Milford-Bennington Railroad (MBRX) Discussion

From SentinelSource.com:

SentinelSource.com wrote:State Rep. Peter Leishman, D-Peterborough, is hoping a personal tour will convince enough people on the Executive Council to reject giving away his railroad contract to Pan Am Railways.
. . .
Many railroad enthusiasts who support Leishman insist the state’s decision to give this small, seemingly insignificant railroad contract to Pan Am is an attempt to butter up the company that could otherwise be an obstacle to the state ever getting a commuter rail line from Manchester through Nashua and on to Boston.

Read more at: http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/stat ... 99d6d.html

Op-ed from The Telegraph of Nashua:

The Telegraph wrote:In 2009, when a truck hit one of Leishman’s trains, Pan Am smelled blood, and they went after Leishman, claiming he violated safety regulations during the crash.

In fact, police ruled the crash was not Leishman’s fault, but they got Leishman on one safety violation – that he failed to get off his train and flag traffic at the crossing.

During a federal court case in 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro said he couldn’t understand why the two companies couldn’t work out their dispute, other than to believe it was “because you hate each other.”

“For the life of me, I can’t understand why the two of you are locked in this death battle,” Barbadoro said.

Read more at: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/opinion/ ... putes.html

From the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript:

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript wrote:Pan Am Railways Executive Vice President Cynthia Scarano said in a phone interview Wednesday that there is constant discussion regarding the tracks and their use at the company’s headquarters in North Billerica, Mass. “If Pan Am gets the bid, it will look to utilize the entirety of the tracks,” Scarano said. “Nothing is set in stone yet. Our goal is to grow the business.”
. . .
Richard Verney, CEO of the Monadnock Paper Mill, said in a phone interview Tuesday that the mill lost rail service in the mid-1980s. And although the mill has put a lot of money into maintaining the tracks, Verney said it’s unlikely there will ever be rail service again from the paper mill, especially after the company switched to using truck lines to haul products in the ’80s.

“The bottom line is the contract with Pan Am for this branch line that came before the governing council was tabled last week, and it will probably come up again,” Verney said. “In reality, the chances are slim we’d go back to rail service.”

Read more at: http://www.ledgertranscript.com/home/60 ... incomplete

Good article. I can tell you Pan Am wants the Bennington mill back. Never say never if they can undercut the price of the trucks and provide decent service for the price.

Its time Panam gets kicked in the rear for not maintaing branch lines. Another one being ripped up now between Hampton NH and Portsmouth. They seem to get away with a lot. Dirty politics or what?

musehobo wrote:Its time Panam gets kicked in the rear for not maintaing branch lines. Another one being ripped up now between Hampton NH and Portsmouth. They seem to get away with a lot. Dirty politics or what?

I guess im missing something. If the line is not used for years. The RR has to worry about expenses related to the line. Taxes, liabilities ETC. Who is anyone to complain that the RR tears it up?? It is their property. They tear it up, sell it ( to the state no less) and don't have to worry about it any more. I wonder why the state didnt try to help locate some industry on the line....instead they get the row for more PC bike paths. I wonder just who IS getting away with what.
Ted

Narrowgauger wrote:

musehobo wrote:Its time Panam gets kicked in the rear for not maintaing branch lines. Another one being ripped up now between Hampton NH and Portsmouth. They seem to get away with a lot. Dirty politics or what?

I guess im missing something. If the line is not used for years. The RR has to worry about expenses related to the line. Taxes, liabilities ETC. Who is anyone to complain that the RR tears it up?? It is their property. They tear it up, sell it ( to the state no less) and don't have to worry about it any more. I wonder why the state didnt try to help locate some industry on the line....instead they get the row for more PC bike paths. I wonder just who IS getting away with what.
Ted

Yeah. "Chase every carload" doesn't mean chasing carloads that aren't there or where law of diminishing returns makes the effort required to squeeze any trickle of business rather futile. It means "Have a coherent growth strategy for the first time in decades, don't pass up good money, and don't throw good money down a hole."

Hillsborough Branch has a lucrative customer that can be bargained with. That's why they're going for the jugular with M&B. Hampton doesn't...and the state of NH isn't exactly all that proactive about stimulating new industrial business beyond "here's a tax break; you go figure it out."

They are chasing business on their core route network, are reopening the East Boston Branch, are hoping they can attract some future business around strategic holds like the access to Pease in Portsmouth, and are going head-to-head with NECR and the shortlines where they have direct competition opportunities. But the common thread there is picking their spots strategically and going where the customers are...not overreaching where they hope they'll someday be. That's still the realm of the plucky New England shortlines. It doesn't mean Hampton has anywhere near the same upside by virtue of being PAR owned and having theoretically usable track. It doesn't much change the odds anyone's going to set up shop in the barrenness out in Penacook after 20 years. Doesn't improve the odds that on-line freight's going to return to the Reading or inner Fitchburg lines, or that the Medford branch is going to see a train more than once every 3 years if ever again.

They're just finally figuring out that whole strategery thing.

>>>>>Hillsborough Branch has a lucrative customer that can be bargained with. That's why they're going for the jugular with M&B. Hampton doesn't...and the state of NH isn't exactly all that proactive about stimulating new industrial business beyond "here's a tax break; you go figure it out.<<<<<

Does it ?? Right now the M&B is nothing more than a conveyor belt. 3 round trips a day with 10-12 small hoppers of stone. A crew and a loco is tied up just on that one, back and forth run, all day. Would PanAm really tie up a unit, maintain the track , pay a crew , just to shuttle a dozen cars back and forth all day? A shortline maybe. I think this is a personal vendetta and nothing more. It will be very interesting to see how this all pans out. Unless PanAm stations a couple units in Milford its going to be tough.

^I agree 100%!

I doubt they want to serve the mill at Bennington. They'd have to rehab a lot of worn out track to provide good service.

Some years ago now, when the PAR, or was it still GRS, and the M&B dispute began, I believe
that there was some indication that Granite State Concrete will revert to trucks, should the
M&B no longer have the state contract to operate the line. They have plenty of experience,
with all the shutdowns of the M&B by the Billerica crew over the years.

Should Granite State choose to do business with PAR, no doubt the state will be asked for
some track upgrades from Wilton to the pit. Should the paper mill change their mind on
rail service, extensive trackwork would be needed, expecially beyond the crossing at the
entrance to Greenfield State Park, where the Wilton Scenic RR used to terminate their run.
Probably been 30 years or more, since a train ran beyond Greenfield to Bennington.

Again ..what im saying is that the M&B is a standard gauge conveyer belt. I cant imagine PanAm running a stone shuttle back and forth. I dont care if the entire line is welded rail with concrete ties. Both the pit and the plant are set up for 10 car trains. They would have to run 3-4 trips a day . day in and day out. Now if it was 100 cars back and forth sure....but 10 cars at a time??????
ted

I think there is a new face to this railroad (Pan Am). Some seem to disbelieve the noticeable changes but this is not the same railroad that once called itself Guilford; this company is changing for the better. Forget about the Hampton Branch when Foss turned to trucks that was the only surviving industry on the line. Take a look at the area, there's nothing a long that corridor, so they made the businesses decision to dump it. The Hillsborogh Branch still has viable business and Pan Am wants it. Not to many years ago this type of approach from them was unknown.

There is no viable busness along that line that PanAm does not already have. I agree with you about the cahnges. Thats not why I have this opinon .the only customer that the M&B has is the stone train....a conveyer belt. Both ends are set up for 10-12 car trains that require 3-4 round trips daily to operate. So are you telling me that PanAm wants that? I dont think so....im guessing its more personal that it is to aquire a conveyer belt. Unless you can tell me how else they plan to do it? they run short on crews now...imagine tieing up a crew for this?

Running a business off of personal vendettas seems to be a weak argument in my eyes and I don't believe it. Pan Am is clearly trying to increase business and I'm sure they are well aware how M&B operates and yet that hasn't stopped them from pursuing it. I also don't by into what the representative for the Bennington Mill said. Money talks and if Pan Am can offer better rates than trucks, to me it's a no brainer. Yup it will cost money to rebuild the line but as the saying goes "to make money, you have to spend money". Like I've said before, we are seeing something from this company, we've never seen before. People laughed at me when I asked years ago, if Pan Am would ever come out with heritage units and they did just that about a year after I made that comment. They traded for two F units for the businesses train, just ran a fan trip and business is growing. Someone mentioned they are hiring as fast as they can, so this move on the Hillsborough Branch, doesn't surprise me.

thebigham wrote:^I agree 100%!

I doubt they want to serve the mill at Bennington. They'd have to rehab a lot of worn out track to provide good service.

Their portion is minimal compared to the state.

I doubt it will happen but I'm telling it how it is, they want the business back.