and 58 inches in height). Automobiles are stacked three on three. AutoRailer is a dual-purpose vehicle, says Wabash National. Automobiles can be transported in one direction, and dry freight (such as auto parts) can be transported on the backhaul. The vehicle's upper rack retracts and stows in its roof to give 110 inches of vertical clearance for backhaul loading.

The 53-foot ultra-high-cube AutoRailer is described as being a totally self-contained system that can carry automobiles direct from factory to dealer without exposing them to the elements. Automobiles can be driven directly in and out, and the rear end lowers for easy drive-on and drive-off. The trailer's air-ride suspension offers good over-the-road ride quality.

Mystic Pier old pictures, ( links to each picture due to disabled downloading option ) :

1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_pub ... otostream/

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_pub ... otostream/

3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_pub ... otostream/

...from back when the "Port" in Mass. Port meant something other than airport(s)...