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  • Freight Operations on the "Northern" New Hampshire Mainline

  • 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

 #1616020  by wally
 
got lucky today - while gettting parts at the toyota dealership in bow, noticed a string of loaded bulkhead flats across the street, sans engine/crew. csx/mec 509 was switching the blue seal plant, and pretty soon, they came back down the main to pick up the loads and head north..

swung into the area at the old railyard, and was able to watch/photograph/video the crew picking up the single empty, and then come back to spot two gons and the string of loaded (utility poles) bulkhead flats. actually, 4 loaded bulkhead flats and 2 loaded flats, along with 2 high-side gons (presumably for schnitzer).

i rarely go to concord, and even more rarely get to see any rail action, plus it was a beautiful day. oh, and the tower is still there..

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Last edited by wally on Wed Feb 15, 2023 8:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
 #1619543  by Goddraug
 
I saw a post on Nerail today about the Fitchburg local crew taking the Nashua local to Concord since “the southbound passing (runaround) track in Manchester (is) out of service”. Is this a temporary thing or has that been out of service for a bit now?
 #1627459  by BlueFlag
 
With regard to the above posting (and as foretold more than a year ago in this forum), from the Concord Monitor:
A small dilapidated building alongside Interstate 93 that played a pivotal role in Concord’s long railroad history, one of the few structures of its kind still standing in the state, is slated to be torn down after a decade of neglect.

Contractors working for CSX were working in the building last week, removing trash and checking for hazardous materials such as asbestos. Heavy machinery is already on site to begin demotion.

Interestingly, at least to me, is that according to the article, this building once served as the headquarters for the New England Southern Railroad. Sounds like tight quarters, even for a short line. Perhaps I am unversed in the space requirements for such a business.
 #1627465  by Safetee
 
it worked very well, great views especially of incoming or outgoing trains., restroom, variety of supplies first floor, and office upstairs with variety of means of communication at their disposal. It had everything that you need to have except pizza.
 #1641305  by Goddraug
 
https://www.concordmonitor.com/coal-pow ... h-54525989

"Bow power plant to add solar and batteries; coal use to end by 2028"

Sounds like the end of the coal trains by 2028. Anyone know more about the implications here for the NH Mainline? Wonder if it would lead to CSX giving the line south to Nashua over to VRS, since they already own the NEGS north of Concord.
 #1641308  by Goddraug
 
newpylong wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:09 am FYI the state of NH owns north of Concord, not NEGS/VRS.
I always get tripped up on NH ownership of operated railroad lines. I do feel like if any other operator were to come along, VRS would make the most sense. This is all purely hypothetical of course, since the implications of the Bow plant switch seems small as you've said.
 #1641312  by CPF66
 
At this point it would be nice to see VRS pick up the Northern and the Hillsborough. I have a feeling they would be more interested in growing the customer base than CSX at this point. Plus it would streamline the gravel train operations if that ever starts in the next decade...

Which I should add to that topic point, there were photos posted of land clearing going on in Lowell or NC, I forgot where exactly the gravel transload guy was looking to locate. But regardless, there is work being done on that side of the operation, and I think VRS still has those exSNC tailings cars on the property.
 #1641313  by CPF66
 
Goddraug wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:19 am
newpylong wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:09 am FYI the state of NH owns north of Concord, not NEGS/VRS.
I always get tripped up on NH ownership of operated railroad lines. I do feel like if any other operator were to come along, VRS would make the most sense. This is all purely hypothetical of course, since the implications of the Bow plant switch seems small as you've said.
If anything the closure of BOW might open up some new opportunities. There would be scrap/demo debris going out for at least a year if not longer, plus probably some dirty dirt. I imagine the town will pursue development opportunities by converting it to an industrial park which may open up some more steady customers.
 #1641315  by NHV 669
 
They sent <300 cars to the Bow plant last year, and that was over a few moves between December 2022 and last March.

Going back over old posts in two threads, it appears that it was less than 250 loads in 2022, and less than that for 2021 as there doesn't seem to be any posts regarding a unit move. Definitely nowhere near the 1 or 2 a month unit trains they were running years ago.
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