Connecticut Southern (CSOR) Discussion

CCCL 36 wrote:It seems the Manchester branch is still hanging on by a thread. There was a boxcar behind Sanford and Hawley being unloaded last week (I'll check tomorrow to see if it's still there), so it seems they still have one customer on the line.

That is a customer that receives inbound load of bricks. I don't think S&H has received a load of lumber in a very, very long time. If anything, they might get transloads from West Springfield, or another operation in the region where the truck does the final delivery.

I witnessed today on CSO South Windsor branch near end of line and exchange track location for CNZR and CSO, replacing rail on side track. Did not see any new ties, just the new rail going down on a small section. At least they are trying to keep the rail in better shape but if they go just a few feet more north of where they were working, the track is crumbling/ falling apart and should also be replaced but I do not think they had plans to do that.

CSOR (G&W) is having tracks in the Hartford CT Yard updated today. Many ties have been removed and new ones put in place. I'm not sure if all tracks are getting updated or just one or two. They have 3 main on the south end and goes to two on north end. These are through tracks where over east of these tracks are storage tracks that cars are parked on.

Does this involve any outright capacity expansion or is this just state-of-repair and stitching back together stuff disrupted by the AMTK construction?

This is just maintenance to get through another year. The yard is empty at this point due to traffic levels being down and lack of customers in the area. CSO4 did have 72 in transit yesterday but the day before only had two. We need customers in the area to keep this yard humming like it was not to far distant ago.

CSO continues to work the Hartford CT rail yard, witness straightener as well as regulator working main line yard tracks. Saw CSO -1 with 80 cars in tow yesterday and 66 in tow today. Witnessed 56 Vermonter 12 minutes late today. Could not stay around for CSO-4 either day. The yard from bridge overpass on North end is looking pretty good.

CSO has had more maintenance done in the Hartford yard the past few days. Lead track of yard where the access from the North side into yard had what looks like rail replaced over the whole line from the middle of yard to south end of yard.

I also witnessed two youths who looked like they were breaking into a boxcar in the yard and so I called CSO/ G&W and spoke to Lisa in Jacksonville Florida. She thanked me for letting her know and said she would relay the message. I believe they were looking for beer maybe but didn't realize beer is not distributed this way anymore in the area. They hurried back across the tracks and took off with nothing in their hands. I was able to get the License plate and gave that also to Lisa. Lets hope they stay away from this point on.

Think it's been years (quite a few) since beer shipped by rail from Hartford, too long for kids to remember or be aware of. Could just be some people looking for a quick steal, it's always been a bit of the wild west around that yard.

Watched CSO - 1 from Hartford yard yesterday (12/13/16) head south at 2.00pm and saw that it had CSX Hopper cars filled with what looked like small ballast, not the top ballast but maybe the ballast that goes down first for the roadbed. Not sure as snow was on top of the cars and my view was looking upwards and not down on the cars. There had to be over twenty in tow with rest of train to Cedar Hill. Does anyone know what these cars truly had in them and where were they going, to do what work?

Question on CSO train crews...

Do trips always start and end in Hartford yard?

Do crews lay over in W. Springfield or get taxied back home?

Will the P&W now being NECR change anything in regards to interchange in New Haven, I know there is some sort of "paper barrier" with CSX...not sure on the details.

P&W has an extremely limited interchange with CSOR. Not sure what exactly they're allowed to swap, but they are so constrained that CSOR will always have to remain in a different realm no matter how much NECR and P&W start integrating over time. The CSX paper barriers cover all the ex-Conrail territory that CSOR took over, so vast majority of their business is bound up in the CSX interchange. Think they've got a little bit bound up in Pan Am Southern, too, for the small section of Armory Branch they own/operate.

The only real integration the P&W acquisition into Genessee & Wyoming is going to afford CSOR is that P&W can deliver equipment door-to-door to them at no extra charge from their own engine house in Worcester or via NECR interchange @ Willimantic. Before now PAS had to be the middleman on any NECR-CSOR rolling stock swaps. Should lower their costs a bit since their power pool has always been shared with the bigger G&W roads. Will give them access to P&W's full-service locomotive shop for inspections and repairs, which will take some overhead off Hartford Yard. And should give them access to more & better MOW equipment because P&W has a sizeable work roster of its own and lots of lend/lease ability with CSX, MBTA, and Amtrak in Worcester since their shop takes on a lot of small outsource tasks from those other carriers.

nhhs wrote:Question on CSO train crews...

Do trips always start and end in Hartford yard?

Do crews lay over in W. Springfield or get taxied back home?

Will the P&W now being NECR change anything in regards to interchange in New Haven, I know there is some sort of "paper barrier" with CSX...not sure on the details.

On my return from Amherst Railway Society RR show yesterday, saw a pair of faux-UP CSOR SD40s idling in CSX W Springfield yard so perhaps at least one CSOR train originates there?

Exactly

There was a hopper in front of Neyra on Sullivan Ave in South Windsor today (Armory branch). I have not seen anything at the brickyard in Manchester since the Central Connecticut Coop closed. It's good to see something east of the river.

Driving south on Sullivan Ave in South Windsor I noticed that the lights at the crossing were flashing. I stopped and got to watch the CNZR yard engine break through the snowbank and proceed south. I pulled into a lot and watched them hook up the hopper and head back north. Haven't seen a moving CSOR in South Windsor in a long time; this is my first ever moving CNZR sighting.