Millers Falls interchange yard

KEN PATRICK wrote:amazing. coupler banging is, simply, employee laziness/ lack of train handling skill. engine idling? log events then call mass epa. no one should suffer exhaust. when not working, shut down the engines. no engine should run if unmanned. if oganz dumps are feared, install kim hotstarts. starting unmanned engines requires a bit of effort. so what? do it. i suspect railroad employees are acting out. time for them to realize that their operations do have a negative impact on the envinronment. i never let our engines idle overnight. 'souping' was enough of a deterrent. perhaps the necr/pas 'interchange should be in the state paid for east deerfield yard. horrors of horrors- necr crews running to and fro on 'state supported' track. how will railroad arcania survive? talk to millers falls elected officials. there is no stb dog in this hunt. ken patrick

good effort. Too bad you dont know the first thing about railroading. Leave railroading to the experts and keep the peanut gallery comments to yoruself

Come on, anyone who has run SD40's on a shortline like the IORY knows it all

newpylong wrote:Come on, anyone who has run SD40's on a shortline like the IORY knows it all

I'm not sure how you meant that. I wasn't trying to give an impression that I thought I knew everything. My railroad may not be as long; but it's just as wide.

brian s. you are wrong about me. 5 world-wide patents on an intermodal bulk materials system, 3000 proprietary car loads/yr for 7 years, multiple origins/destinations, multiple customers and railroads, multiple proprietary terminals in ct, ny, nj &va. i am a railroad expert because i make railroad projects real and have for over 20 years. you, on the other hand, exhibit little appreciation for the negative aspects of railroading i.e. pricing, bureaucracy, short capital, foolish equipment and bad operations. these neighbors need relief so move the interchange. ken patrick

So move the interchange? Where to? What interchange or yard will be next for inclusion on your "move" list? It doesn't happen often that I find myself flummoxed by a self-stated railroad expert, but thanks for providing me with that sensation, and so close to the holidays, too! (Maybe my sarcasm shouldn't have been quite so strong, but being so seldom flummoxed, I have insufficient practice in controlling the reflex response.)

KEN PATRICK wrote:brian s. you are wrong about me. 5 world-wide patents on an intermodal bulk materials system, 3000 proprietary car loads/yr for 7 years, multiple origins/destinations, multiple customers and railroads, multiple proprietary terminals in ct, ny, nj &va. i am a railroad expert because i make railroad projects real and have for over 20 years. you, on the other hand, exhibit little appreciation for the negative aspects of railroading i.e. pricing, bureaucracy, short capital, foolish equipment and bad operations. these neighbors need relief so move the interchange. ken patrick

Blocking the crossings shouldn't be prohibited, and it isn't. That's all you can ask for when you live next to the railroad tracks.

I still don't understand your involvement in railroading. First you were a locomotive engineer, now you're a mechanical or civil engineer? Which is it? Maybe an all around engineer?

Have you ever set foot on the B&M? Do you even know where these geographical locations are we are discussing? So far you haven't brought anything to the table except accusations and a comotion.

MERRY CHRISTMAS. I GOT INVOLVED IN RAILROADING WHEN I REALIZED THAT TOFC IS AN ECONOMIC FAILURE AND COFC CLOSE BEHIND. RAILROAD PRICING, TRYING TO MATCH TRUCKS , IS REALLY A DOOM LOOP. RAILROADS GIVE AWAY THEIR TWO STRENGTHS BUT RETAIN THEIR ONE WEAKNESS WITH THIS PRICING APPROACH. I DEVELOPED A HEAVY-HAUL INTERMODAL BULK MATERIALS SYSTEM THAT GOT THE RAILROADS INTO THE WASTE BUSINESS. SINCE I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT RAILROADS BEFORE THIS I HAD TO DO CATCH-UP. WITH NO PRE-CONCEPTIONS I LEARNED HOW TO BALANCE RAILROAD STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES IN MULTIPLE SITUATIONS. SOLD 300 PROPRIETARY 89' FLATS, 1500 UNIQUE 5 SIDED CONTAINERS AND TIPPING EQUIPMENT. I BOUGHT A GP-9 AND SW-1200 FOR OUR TERMINALS. MY EXPOSURE TO GUILFORD PRICING HAS BEEN NEGATIVE. RATHER THAN BASE IT ON COSTS PLUS MARGIN ( THE STB MODEL), GUILFORD USES 'WHAT-THE-TRAFFIC-WILL BEAR' PRICING. NOT CONDUCIVE FOR NEW BUSINESS GROWTH. KEN PATRICK.

KEN PATRICK wrote:perhaps the necr/pas 'interchange should be in the state paid for east deerfield yard. horrors of horrors- necr crews running to and fro on 'state supported' track. how will railroad arcania survive? talk to millers falls elected officials. there is no stb dog in this hunt. ken patrick

east deerfield is state-owned. rented to pas. i've argued that the state provides too much to pas and should use the funding power to order changes in pas pricing.

I was curious about these statement and looked it up in the Franklin County Registry of deeds and if you look in book 05665 on page 76 is the map for the East Deerfield Yards, Which was granted to Pan AM Southern LLC on May 1st, 2009 from Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad Co. and Boston & Maine Corp. No where in the deed was the Commonwealth of Massachusetts mentioned in any complaint, notice or, statement.

That's interesting. I was always under the impression that the state owned the land.

newpylong wrote:That's interesting. I was always under the impression that the state owned the land.

This is pure theory on my part:

I wonder if this thinking comes from PAR's reluctance to pay propterty taxes. I have seen it in the disotrter (Recorder) on more then one occasion that the town of Deerfield was attempting to take the rail yard for failure to pay property taxes. Couple that with Massachusetts property tax exemption on single track ROW less then 79' in width (I think) and before you know it people assume the rail road is tax exempt and/or owned by the commonwealth

KEN PATRICK-
Your 12-25 Christmas greeting, among other things, established your innovative expertise in waste-transload handling. I doubt that there will be many who argue against the appearance that PAR and its predecessors of the last few decades have used price structure to discourage activity that was felt outside its business plan. Whether that approach remains the case, especially with the influence of NS and the new order of things at PAR/S will be seen. Given that you established your expertise in transload handling, I'm not certain that your post established your expertise in train handling. Given, further, that you state you have plural terminals, would your reaction to abutters and neighbors, present and future, who object to the presence and activities of those waste-transload activities be "so move the terminals" as it was in your 12-23 post suggesting moving interchange from Millers Falls?

JAYMAC- GOOD POINT. BERGEN COUNTY HAD NEIGHBORS, ESSEX DID NOT, MWRA QUINCY DID NOT, CEDAR HILL YARD DID NOT, SELKIRK YARD , HARLEM RIVER DID NOT. I SOMETIMES DROVE THE GP9 AT BERGEN AND THE SW AT ESSEX. AT HARLEM RIVER I RAN THE SW FOR DAYS UNTIL FOLK WERE HIRED. THE SW WAS GREAT BECAUSE YOU COULD SEE THE COUPLERS FROM THE STAND. SILENT COUPLING. I PLAYED AT USING SMALL BRAKE PIPE TO STRETCH OUT 20 89' THEN NOTCH 4 WITH RELEASE. SWITCHING AND ENGINE TEMPERMENT ARE MY EXPERIENCE. I FIND GUILFORD MYOPIC. I KNOW I COULD RAISE A STB ACTION FOR ONE 50 LOADS/WEEK PROSPECT THAT USED STATE MONEY FOR RAIL ACCESS BUT THEY ARE HAPPY WITH TRUCKS ON 495. I HAVE RAISED THE PRICING ISSUE WITH STATE DOT. IT IS FOOLISH FOR OUR STATE TO PROP GUILFORD UP WITHOUT EXACTING QUID PRO QUO TO REDUCE TRUCK TRAFFIC. I'M SURE THERE IS REAL ESTATE TO USE AS A NEW INTERCHANGE. KEN PATRICK

Ken, could you please not type your messages in "ALL CAPS"? On the internet, "ALL CAPS" is considered the equivalent of shouting or yelling. I don't think that was your intent, but that is how it can come across to others. Thanks.

The NECR was busy interchanging cars this evening around 6:30pm. Lot's of GONX/NS/CR gondola's.

KEN PATRICK-
Your 12-26 post clarifies a lot. One question that still lingers for me are whether all your hitches were good the first time out. There are times rusty linkage doesn't want to engage without some extra encouragement. Also, there is a difference between the operation of a single GP-9 or SW-1200 and two or more 4- or 6-axles high-horsepower units. Especially with the SW-1200 and its goldfish-bowl visibility, hitches tend -- minus rusty-linkage issues -- to be easier and quieter. There can be a delay with even the best co-ordinated C&E team in hitching by radio. Add in rusty pins or misaligned drawbars and noise is all but guaranteed, as it has been back to the era of link-and-pin hitches.
Another question is where the interchange can be relocated to. NECR quickly gains elevation over PAS at Millers Falls, leaving only the Connecticut River valley for possibilities. East Northfield no longer has the tracks to accommodate interchange, and Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, and White River Junction are functionally outside the PAS sphere of interest. Additionally, East Northfield and Bellows Falls have residents near the switching areas no less worthy than those in Millers Falls. The Brattleboro and White River Junction yards are a bit more removed from population, but as before, also removed from the PAS sphere of interest.