Millers Falls interchange yard

whatelyrailfan wrote:

Noel Weaver wrote:What does this do to PAN AM's operations on the Conn River between East Deerfield and White River Junction?
Noel Weaver

According to a post on the NECR Yahoo! group, all freight north of East Deerfield will be run up to WRJ by NECR from Miller's falls under a PAS haulage agreement. The exeption to this will be the feed mill in Northfield.

If they were smart they would do this, but I don't see this happening yet. EDWJ went north today. They still have a few customers up there, not sure they can just give them up or turn them over to the NECR.

During the downpour of Tuesday, 06-01-2010, at 1330, a contractor crew was working on the NECR end of the interchange track while a few covered hoppers sat up towards the PAS end. There was a red truck with white lettering for either Main or Maine Track, neither of which appears in the National Railroad Construction and Maintence Association online membership directory.

There is a company called Maine Track Maintenance. They don't seem to have a web site, but I've seen their name in print several times in regards to track rehab projects in New England.

Maine and Millers Falls are close alphabetically, but not geographically, given all the ZIP codes and miles in between. No more NECR track crews or is Maine Track Maintenance that hungry for business?

That was most likely a Maine Track vehicle. And like most businesses, Maine Track is probably willing to do business anywhere are long they make money. They did the wye up here on the SLR at Lewiston Junction and did a very fine job.

Maine Track Maintenance has also done work for the Conway Scenic, per the May 2010 issue of The Wheel Report: http://www.conwayscenic.com/index.cfm?f ... report0510

Maine Track Maint. just left the NHN last week after doing ties in the Rochester Somersworth Area
Cory

Went by the interchange today. There were 8 woodchip cars on the interchange track. AEX cars I think. Never seen these before today.

It's probably been more than a few days since there was any activity, given the solid top-coat of rust on the interchange track on 07-24-2010.

Why are they doing interchange at Millers Falls anyway?

Just guessing, but if there's no PAS activity north of the Northfield mill, that reduces the demand for crews and power for an already resource-challenged system. Millers Falls is about 6-7 miles from ED. Any loads or MTs going west could be brought to ED by a local. Anything going east could be brought by local up to Gardner for later and gravity-assisted continuation east. Reverse the process for any NECR-bound traffic. What's missing becomes a plus for PAS -- no crew time/costs and power time/mileage/costs for roundtrips to Vermont. There's also probably a plus for NECR -- reduced time doing setouts, assuming blocking for Millers Falls. The moves might be a little complicated, but the lines are probably cooperating on that, too.
All that seems to be missing now is enough traffic to keep the rail-tops from combining with oxygen.

Given this interchange is a single track in the NE quadrant between PAS track 1and the NECR, what is the logistics of interchange? It would seem that pick-ups / set-outs work easily only for nb NECR trains and eb PAS trains. I guess pick-ups / set-outs in the opposite direction could be achieved with two separable locomotives. Is that what happens?

Well, ED190 had been doing the setoffs, they would grab the pickups and bring them to Gardner or Fitchburg or wherever they are going that day, run around and return to EDFLD along with the FI/PW stuff. Not sure if ED190 is still running though.

atholrail wrote:Well, ED190 had been doing the setoffs, they would grab the pickups and bring them to Gardner or Fitchburg or wherever they are going that day, run around and return to EDFLD along with the FI/PW stuff. Not sure if ED190 is still running though.

This is how it works usually. From what I hear the NECR hates the interchange, only being able to make it in one direction. Also to note, the Clerk in Deerfield came up with "MILF" for the destination symbol for Miller's cars : )

"MF" was already taken?