Irving/PAR/CSX Traffic

roberttosh wrote:It was a test load and believe it went to a warehouse in the Boston area.

Interesting. Hopefully it was successful and PAR will build up some incremental traffic from that mill.

Would CP be interested in moving any traffic over this routing the the D&H instead of going through Montreal via MM&A? Do they still have any CP customers in Maine or New Brunswick?

The only true CP traffic into/out of New Brunswick that I know of is a GM contract for new vehicle shipments (not sure what brand) into St John. Occasionally you will see these autoracks on MMA/NBSR. While I'm not sure how much CP gets off of MMA in Montreal to begin with, if the Moosehead ever was to go the way of the Dodo, I suppose they would have no choice.

Are there any Pulpwood/Logs, or Woodchips moving from Irving over PAR via Keag?

fogg1703 wrote:The only true CP traffic into/out of New Brunswick that I know of is a GM contract for new vehicle shipments (not sure what brand) into St John. Occasionally you will see these autoracks on MMA/NBSR.

I'm quite sure the present Auto Traffic destined for St. John, N.B., are Chrysler products. Actually, Autoracks can be very dominant with NBSR consists and the newest traffic rumour with NBSR is they will also be contracting to transport Volkswagons.

You are correct Highball the contract is with Chrysler. They are also transporting Kia products. Sometimes the occasional train can have as many as 30-40 autoracks on it.

Thanks for the correction, should have checked my notes before posting. How does customs inspect autoracks? The Sunbury TOFC traffic supposedly was doomed because of customs issues, and I would think there is a lot more chances for issues with an autorack than a flatcar with a sealed trailer on it. Granted TOFC's are much more time sensitive than an autorack but if an all Canadian routing alleviates a half day transit time, a future routing change could happen.

Also how far east do clearances allow autoracks on PAR/S?

fogg1703 wrote: The Sunbury TOFC traffic supposedly was doomed because of customs issues, and I would think there is a lot more chances for issues with an autorack than a flatcar with a sealed trailer on it.

New regulations as set forth by the U.S Food & Drug Administration were the prime reason the Sunbury TOFC trains ended in 2006. The main customer for these trains was WalMart merchandise destined for St. John N.B., to be distributed from there by highway to locations in the Maritimes. A variety of food related items made up the majority of the WalMart traffic and that was the source of contention.

Suffice to say, the Food & Drug regs outlined new procedures, document reporting, inspections etc. for all food types crossing into the U.S. It's 201 rail miles between the Quebec / Maine border to the New Brunswick / Maine border. Irving's stance basically was that sealed trailers were merely passing thru Maine, no trailers were being offloaded. Ultimately, the sticking point was " prior notice " of food shipments and the associated paperwork involved.

That's in a nutshell.......too bad really, as the TOFC trains started in the fall of 2003 and at the peak, were generating on average 250 loads per week, from sources I've read.

Too bad indeed. Did any of this WalMart traffic get re-routed "over the top" on CN? The Moosehead beer cars on SJWA must also go through this paperwork shuffling?

fogg1703 wrote: Did any of this WalMart traffic get re-routed "over the top" on CN?

The traffic was routed via highway within Canada after the Sunbury TOFC trains ended thru Maine and I do not know if this means still exists........perhaps CN domestic container services may be the current operation. The Sunbury TOFC western service terminal was at Farnham, in Quebec's Eastern Townships, along MMA's main line. The WalMart traffic orginated from a warehouse terminal near Toronto.

I read an article a few years ago that mentioned Moosehead Breweries in St. John N.B. was shipping 60 % of its product by rail and a good amount gets exported to the U.S. on SJWA......... the Moosehead beer cars " keep flowing " for sure.

All of those white and fading orange "cryo-trans" cars you see with different names for the most part is Moosehead beer coming down from the NBSR.

Is that also what is in the few CSX and BNSF cars that are mixed in with all the HLMX cars?

JB283 wrote:Is that also what is in the few CSX and BNSF cars that are mixed in with all the HLMX cars?

Thanks JB283 for posting those pics. I was about to mention the CSX and BNSF cars in my next post, concerning the Moosehead traffic. These cars appear to be an insulated type and I'm quite sure they are used in addition to the " white and orangest " CryoTrans cars.

A few years ago, NB Southern and Moosehead Breweries partnered to build in St. John N.B., a structure whereby cars are placed inside a loading dock facility.

I had always wondered what was in them and if they where going to St. John full or empty. These pictures are in 2009 on (at the time) 2 different MABA jobs. Now i know!

JB283, the centerbeams flats in your top photo, carry gypsum wallboard, made in St. John at Atlantic Wallboard, destined for warehousing in Ayer, Mass.

A plant in McAdam N.B. also produces gypsum wallboard, usually output from that facility that is carried by rail, is interchanged to MMA.