Hampton branch activity tracker

I passed through Hampton on Tuesday and noticed the same thing from the Rte 1 bridge. It could have just been the Hi-rail, but I've noticed also that for some reason, (some change in atmosphere?) sometimes the rails will get that just used shine on them.

On another note, looks like the beginning of a tie replacement project at the turnout for the Portsmouth branch, near 256. Theres a car load of new ties on the ground there, and a burro crane on the old K-W siding at 257.

I ran into one of my trackside spy's yesterday and this is what he told me;
Foss Mfg. is a self contained industry in that they make their own power with a multi-fuel generating plant, they are not dependent on the local power grid, the only thing they need is a fuel source. ( I believe they have their own sewer and water as well) Evidently someone down there watches rates for the best deal, and figured out it is cheaper at the moment to buy fuel in bulk than it is to buy it from the local gas company. This is why, a few days ago, an engine snuck down to Hampton in the evening with a tank of LNG, spotted it at Foss, and while the crew went to dinner, Fosses people pumped the car out, the crew then returned to Portsmouth with the empty.
This would account for the recently shined rails. Anyone who lives down that way (Mr. Bolt?) could keep an eye on the place. Maybe do a drive by once in a while in the evening to see if anything is going on.

Ah! Nice work! Yes, my brother told me months ago that they have big turbine engines in there now to generate power. They are large and pretty impressive from what he says. He is a Service Technician / Maintenance Mechanic there, so he is "hands-on" with everything in that place. I can definitely keep an eye out. I live between the beach and uptown, so Foss is only about a mile / mile and a half up the street.

PH-1 went to Portsmouth on Monday with the 511 and I think 2 cars. That must have been an odd sight in the Portsmouth yard.

So, has there been another train to Hampton recently? The last train I know of was a few months ago at the beginning of September.

Nuttin here. Been on the tracks in front of the Hampton Airfield several times a week and I havent seen anything except a truck on the railbed North of me. This was a few weeks ago. I thought it was the hyrail, but it wasnt moving toward me, so I assumed it was someone hunting up near Joe's Meat Shoppe.

I've crossed the Eastern several times in the past month or two. I don't know if its a trick of the light, weather,a combination of the two, or just kids playing with steel wool, but the rails do seem to have quite a shine to them these days.

*steel wool* hahahaa - nice imagination you have there, Truman. I now have this vision of kids furiously shinin' up them rails

PH-1 reportedly has been abolished and the speculation is that the crew office trailer at Rockingham Junction will be removed. A new local job, DO-1, based at Dover will do all local work at Dover, Rockingham, Portsmouth, Newington, Wells and Biddeford/Saco. I think PH-1 was done to going to Portsmouth only once or twice a week. DO-1 crew may even be called to recrew through jobs more often than in the past, seeing that PAR uses the Dover cab company and they will be right handy to take the crew elsewhere.

Dick

Dick; wonder if the "Dover Job" will occassionally run to Rigby, as PH-1 did at times???
They usually picked up centerbeams of lumber, from "the Nawth" to set out at one of
the Wood Structures facilities in Saco or Biddeford.

Their cars could be set off and picked up in Dover though, assuming the road freights had ample time.

Fewer "neighbors" at Rockingham Jct. than near the Dover Yard, so they could get "complaints" about the engine left running all night, as they did in Portsmouth Yard a few years back, until they moved PH-1's unit to the Schiller power plant on the Newington Branch(where it seemed a helluva lot "safer"!). Of course, the "Dover switcher" could be a unit with Quick Start

There is(or was a less than a month ago), the crew trailer also in Dover Yard.

Bud

Bud: I would expect the DO-1 job could run all the way into Rigby on occasion. For a while, GRS/PAR had working time limits on locals of 10 hours, then they went to 10 hours on some through jobs and 8 hours on locals. I do not know what the current policy is on local jobs. That could effect whether they run to Rigby and make it back to Dover. Time will tell.

With a unit parked at Dover, that could complicate things on setting off cars at Dover by the through jobs. They like to keep (freight) #1 yard track for the gravel train, which leaves on (freight) #2 to set off on.

You are right about the neighbors noise complaints. They usually have the NHN gravel train pull down several car lengths west of the trailer to get away from the noise complaints. I do not know if the complaints come from Oak St., or Broadway.
They could leave a unit with "quick start" at Dover, but a particular unit doesn't stay around too long, as they grab it if a through job is having power troubles. In the "good old days", D6/D5, the Dover to Lawrence and return local had the 1566 all the time for years, other than when it was at Billerica for service. It was supposed to become ST #31, but had a major failure before it was repainted and renumbered.

Spencer press at Wells has been a big customer, but have not heard them mentioned much lately. I hope they have not moved to trucking, but would not be surprised.

The crew trailer is still at Dover. It must get pretty cold using that porta-potty in the winter time.

Dick

Just a note on Spencer Press:

A few years ago they were acquired by a company called R.R. Donnelley. At first the signs were changed to "Spencer Press -- an R.R. Donnelley Company" but now all the signs are just R.R. Donnelley.

They do still use as rail, as far as I know. I haven't been by there in a few months but I was nearby a few days ago and I could hear a switcher working in the industrial park and the sounds of cars being switched in and out... so I guess I can't provide a visual observation but it certainly sounded like they were being served.

The October 2008 issue of "Rail Pace News Magazine", New England Dispatch section has a story that PAR will file a petition for exemption with the STB regarding abandonment and discontinuance of the 9.83 mile line from Portsmouth NH to Hampton NH.

I guess it was inevitable that PAR would want to abandon the Hampton Branch. Any hopes about eventually getting passenger service between Newburyport restored are probably going to be completely crushed now.

B&Mguy wrote:I guess it was inevitable that PAR would want to abandon the Hampton Branch. Any hopes about eventually getting passenger service between Newburyport restored are probably going to be completely crushed now.

Or completely improved if NHDOT also speaks up and asks that all hardware remain in place, and then purchases the line. ....Which could also mean 9 more miles of trackcar track until service is restored!