Lewiston Industrial Track/Lewiston Lower Rd/Branch status

PO-2 347 went to Grimmel's w/ one empty this afternoon, light engine back to Brunswick. Currently sitting on the controlled siding near Spring Street in Brunswick waiting for a recrew.

Caught a lone MEC locomotive heading across the Black Bridge (toward's Grimmels) this morning around 9:30am. FWIW (and the answer is probably "not much"), on my way into work a few minutes later, I noticed a couple of PanAm trucks parked at the River Road crossing.

Most likely those were car repairmen, since there was a derailment up near Grimmel's the day before.

There has been a fairly steady stream of scrap gons heading out from Grimmels on the LIT in the past few weeks. I saw eight full gons go out on May 20 and I saw 4 more go out on June 3. This is just the ones I happen to catch in the evenings when I am home. I have heard that I missed several other trips by Pan Am during the day. Good to see some traffic on the line.

Another three cars to Brunswick June 5. Don't know how many were Grimmels'.

Yeah, PO-2 with the 519 was on the east leg of the wye in Brunswick last night and was ready to head back to Rigby. Not sure what cars it had.

Possible PanAM trouble at Grimmels?
I saw a PanAm locomotive haul 7 empty gons west to Grimmel's at 7:35 PM yesterday (6/15/15). Normally the engine returns past my house with any loaded cars in 50 to 70 minutes. It did not seem to return at all, never heard the horns at the crossing all evening. Went to bed at 11pm - nothing. Was not awoken by horns all night. Normally my dogs go berserk every time it goes by - so I know about it. Has anyone heard what might be going on?

MaineMG wrote:Possible PanAM trouble at Grimmels?
I saw a PanAm locomotive haul 7 empty gons west to Grimmel's at 7:35 PM yesterday (6/15/15). Normally the engine returns past my house with any loaded cars in 50 to 70 minutes. It did not seem to return at all, never heard the horns at the crossing all evening. Went to bed at 11pm - nothing. Was not awoken by horns all night. Normally my dogs go berserk every time it goes by - so I know about it. Has anyone heard what might be going on?

Engine is trapped in Grimels after cars derailed on the customer's track.

On my way to work today I passed a large gathering of Pan Am trucks and employees at the River Road Crossing. It included a couple utility trucks and a large boom truck. I'm guessing they were there to right the derailed cars.

When a train derails on a private siding, who has the liability? i.e. is it a cost the railroad eats or does the customer pay?

It depends on what the cause ends up being. The RR will rerail and then bill as appropriate. 99% of the time it is track so the customer will pay if they own the track.

Well, whoever is paying for it, the track is now clear and back in use. I witnessed three engines leaving with loaded gondolas back on June 18th (?) and a week later on June 25 more empties were delivered and more loaded cars were removed. The return of empties and removal of loaded cars seems to be a weekly event - often on Thursday evenings...

Weekly!?! As in every 7 days?

Nothing short of astonishing for a branch that could have easily been abandoned right along with Dover-Foxcroft.

Just heard a dispatcher say MPL 2. Is this what they use on the Lewiston Branch? If so, a train is leaving there now (10:55 am) headed for CPF 185

Mikejf wrote:Just heard a dispatcher say MPL 2. Is this what they use on the Lewiston Branch? If so, a train is leaving there now (10:55 am) headed for CPF 185

Are you sure it wasn't CPL 2? That's the Yarmouth diamond with the SLR.

It very well could have been..I have been wrong before..