Mass Coastal Railroad (MC) Discussion

The 2017 Mass Coastal track chart I have shows two, one of which is unlabeled (and is the one that's been rebuilt), and one of which is marked "Mazzone Switch", but connects in the opposite direction. That one has now been removed.
The 1999 Conrail track chart I have only shows the one (unlabeled) siding.

Now we just need to get the passenger equipment painted into something resembling the "Black Knight" scheme to match...

malbojah wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 2:06 am Looks like the Gallo siding under the Sagamore Bridge is nearing completion. All the ties and rails have been laid, and they've even started putting all the ballast down

Video by Michael St. Louis/Southcoast Rail Videos:

These cars came out of the Lane Quarry in Westfield.

jamoldover wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 7:40 am The 2017 Mass Coastal track chart I have shows two, one of which is unlabeled (and is the one that's been rebuilt), and one of which is marked "Mazzone Switch", but connects in the opposite direction. That one has now been removed.
The 1999 Conrail track chart I have only shows the one (unlabeled) siding.

That unlabeled siding I think was an appliance distributor. (It maybe Maytag) When Guilford went on strike in 1986, Atlantic Plywood up in Woburn leased that building out for a time. Then it went unused. I don't think it will ever be used again other than for MW purposes.

Any news out there about what Mass Coastal is going to do with the locomotives from Bay Colony?
Will BC1701 end up scrapped in place or moved to Hyannis along with the other Bay Colony locomotives?

I spoke with Chris about it at railfan day. at that time he told me that 1701 had not been looked at yet. its been saids that 1705 has been evaluated and will eventually be returned to service. although the S word was not mentioned for 1706 he told me that pretty much its just too far gone. Later on in the day I guess other employees from MC started that there are plans to bring 1701 to Hyannis and MC colors for it were mentioned but I did not personally hear that information first hand.

I remember watching the 1701 pulling a cut of cars on the weed infested Millis branch back in 2022 courtesy of South Coast Rail Videos. It seems that while weather and sometimes self styled artists have taken their toll on her thanks to long periods of neglect, she is still a running unit. That would be great if a rescue along with a new paint job was in the future. It is well earned.

The fact that all three units run is often forgotten by many it seems. These units may not be the nicest things on the rails they still do have life left in them. Just look at MC 2016, it spent a couple of months on property before they were able to get it in service meanwhile any one of these units could have been topped off with fuel and water and been on their way. I hope that one day if service does pick up there may be a reconsideration on 1706 but time will tell

2016 was reportedly damaged during transit on csx, which is why is spent so much time oos upon delivery.
now for a casual railfan perspective, 1706 appears to be beat up pretty good from what i can tell, it would probably need a bunch of power assemblies or possibly a replacement block, appears to have a fuel leak, and whatever electrical and other mechanical issues it may have. becoming a parts donor is probably the best case scenario

I remember seeing the video of MC 2016 being delivered by CSX. You can see the cab end bouncing like it's on the ground. I was not aware of the fuel leak on 1706 but I do remember talking to the crew and they said it had a bad water leak at the time

that could have been what i was seeing on the 06, you can see run off from the top of the fuel tank so its easy to assume

So once 1701 is "rescued", will what's left of the "Millis Branch" be abandoned?

Would Mass Coastal bother keeping this line operative for the occasional Tresca Bros. business?

I mapped the distance from Island Rd where the cars are unloaded and it is just under 2 miles away from the Tresca site.