Passenger excursion on Pan Am Southern - April 2013

And a Twitter pic from user @Boston_railfan:

https://twitter.com/boston_railfan/stat ... 40/photo/1

He is also uploading a video of the train passing through Porter Sq.

Video by NellsStuff: http://youtu.be/cQ3GzhYGUvw?t=25s

the special has reportedly just left Ayer (10: to 10:15 give or take)

supposedly the special will be stopping at the tunnel east portal at 2PM. also supposedly, there are/may be? some extra tickets available for people who want to board at east portal. of course how the hell you get back to east portal on a one way train to mickeyville, is one of the mysteries of rail fan life that you can ponder in the next twenty minutes before you decide whether or not you have to go to east portal and just see for yourself whether any or all of this is true.

That was a great trip...hopefully they do it again someday...

kwf wrote:That was a great trip...hopefully they do it again someday...

I second that! Kudos to High Iron and Pan Am for a class operation.

My wife and I chased the train from the North Chelmsford wye to the Willows. I was hoping to catch the train one last time in Shirley before calling it a day but I got stuck behind someone driving to slow.
It sure was nice seeing the "sisters" again.

newpylong wrote:In the past few years they certainly have seemed to replace the Big G/P as the grinch of the Northeast.

The lines between Mechanicville and Saratoga are very busy. The afternoon / evening is prime time for several freights. I'm sure running them on schedule is more important than appeasing a few buffs. I don't know the whole rationale for not allowing the trip, but you can see the point. There is some remedies under way, which could make such trips possible in future.


On the other hand, the new management is tasked with maximizing profits. This type of movement may just cause too much disruption. Crews have been maxed out. A D&H pilot crew would have been needed. It has been over ten years since a Guilford crew has run to Saratoga. Their qualifications are well expired.

Here are scenes from Wilmington, Littleton, and Ayer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AQOP1w-oz4

What will Pan Am do for an encore?

Encore? Going forward nothing should be a surprise anymore but I wouldn't count on there being an encore.

I definitely see the point, but Pan Am Southern is running tonnage on par with the D&H these days north of the CC and they managed to get their trains aside... never would happened 10 or even 5 years ago.

They most likely wouldn't have needed a pilot to Sara since the Superintendant West who runs these trains used to work for the D&H.

Engineer Spike wrote:

newpylong wrote:In the past few years they certainly have seemed to replace the Big G/P as the grinch of the Northeast.

The lines between Mechanicville and Saratoga are very busy. The afternoon / evening is prime time for several freights. I'm sure running them on schedule is more important than appeasing a few buffs. I don't know the whole rationale for not allowing the trip, but you can see the point. There is some remedies under way, which could make such trips possible in future.


On the other hand, the new management is tasked with maximizing profits. This type of movement may just cause too much disruption. Crews have been maxed out. A D&H pilot crew would have been needed. It has been over ten years since a Guilford crew has run to Saratoga. Their qualifications are well expired.

kwf wrote:That was a great trip...hopefully they do it again someday...

AAPRCO is planning to hold their 2014 convention in Portland ME, with an Amtrak special train from Chicago to Portland and return, in September 2014. The currently planned route in both directions is Pan Am Railways between Mechanicville and Portland.

The 2012 AAPRCO convention special train had 3 Amtrak P42 locomotives and 29 private cars; some (but not all) car owners sold space on their cars to the public. So we might see a big special train on Pan Am Railways seventeen months from now.

I was at Bardswell's Ferry crossing for the runby, and in one of my photos, a number of people are taking my MY photo!
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... ate&page=1
I would love to see some of these shots taken from the train, especially any from the Bardswell's Ferry location which may include me or my friends!

No S in Mechanicville, just nit picking lol.

Cool shot though

newpylong wrote:No S in Mechanicville, just nit picking lol.

Cool shot though

Ahh, you are correct. Fixed!