CAF USA, Elmira Heights

Does anyone know the status of this facility? It changed over to CAF USA sometime around 2002 and I'm not sure what they were producing. It seemed like the test track had been cleaned up at some point.

Along with this, what's the status of the line that ran along Grand Central Ave., passed Anchor Glass connecting the plant with the Yard in the City of Elmira? I know I saw it used as recently as 2003 or so.

CAF USA, Elmira Heights is still in business. I pass by the plant every Wednesday and Thursday evening. They are working on rebuilding the MTA cars. What is interesting is that Siemens is leasing out the back shop area for those same MTA Cars. Employees there park out back by the old bridge erecting shop. Siemens has their own security guard. CAF USA has their own. Just an interesting arrangement for two seperate companies basically utilizing the same facility.

The old DLW main (test track) is still used, but service outside of it and south on the main to the lower Elmira yard is not in service. You'll see a lot of the MTA cars outside by the test track if you go by there on Grand Central andthen take a left just after the plant.

I'm sure I have raised more questions.

http://www.caf.net/ingles/compania/instalaciones4.php

CAF’s plant in Elmira (New York, USA)

...is the result of the intense activity of the company in the North American market over the last few years. The high volume of orders in the US market (more than 600 million dollars in sales, in three years) has driven us to establish a solid infrastructure in North America. For this purpose, CAF USA acquired the plant in December 2000. This factory has produced railway vehicles since 1986 under the ownership of ABB and later Adtranz. Highly skilled workers and managers, experienced in the North American railway market, work in Elmira. In order to serve its customers’ needs in the USA, CAF has several, customer service and maintenance centers in Sacramento (California), Greenbelt (Maryland) and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania).

The Elmira plant is CAF’s North American manufacturing headquarters, centralizing the management, the coordination with all the US suppliers and on site support for the US customers.

Basic Data – CAF Elmira
Total area: 38 acres
Covered surface 440,800 square feet

Thank You Otto. Still, why is Siemens there? For the electrical? Your thoughts? I could stop by Wednesday.

Thanks for the answers guys! When you say MTA, do you mean New York or Mass.?

They probably mean NY---Boston is MBTA.

These days it's New York - MTA used to be Boston as well. Just ask Charlie - did he ever find that "one more nickel" or is he still riding? "Charlie handed in his dime at the Kendall Square Station....."

From 2002 - 2004 CAF/USA built 100 new cars for WMTA in D.C., After that we had paac cars 53 newcars first and then that was followed by another 51 REHAB cars this went from 2004 to early in 2008.
At that point we were about out of work!!
Middle 2007 Siemens rented bldg. 4 do build the MBTA (Boston) blue line... this was not a caf contract!!!
CAF contracted some Employees to work at Siemens as part of the lease agreement
which helped keep about 35 of us working, until Dec. 31 2008 when the lease expired and siemens moved to the Holding point in HHDS........ You wouldnt believe how they plan on lifting the cars now! ......its scarey lol

When looking through the STB filings, I found the following:
http://docs.stb.dot.gov/?sGet&Dl1YTH1WX ... ME0wNww%3D

This is NS's filing to abandon the track from Elmira yard past the CAF USA plant. I didn't find any reference to it on the board, so I've posted it here. Sorry if this isn't news to anyone.

It was posted in the Star-Gazette, but since I only see the online version- I missed it.

Looks like there won't ever be anything out of there on rails (assuming the plant is still functioning).

A news announcement states that CAF USA will be manufacturing 130 new single level rail cars for Amtrak. I would expect they will need rail service out of the facility. This is supposed to add over 500 jobs to the local economy.

thannon wrote:When looking through the STB filings, I found the following:
http://docs.stb.dot.gov/?sGet&Dl1YTH1WX ... ME0wNww%3D

This is NS's filing to abandon the track from Elmira yard past the CAF USA plant. I didn't find any reference to it on the board, so I've posted it here. Sorry if this isn't news to anyone.

It was posted in the Star-Gazette, but since I only see the online version- I missed it.

Looks like there won't ever be anything out of there on rails (assuming the plant is still functioning).

Just because they filled for it does not mean it got approved or will be approved.

Finished cars can still access NS on the other side to the main. Although the curve is rather sharp.

your both correct.. the line on the east side is now abandon and the the main on the west side is very accessable. Although it is a sharp curve we've made it work for us in the past.
Now as for Amtrak cars, they haven't mentioned how they plan on those going out, In most cases the company ships them out on a truck.
First things first, we still have a Houston contract to get up and running by the beginning of 2011

The MARC cars that are rebuilt in Bath are interchanged on the rail and seem to do quite well usually placed on the rear of the train.

K4Pacific wrote:The MARC cars that are rebuilt in Bath are interchanged on the rail and seem to do quite well usually placed on the rear of the train.

I happened to catch NS pushing one of the MARC cars from the B&H interchange back to Gang Mills this afternoon.

Poppyl