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  • CSX Track Upgrades & Infrastructure of Pan Am

  • 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

 #1616939  by type 7 3704
 
Would the traffic out of St. Johns mostly be international 40' containers or domestic 53' hi-cube containers? International double stacks are lower than domestic double stacks (and IIRC fit fine through even the Hoosac Tunnel, as PAS runs trash trains with old 40' international containers). Can the route to Keag do international double stacks?
 #1616940  by F74265A
 
It is unclear to me what csx’s traffic mix might be. CP moves a mix of domestic and international, with most being international containers moving through the port. While PAS runs DS trash west of Ayer, I’m confident that the clearances for DS anything are not there in many places east of Ayer
 #1616950  by QB 52.32
 
More than half of the international container fleet is now high-cube like domestic containers. Current Above-The-Rail clearance east of Ayer is 17' (not good for any doublestack configuration w/ 2 segment exceptions, see below). 19'6" ATR, like west of Ayer through the Hoosac is good for a low/high-cube configuration (and fully-enclosed traditional auto racks) with much of the municipal solid waste moving in low-cube open-top international containers. 21' ATR is what is needed for 2 high-cube doublestacked containers and is currently available between Danville Jct and Portland as well as Northern Maine Jct. and Waterville.
 #1616980  by markhb
 
newpylong wrote: Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:41 am Considering the only tunnel is perhaps the one in Worcester I would assume the price tag to not be inconsequential but far lower per location.
I know of one definite one that Maine intends to remediate: the Cassidy Point Road overpass in Portland which MaineDOT intends to remove. I believe that to be the only low-clearance point between Rigby and Danville.

On this board, I have heard of two others: a residential street in Kennebunk, and what might be the biggest of all: one (or more?) of the I-495 underpasses.
 #1616981  by Cosakita18
 
markhb wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 3:44 pm
newpylong wrote: Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:41 am Considering the only tunnel is perhaps the one in Worcester I would assume the price tag to not be inconsequential but far lower per location.
I know of one definite one that Maine intends to remediate: the Cassidy Point Road overpass in Portland which MaineDOT intends to remove. I believe that to be the only low-clearance point between Rigby and Danville.
The Cassidy Point bridge doesn't inhibit clearances on the mainline...So Rigby-Danville (and by extension Rigby-Montreal) is already DS cleared.

I know that another big DS obstruction is the truss bridge over the Penobscot River in Old Town-Milford
 #1616994  by Tallguy
 
So I know, living in Sterling Jct, that CSX has been doing a fair amount of work on the PAR Main Line. Have they done much in NH? What are speeds like up there now? Is CSX moving any more freight than PAR?
 #1617001  by newpylong
 
Tallguy wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:51 pm So I know, living in Sterling Jct, that CSX has been doing a fair amount of work on the PAR Main Line. Have they done much in NH? What are speeds like up there now? Is CSX moving any more freight than PAR?
Define NH. Do you mean the Northern Mainline? If so no major work has been done. Their focus currently is getting the Keag line back into service.

To the second half of your question, no, you're not going to see much until the physical plant is out of the dumpster.
 #1617135  by ST377
 
rustyrails wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 10:28 pm Do the M427 & M427 actually move a 25mph from Sterling to MP 7.8? I heard that a crew was working between 7.8 and ?
They are working on the detector and AEI at 7.8 (Temple St, West Boylston). 427 has been getting a form D from MPX25 to MPX8 this week, so I believe they're track speed probably up to MPX10 or so (the reservoir causeway) then walking speed to 10 through the working limits.
 #1617875  by MEC407
 
"Keag" is slang for Mattawamkeag, Maine, the town located at milepost 0 on the Pan Am freight main line. It's also the location where interchange between Eastern Maine Railway and Pan Am takes place.

When people speak of "the line to Keag," they are usually referring to the section of the main line between Bangor and Mattawamkeag.
 #1618571  by cu29640
 
Sorry if I missed this. I realize CSX has started to upgrade Worcester to Ayer. Will this eventually be CTC with 50 MPH trains? Remote sidings? And does CSX have the same plan north of Yarmouth JCT to the end of PanAm in Maine? They surely must want to be able to do better than 10mph. They could upgrade to welded rail, replace the CTC from MCE days and add a few strategic modern sidings. Also a modern cleared ROW. There is a lot of brush and near encroachment on that part of the line through towns.

BTW How far up did CTC go in Guilford Era on the Maine Central?
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