Millers Falls interchange yard

blueyeqq wrote:Although I have not heard of anyone pulling pins or cutting air lines, this is such a dangerous thing to do and not a very bright thing to do.
On the other hand, I understand the frustrations and wants for this stint to shut down and desist.
I am one of those residents that lives on the Erving side of Millers Falls or a stones throw from the switching yard. I am not a tree hugger, or a total enviornmentalist, I am a long time resident. Between having to listen to the banging and pounding and the train running at all hours of the night. Last night while trying to enjoy my super after a long days work, and having my kitchen window open, we had the pleasure of the smell of diesel fuel waffe through the air and into our kitchen.
A week ago at 11pm in the middle of the week, we got to listen to the loud bang which sounded like a multi automobile accident and it shook our house as we live up on a hill. And one right after another, bang ..bang..bang.
It is one thing to have these cars hook up during the day, but we do not need to have it wake us up or keeping us up at night. No I personally dont think so. I hope they do move the north bound trains to the other tracks through Greenfield and shut down this stint in Millers so we can have our quiet, non smelly town back.

Sorry you're not going to win anyone over here. You live next to an active (actually 2) main rail lines, did you not expect there to be any issues with this? Trains are loud, smelly, and make noise. No, they aren't going to only switch cars (ie do business) during the day while you are at work.

I have to agree with Newpy...One of the reasons that Pease AFB shut down was the constant complaints of neighbors in Greenland...Now we have no protection at all..The nearest fighter group is Northern vermont protecting the deer and moose.
Railroads need customers to survive..One of the biggest problemsthat P/A has is logistics where as yards are located near neighborhoods,every crossing has houses next to them, main lines go through cities and towns that have so many crossings that you can't leave a train anymore such as Portland,ME. at Forrest ave, CPF-294..The property along the ROW is all built up now and residence complain about noise...Alot of this is due to the history of the r.r where towns were built near the yards and engine houses and employees lived close to where they worked...Don't move next to an airport and complain about noise...Unless you are a rail fan and that stuff doesn't bother you, then don't live near the tracks..Railroads have to survive and they need yard space for cars and switching. Especially in New England..This isn't the mid west where there are miles and miles of nothing and plenty of space.

You must live up on the road to Wendell. Man, I'd be more concerned about the cars screaming by there at 70+ for personal safety around your home!

I was driving a fire truck on a training run recently in my home-town and after about the fifth time we drove down the same street (it was a pumping and shuttling drill) I got a call from the fire chief saying the local police were notified of a complaint about fire trucks on the street, driving by repeatedly...you can't please 'em all. Especially not when you're training on how to best save a house on fire.

This is like the neighbors moving in next to the pig farm and complaining about the smell.

I've been following this fracas locally in the Recorder and I can't say I have much sympathy. Trains have got to run!

If you live in Millers Falls you should be happy and amazed that you still have two active rail lines running through your dead town.

Millers Falls once had a paper factory, a tool factory, a power plant, streets full of shops and restaurants, a passenger station where you could hop a train to Boston, New London, Chicago or Montreal, express trolly service, and was visited by Teddy Roosevelt in 1902.

Jump forward 100 years and you have a seedy bar and a town full of residents with no idea of what their town once was, and are complaining about the only thing left.

Take a look at what your town used to be:
http://imagemuseum.smugmug.com/History/ ... 7863_eyLfA

On 08-19-2011 at 0845, there was a good number of brand-new-looking pieces of equipment on the track just compass-west of the interchange track. The markings were for R.E.L.A.M, the Ohio-based railroad equipment leasing and maintenance company (tricky name, that), but there wasnothing going on.

On 08-25-2011 at 0850, the interchange track was occupied, and most of the R.E.L.A.M. track equipment was also sitting there with what looked like a few days worth of rust on the wheel treads.

MCER401 wrote:If you live in Millers Falls you should be happy and amazed that you still have two active rail lines running through your dead town.

Millers Falls once had a paper factory, a tool factory, a power plant, streets full of shops and restaurants, a passenger station where you could hop a train to Boston, New London, Chicago or Montreal, express trolly service, and was visited by Teddy Roosevelt in 1902.

Jump forward 100 years and you have a seedy bar and a town full of residents with no idea of what their town once was, and are complaining about the only thing left.

Take a look at what your town used to be:
http://imagemuseum.smugmug.com/History/ ... 7863_eyLfA

I live on the Erving side and grew up in the millers area. We know full well what the town use to be, and what it is today...the fact remains we still live here and have for years.
We are not happy or excited about a noisy, road blocking pain in the ass train. I hope they shut the rail down and the residents will be working to get it to happen. Take your stinky, noisy worthless train to the rail yard in Deerfield, where there is already a working train yard.

People do still live here and are sick and tired of the crappy train blocking the highway..that's right RTE 63 is a major route through town and sitting waiting for over 45 minutes for a train to move so cars can pass through town is ridiculous..God forbid the fire trucks need to get through when a train is blocking the road.

by law 7 minutes is the max you can block a major through way. I hope when they open the Greenfield train route they close this rail down. we are sick of hearing the train and smelling the stinky diesel. Nothing about the train is exciting, and it would be fine if it just passed through town or stopped for a couple minutes at a time but to let it sit and run and the loud bangs and booms at 10:30 at night is past Ridiculous. Enough is enough already.

No one in either town Millers Falls or Erving want or are happy with a stinky smelly train, idling for no reason. Go park it in the Deerfield train yard. And blocking the road ways are illegal. God forbid a fire truck needs to get through and cant the rail road might find them selves in a law suit for blocking a major through way / highway. I hope it gets shut down.

Actually in Massachusetts the max they can occupy the grade crossing is 5 minutes outside of unforeseen circumstances. If they occupy the crossing for longer (45 minutes is exaggerating), then call your local police and the RR will be fined most likely.

That said, the loud bangs you hear are the railroad picking up and settings off cars, and would only consist of a few "loud bangs" and is not every night. This is all part of Interstate Commerce and there is nothing you can do about it.

What do you mean by shutting down the rail? Do you think a town petition will get the federal government to shut down a major (or any) active rail line? Surely you must be joking.

The Greenfield "reroute" is only for Amtrak, it won't effect freight operations.

I live fairly close to a shopping plaza, every Sunday night they empty the dumpsters for hours. The only way to drown it out is to turn a fan on. You live next to an active rail line (actually 2), deal with it.

Having just finished the first coat of paint on a redone bathroom and hallway, I find myself motivated to rant.
One of the things apparent in most NIMBYist complaints is the stress on the "MY" part of the phrase. If Millers Falls finds itself beset with noise and Diesel exhaust -- an inarguably pre-existing condition -- one solution put forth is to shift the noise and odor a few miles west to East Deerfield: problem theoretically remediated for Millers Falls and problem exacerbated for the residents adjacent to ED. The decline in traffic, both actual car-count and movements, from even 30 years ago is dramatic, but quite possibly not within the memory of those unhappy enough to complain.
As someone with first-hand experience in the field of railroad and other noise so aptly posted at 0902, "...deal with it."
I'm now a few minutes closer to lunch and the second coat, lunch being far more preferable.

newpylong wrote:Actually in Massachusetts the max they can occupy the grade crossing is 5 minutes outside of unforeseen circumstances. If they occupy the crossing for longer (45 minutes is exaggerating), then call your local police and the RR will be fined most likely.

That said, the loud bangs you hear are the railroad picking up and settings off cars, and would only consist of a few "loud bangs" and is not every night. This is all part of Interstate Commerce and there is nothing you can do about it.

What do you mean by shutting down the rail? Do you think a town petition will get the federal government to shut down a major (or any) active rail line? Surely you must be joking.

The Greenfield "reroute" is only for Amtrak, it won't effect freight operations.

I live fairly close to a shopping plaza, every Sunday night they empty the dumpsters for hours. The only way to drown it out is to turn a fan on. You live next to an active rail line (actually 2), deal with it.

Let me begin by saying ...you dont LIVE HERE.so you dont know what has been going on.
I have been in this town for 50 years, we get the whole train transportation thing. As they have been going by our houses for years.
But not in the past 50 years have they sat across the major through way blocking the roads for 15- 30 minutes.
And yes I mean over 15 minutes. We got stuck sitting on rte 63 Tuesday night for over 15 minutes and turned around and went to the millers side under the under pass. We then sat home looking out our window and wrote a log of how long it was down there ..it was well over 45 minutes. This started at 9:13 at night and finally ended at 10:40. the bangs were 3 big ones that shook the house. dont assume you know whats going on unless your sitting in your kitchen watching it like we all are. On Wednesday night ..last night we got to hear it running for over 22 minutes and watched the red warning lights going off for that long. Its out of controll.
We get it but trains are ususally going throught the town..not stopping and running and blocking roads for long periods at a time. God forbid an emergency vehicle needs to get across Rte 63.and have to go around to the other side of town in an emergency.

Enough is enough let the games begin. We are contacting all the town halls around and will work with them on the what the laws are. Enough again ..is enough. We wont and dont have to deal with it. Breaking the law is breaking the law. We have noise and pollution laws and the rail road is not expempt from them. Yes we get it you all like choo choo trains. We do to as long as they keep moving through town and dont stop and idle and make noise at 11 pm when we are trying to freakin sleep.

jaymac wrote:Having just finished the first coat of paint on a redone bathroom and hallway, I find myself motivated to rant.
One of the things apparent in most NIMBYist complaints is the stress on the "MY" part of the phrase. If Millers Falls finds itself beset with noise and Diesel exhaust -- an inarguably pre-existing condition -- one solution put forth is to shift the noise and odor a few miles west to East Deerfield: problem theoretically remediated for Millers Falls and problem exacerbated for the residents adjacent to ED. The decline in traffic, both actual car-count and movements, from even 30 years ago is dramatic, but quite possibly not within the memory of those unhappy enough to complain.
As someone with first-hand experience in the field of railroad and other noise so aptly posted at 0902, "...deal with it."
I'm now a few minutes closer to lunch and the second coat, lunch being far more preferable.

And Rant you did...I would like to reply to this but since its just a rant and makes perfectly NO SENSE. What ever..we dont have to deal with it. Its our town we will take it back or raise alot of revenue for town by all the noise, pollution and road block violation tickets. Two can play ...chooo...chooo

blueyeqq wrote:

newpylong wrote:Actually in Massachusetts the max they can occupy the grade crossing is 5 minutes outside of unforeseen circumstances. If they occupy the crossing for longer (45 minutes is exaggerating), then call your local police and the RR will be fined most likely.

That said, the loud bangs you hear are the railroad picking up and settings off cars, and would only consist of a few "loud bangs" and is not every night. This is all part of Interstate Commerce and there is nothing you can do about it.

What do you mean by shutting down the rail? Do you think a town petition will get the federal government to shut down a major (or any) active rail line? Surely you must be joking.

The Greenfield "reroute" is only for Amtrak, it won't effect freight operations.

I live fairly close to a shopping plaza, every Sunday night they empty the dumpsters for hours. The only way to drown it out is to turn a fan on. You live next to an active rail line (actually 2), deal with it.

Let me begin by saying ...you dont LIVE HERE.so you dont know what has been going on.
I have been in this town for 50 years, we get the whole train transportation thing. As they have been going by our houses for years.
But not in the past 50 years have they sat across the major through way blocking the roads for 15- 30 minutes.
And yes I mean over 15 minutes. We got stuck sitting on rte 63 Tuesday night for over 15 minutes and turned around and went to the millers side under the under pass. We then sat home looking out our window and wrote a log of how long it was down there ..it was well over 45 minutes. This started at 9:13 at night and finally ended at 10:40. the bangs were 3 big ones that shook the house. dont assume you know whats going on unless your sitting in your kitchen watching it like we all are. On Wednesday night ..last night we got to hear it running for over 22 minutes and watched the red warning lights going off for that long. Its out of controll.
We get it but trains are ususally going throught the town..not stopping and running and blocking roads for long periods at a time. God forbid an emergency vehicle needs to get across Rte 63.and have to go around to the other side of town in an emergency.

Enough is enough let the games begin. We are contacting all the town halls around and will work with them on the what the laws are. Enough again ..is enough. We wont and dont have to deal with it. Breaking the law is breaking the law. We have noise and pollution laws and the rail road is not expempt from them. Yes we get it you all like choo choo trains. We do to as long as they keep moving through town and dont stop and idle and make noise at 11 pm when we are trying to freakin sleep.

Au contraire, I do know how it is. I used to be the one in the middle of the night making a paycheck by making the loud noises you hear on the railroad. I was offering you my suggestions on how to deal with it legally, which I am glad to see you are doing.

There is no excuse for roads to be blocked that long. But I can tell you with 110% certainty that there is nothing that you can do that will stop the banging from happening. If the railroads are nice enough, they may adjust their schedules so they only need to do work there during the day, but not likely.

How can you have lived there for 50 years if you think this is a new thing? We moved a lot more cars in and out of Millers Falls in the 80's than they do today. Compounded by the fact that the trees weren't as big back then surrounding the track, the noise was much louder. The track was only reactivated in the past 2 years, so that is why this is happening.

Just because people like "choo choo's" doesn't mean they are unreasonable. There are some things that are reasonable and some things that are not. There is such a thing as quality of life, but there also is such a thing as responsibility. You accepted the responsibility of living near active railroad tracks. The railroad has the responsibility to not block crossings.

blueyeqq wrote:Yes we get it you all like choo choo trains. We do to...

Really? You like trains too? Interesting. In previous posts you wrote the following about trains and the railroad:

"pain in the ass train"

"I hope they shut the rail down"

"stinky, noisy worthless train"

"crappy train"

"close this rail down"

"stinky smelly train"

"I hope it gets shut down"

"let the games begin"

So, perhaps you'll forgive me for not believing your "we do to" [sic] statement.

I'm sure you've discovered by now that the majority of people on this site are pro-rail. It's OK that you're anti-rail -- we don't discriminate here -- but at least be honest about it. Don't say nasty things about the railroad and then say that you like trains; no one is going to take you seriously if you do that.

They must be paying attention in St. Albans. On 12-09-2011 at 0720, except for the rusted-in-place MOW equipment, the interchange area at Millers Falls was MT.

(For those wishing to recalibrate their instrumentation, the preceding measures a 10.9 out of 11 on the ISO Sarcasm Scale.)

However sarcastic in tone, the above field observation is accurate, but probably is more closely related to the three reds visible earlier at the WB limits of CPF-345, probably indicating an EB was on its way down Da Hill.