PL-1 Job Central Connecticut PAS Pan Am Southern

lirrelectrician wrote:Hello all,
Does anyone in the know what PAS plans are for this line? It is part of the PAS system map. But the tracks are downright horrible and they lost some customers (Tilcon being one). Either PAS should step up to the plate and fix it up and try to win back Tilcon , etc or sell it to someone that will.
All for now
Mike Scholz-LIRR

With current level of business in this part of Connecticut it is simply amazing to me that Guilford/PanAM continues to
operate here at all. I saw a train in Waterbury with one engine and two cars. I think they go to Waterbury once or twice
a week. You can not really make a profit and pay for improvements with traffic at this level. The business that used the
railroad in years past is no longer in this area, it is simply GONE.
Instead of complaining, lets be thankful that this line is still in operation.
Noel Weaver

RonM wrote:I don't get down that way enough to notice.

I will say that - that area and Terryville Station are worthy of a visit (as long as you stay off the private property).

>
Ron, do you mean the former Terryville Freight House, on the loop, along CT route 72? The passenger station has been gone for a long time.
Whover owns the property around the freight house has done a wonderful job dressing the area up - removing junk, landscaping, and building some sort of small structure that might cover a spring or water fountain. He also did a lot of work on the freight house itself, which looks to be in correct colors.
For those in the area that want to see another station, not too far to the east is the former Forestville passenger station, now also back into reasonable colors after a spell in some hideous loud pastels.

Yes, Terryville Freight House. thanks for the correction.

Noel Weaver wrote:With current level of business in this part of Connecticut it is simply amazing to me that Guilford/PanAM continues to
operate here at all. I saw a train in Waterbury with one engine and two cars. I think they go to Waterbury once or twice
a week. You can not really make a profit and pay for improvements with traffic at this level. The business that used the
railroad in years past is no longer in this area, it is simply GONE.
Instead of complaining, lets be thankful that this line is still in operation.
Noel Weaver

Not entirely.

5 years ago they had PL-2, which was a dedicated switcher for Tilcon, or was supposed to be. The problem was, this crew was always "whored" out on recrew jobs and the customer left the RR.

Noel Weaver wrote:
With current level of business in this part of Connecticut it is simply amazing to me that Guilford/PanAM continues to
operate here at all. I saw a train in Waterbury with one engine and two cars. I think they go to Waterbury once or twice
a week. You can not really make a profit and pay for improvements with traffic at this level. The business that used the
railroad in years past is no longer in this area, it is simply GONE.
Instead of complaining, lets be thankful that this line is still in operation.
Noel Weaver

The majority of traffic is for the Plainville area. PL-1 (PLED/EDPL) is usually 10-20 cars southbound of of E. Deerfield according to reports on the Pan Am Yahoo Group. Most, if not all the railroad ties used to rebuild the mainline between Mechanicville and Ayer came from the Perma Treat location on this line. Whether or not NS/PAS decide its in their best interest to invest in this line is unknown. At least they will get the Conn River Line between Springfield and E. Northfield rebuilt for free thanks to Obama's High Speed Rail money. That should help service into CT.

Dave

How often does PL-1 operate?

obienick wrote:How often does PL-1 operate?

Someone told me it was Tu/Th, but ive seen it 3-4 days a week in Holyoke. I've seen it on a Saturday a few times. Unless thats not PL-1 and I was misinformed when I asked previously?

Cadet57 wrote:

obienick wrote:How often does PL-1 operate?

Someone told me it was Tu/Th, but ive seen it 3-4 days a week in Holyoke. I've seen it on a Saturday a few times. Unless thats not PL-1 and I was misinformed when I asked previously?

PL-1 runs as-required to/from E. Deerfield, usually 1-2 times per wk. I would imagine it works daily around the Plainville area. ED-2 also works several days/wk out of E. Deerfield to Holyoke switching customers along the line.

Dave

There are some shots of EDPL on NERail today. Looks like the train had a lot of centerbeams...

Nine centerbeams to be exact, followed by five tankers and an assortment of other cars. The most notable of these being a Sullivan Scrap hopper that had been recently painted PINK! It's going to be down at the end of Dwight Street for probably the next week or so.

whatelyrailfan wrote:Nine centerbeams to be exact, followed by five tankers and an assortment of other cars. The most notable of these being a Sullivan Scrap hopper that had been recently painted PINK! It's going to be down at the end of Dwight Street for probably the next week or so.

What were they thinking? lol. The tankers are going to Hercules in Chicopee right? I've just about given up trying to photograph any trains in Holyoke because I never know when they show up. Yet they'll always be crossing into Chicopee when im out driving somewhere... Maybe when the Vermonter track work gets finished they'll have more concrete schedules....

They picked up 1 car at Hercules after dropping 4 at Holyoke for Sullivans.

Wow, so all those centerbeams are going to CT?

There are also shots on NERail of 8 empty tankers pulled from "Allstate" being moved to ED. What/where is Allstate?

On the Conn River Loop

The centerbeams are most likely going to one of two places: Forestville Lumber in (Plainville?) which used to be a customer, and may be again. Home Depot Warehouse in Bloomfield via interchange in Hartford with the CNE. I've lived in Holyoke since May of 2009, and to the best of my recollection, I've not seen any centerbeams until about 3-4 weeks ago. I have, however, seen a few in the (remains of) Holyoke yard on Bing Maps, although the images are at least a year old. The interchange with the CNE in Hartford is an educated guess, not a fact, based on a recent conversation with a CNE employee, and unless there's a brand new customer, Forestville Lumber is the logical choice.