Iron Horse Park (North Billerica)

The unit has been derelict for some time and is the last of three units left behind at Billerica Shops. The poor thing has been picked apart and just a hulk. It's on shop trucks because its originals were likely "appropiated"
for another unit.

The 254 supposidely was sold earlier this year to Brookville for
conversion to a rebuilt road unit. That's where the other two - MEC 259
and a Conrail GP40, went. The CR unit went out on a flatcar without a long hood or prime mover. You should be able to find a photo of it on
NERAIL PHOTO ARCHIVES. The 259 left on its own wheels.

Dave

It's Brookville Equipment Co...

http://www.brookvilleequipment.com/index.htm

D

Neat photo's of the shop.When did GRS l close the shop or does the "T" own it judging by all of the old buses.

dansapo wrote:Neat photo's of the shop.When did GRS l close the shop or does the "T" own it judging by all of the old buses.

T owns it, but B&M(meaning Pan Am) has a perpetual right to occupy the property. The railroad offices, including the dispatchers, are still there.

Little by little the place is being cleaned up for some reason, there used to be a lot more things inside the shop building, large EMD blocks, crates of brake calipers, engine valves, Hi-Rail equipment, and so on. That's mostly gone now. Maybe the lumber company is going to use more of the shop space, they use one end of the building for storing lumber now.

b&m 1566 wrote:Any idea as to why it ended up on box car trucks? I also noticed that the number boards (if that's the correct term) are some of the first things to go on a engine that is being scrapped; why is that?

The most likely reason for the truck swap is that they needed replacement trucks for some other unit. Therefore, they put some old "shop trucks" on this one.

As for the numberboards... maybe some other unit had a broken numberboard or two, and so they took these ones and just changed the numbers on them.

MEC407 wrote:As for the numberboards... maybe some other unit had a broken numberboard or two, and so they took these ones and just changed the numbers on them.

More likely the numberboards were long ago "rescued from destruction" by some previous railfans...

octr202 wrote:More likely the numberboards were long ago "rescued from destruction" by some previous railfans...

That, too, is a distinct possibility.

MEC407 wrote:

octr202 wrote:More likely the numberboards were long ago "rescued from destruction" by some previous railfans...

That, too, is a distinct possibility.

At least in this case they were saved from a unit facing the torch. Nothing worse than doing all the work on a unit owned by a museum to get it shipped on its own wheels, only to have it lose horns, bells, numberboards, cab seats, etc., in transit...

But I digress...

octr202 wrote:At least in this case they were saved from a unit facing the torch. Nothing worse than doing all the work on a unit owned by a museum to get it shipped on its own wheels, only to have it lose horns, bells, numberboards, cab seats, etc., in transit...

Indeed. A few years ago when I was looking into purchasing the MEC 407, they had removed all of those items (except the numerboards) and kept them under lock and key inside the shop. The horns are a particularly enticing target for thieves these days.

MEC 407: Do you know if those two MEC U18Bs are still intact in Canada? Thanks.....

Dick H

I just realized that the enticing cluster of tracks I've been eyeing on Google Maps is the Billerica shops complex! Being a relative newbie as far as railfans go, I was unable to connect the dots until now. Thanks for the aerial pictures!

I'm thinking of taking a trip up to this area sometime soon, perhaps by bike. Any advice on good vantage points? Pond St. (East edge of the shops) seems like it might have a nice clear view down the Lowell line, but maybe not so much into the yard. I could also explore other roads that enclose the area. Maps don't give much of an idea of how close you can get on public roads...the whole shops area is basically a big blank space. I'm not one for snooping around in abandoned buildings, but some clear views for my camera would be cool.

Is there much activity around here at all besides commuter trains? Keep in mind that just seeing more than two tracks next to each other is still a special experience for me, so I'm not that hard to please!

Dick H wrote:MEC 407: Do you know if those two MEC U18Bs are still intact in Canada? Thanks.....

Dick H

The last report I received, which was two or three months ago, stated that the 404 and 407 are still in storage at the CAD facility outside Montreal. The railfan who saw them said that they appeared to be "basically" intact, but he wasn't able to get close enough to know for sure.

CAD has been building Green Goats and genset switchers lately... perhaps that will ultimately be the fate for the frames of the 404 and 407.

I've got a couple of questions:

Iron Horse Park is on the Billerica Industrial Track, under the control of the District 2 TOM. Or has that changed?

Does PAR use this property for ANYTHING anymore? Or is the track off the Western Route out of service?

The Billerica Industrial Track is part of District #2's territory, but access is solely
controled by the MBCR Boston West TD at Shop Interlocking and the handthrow
connection at North Billerica station.

That's the New Hampshire Route mainline, not the Western Route..

D