Cape Cod Branch Connector

Noel Weaver wrote:Academy Drive had a bridge over the railroad tracks until sometime in the Penn Central period when most of the trackage in the station area were torn up, the CTC removed and operations were a wayfreight maybe 3 to 4 days a week or so. Up until all this happened there were three platform tracks, interlocked switches at both ends and the bridge over the tracks instead of the grade crossing. Yes I know all of this is gone, it might be possible to return some of it but it will cost money to do so. The CTC was never controlled from Buzzards Bay but the station tracks, switches and signals were controlled from BB and the tower had a good size maching inside to control the switches, signals, bridge locks etc. The tower is one of the very last former New Haven signal towers still in any kind of use today but I think they have a much smaller but more modern maching inside. Buzzards Bay was quite a railroad location years ago.
Noel Weaver

As far as I know the Tower is just a historical building now and if you look in the window it's controls were left in place for display purposes. Don't know if it is open to the public to tour though.

the original board is still up with all its bells and whistles but is connected to and controls nothing. the mini new board that occurred with the bridge overhaul runs the show for the interlocking. the original plan to create an interlocking museum on the first floor never happened.

Just like before. Lots of interesting info being put up here. True not all of it is on topic, but, IMHO most of it is related one way or another to the topic.

I have enjoyed reading the history of the area on both sides of the canal as it unfolded.

Meanwhile, back to the subject matter, I would wholeheartedly agree with F-Line on the fact that Bourne felt the fee to join the T district will have a definite impact on the future possibility of having the branch connector built. Having the clout that it does in the state legislature, I could very easily see the T garnishing funding for the connector with little opposition should they choose to do so.

One has to credit the Bourne Town government for having the foresight to join the T despite getting no immediate benefit. The T does listen to it's members.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/ ... esnt-exist" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since F-line and others have already outlined the benefits as well as benefactors to the branch connector becoming a reality, there is no need for redundancy on my part.

Clearly Falmouth Secondary, you have a front row seat to anything that may unfold if for some reason it doesn't manifest itself as news or any other document.

Having read and learned all that I have on this thread, I am cautiously optimistic that at some point ( in the hopefully not too distant future) the connector could actually be put back on the table.

Will be keeping an eye on any future developments as I go by Canal junction on a regular basis to access the canal. Waiting for the Otis / UCRTS transfer station final vote on Monday 8/21 to more than likely get a majority YES confirmation vote to reopen so the trains start running again on the Falmouth Secondary line to Otis. Will be updating any news on Mass Coastal discussion .

Unfortunately MASSDOT CC-0122 is not on the 2017 rail plan. I'm sure the decision was actually made back in 2016 before Cavossa Disposal came on the scene.

Now add Colonel Keefe's letter to the Mass DOT regarding the Military's intent to use rail service. While this has no effect on the branch connector that I can think of, the Cavossa business could.

Perhaps the powers that be will re-evaluate the situation with these more recent developments.

I noted the article about some republicans in Bourne suggesting that the town nix it's membership to the MBTA district. It is easy to see what the residents were thinking when right in their own backyard they have 1 of the 2 canal bridges that are being taxed well beyond their intended limits with traffic from a lot of people who would be taking trains instead if there were any to take.

I suppose being a "dues paying" member of the "T" district, Bourne could bug the MBTA into reaching out to the MASSDOT on their behalf even if not directly. This is just a guess on my part, but, their member fee should be worth something.

The branch connector while not a solution to them may at least allow for some sort of on cape train service as well as provide flexibility of movements even when the canal bridge would be involved.

Maybe it will be reconsidered going forward now that the UCRTS is reopening, the Military is planning on restoring & using it's end spur past the UCRTS wye, MassDOT carrying out it's planned capital improvements to the Falmouth line to Otis, along with the eventual MBTA commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay. A lot of infrastructure improvements in the works so it could be reconsidered anytime depending on the need for it due to upcoming Rail activity

After my last post, I went through all of the articles about Cavossa.

Of interest was the thought he has of hauling lime in via rail which would make it a viable alternative by eliminating the "high cost of trucking it in over the bridges" as he states.

Given the greater rail capacity on the Falmouth Secondary if this comes to fruition, this would be another reason to increase flexibility at Cape Junction as once on the cape, the possibility of the lime going other places via rail economically becomes a reality.

Falmouth Secondary to Otis wrote:Maybe it will be reconsidered going forward now that the UCRTS is reopening, the Military is planning on restoring & using it's end spur past the UCRTS wye, MassDOT carrying out it's planned capital improvements to the Falmouth line to Otis, along with the eventual MBTA commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay. A lot of infrastructure improvements in the works so it could be reconsidered anytime depending on the need for it due to upcoming Rail activity

Yes. 4 years full of funded upgrades are in the pipeline, with Mass Coastal as the state's contractor. MC isn't omnipotent; you can only shove so much work on their plate. There'll be plenty more to come after this funding burst, but gotta finish the just-beginning rail upgrades to the Middleboro Secondary, do the Rochester Yard expansion for the extra trash loads, replace the Cohasset Narrows bridge, and renew a crapload of grade crossings on the Falmouth Branch and Yarmouth spur. Greenlighting the wye leg now doesn't matter as much to Cape freight as state-of-repair of the running rails and crossings, having optimal storage for the trash loads coming into Rochester, and upgrading CSX's route to the MC interchange. First things first.

Just to clarify the Cavossa deal would be shipping C&D debris to a landfill out here in Ohio. Would there be regular trash as well or does that still get trucked off the cape? Semass wouldn't be getting trash from Falmouth as i understand it?

Thanks
Keith

Cavossa reported that he plans to use Lafarge Landfill in Ohio for disposal of C&D waste and that he is in negotiations with a company ( not identified in the article ) for the disposal of solid waste also, so nothing will be going to SEMASS from the UCRTS facility. Falmouth residential trash currently is landfilled in Bourne until 2024 which is when there contract expires while commercial trash is not, which will be shipped out of the UCRTS facility to yet an unidentified disposal site.

I got word from the horses mouth (rather than the horses ass - fellow coworker's and a supervisor) on the timeframe. 5am - 7am will be strictly MSW. Dumped into railcard and put cover on. Push out and push in C/D railcard. Any MSW trucks that come in after 7am can still dump, but will be pushed to side and loaded into MSW railcars at end of day or when time permits.

To say this makes me happy is an understatement. I can runs most of my MSW loads to end within 5 miles of the transfer station

Haven't seen any activity by Mass Coastal yet getting the overgrowth cleared out on the Otis Rail spur, at least in the North Falmouth area. Once the UCRTS facility is operational no more waiting in line at SEMASS and getting stuck in bridge traffic for sure !

Anything new going on here? I have not seen any action on the Otis spur, but the rails look burnished on occasion.

Henry B.

If Cavossa is going to use LaFarge in Ohio for his C & D shipments, it looks like he chose a professional operation.
Check out the description of their landfill operation, right on the CSX main line near Akron, OH. View the movie at the bottom of the web page. Their locomotives are radio controlled.

http://www.lordstownlandfill.com/why-choose-us" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Henry B.

WHBranch wrote:Anything new going on here? I have not seen any action on the Otis spur, but the rails look burnished on occasion.

Henry B.

The Upper Cape Regional transfer station is in the process of being reopened since 9/18/17 and the Otis spur is being reopened by Mass Coastal working from the transfer station out towards the Falmouth secondary. When they are ready to begin operations regular rail traffic will resume. Follow Mass Coastal discussion thread for photo's / updates