by NV290
rb wrote:Whose crews do the PW Mt Tom and Bow trains use when on PAR?Pan Am crews run the trains from Gardner Yard to Mt Tom and return and from New Bond St to Bow and return.
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rb wrote:Whose crews do the PW Mt Tom and Bow trains use when on PAR?Pan Am crews run the trains from Gardner Yard to Mt Tom and return and from New Bond St to Bow and return.
NV290 wrote:it'sme wrote:it was every night except saturday I think. We usually pick up the power in gardner at 9pm and take it west.Your definatley confused with Mt. Tom coal trains. For one, Mt. Tom is west of Gardner, Bow is EAST of Gardner. Second, P&W Coal trains bound for Bow have not come out of Gardner for years. And when they did, they used PAR power. Mt. Tom bound P&W coal trains vary. When it's very busy, it's usally 5-6 times a week. Sometimes there are none for days. Other times it's about 3-4. Mt. Tom has some major construction going on so they do not need coal as often as usual. They also frequently have used trucks.
For close to two years now, P&W coal destined for Bow is interchanged at New bond St in Worcester. P&W leaves there power on for the round trip to Bow. The frequency varies. Bow gets three grades of coal. NS brings one grade of coal. P&W brings imported, cheap "Truck" coal and trucks haul in coal from docks in Portsmouth NH. The coal is blended on site at Bow to get the emmisions right. But that will all change soon. The plant is slated to close next month and stay closed till November at the earliest while the two stacks are removed and replced with one with a scrubber system. Once the new system is installed, word is they will be able to burn 100% domestic (NS Delivered) coal and will also get 100 cars of Limestone a month as well. But these details are not 100% set just yet.
As far as the frequency of the P&W deliveries to Bow. It generally went in spurts. as many as 5 a week to as little as one, to anything in between. It all depended on the current need. There was never a normal schedule with the P&W loads.
Rockingham Racer wrote:Thanks for the detailed reply. Seems to me these trains had a symbol of PWBO/BOPW. If not, what was/is their symbol? And: do they still run from Worcester? I ask, because the past tense was used.The P&W Bow bound trains are in fact, PWBO and returning as BOPW.
NV290 wrote:The P&W Bow bound trains are in fact, PWBO and returning as BOPW.You sure seem to know a lot about PAR/ST, even though you say you don't work for them. You must know somebody in management who is a railfan, and talk to them constantly, to know all the things you correct everybody on (you say you know some "old heads", but I know all the "old heads" on the B&M and none of them are railfans, and none of them would know or care about half the things you know about). I think we should re-name this forum "Ask NV290".
The Mt. Tom bound versions are PWMT and MTPW respectiveley.
I cant say for certian when the last one was. I know Bow is winding down with coal loads. Last i heard, march has 6 NS loads for the month and thats it. More then likley there will be few if any P&W trains. But they still do run out of Worcester.
mick wrote: You sure seem to know a lot about PAR/ST, even though you say you don't work for them. You must know somebody in management who is a railfan, and talk to them constantly, to know all the things you correct everybody on (you say you know some "old heads", but I know all the "old heads" on the B&M and none of them are railfans, and none of them would know or care about half the things you know about). I think we should re-name this forum "Ask NV290".There are plenty of PAR employees from 20+ years to less then 5 who know ALOT about day to day operations. It's not a big company. Word travels fast. I interchange with PAR often, either Rotterdam or Worcester. So i see and talk to people there often.
Union Leader wrote:Public Service of New Hampshire suspended operations at Merrimack Station, its flagship, coal-fired power plant in located in Bow because it is cheaper to buy the electricity it needs to serve its estimated 500,000 customers on the open market, a company spokesman and a state utility regulator said Monday.Read more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/2012 ... 31/-1/news
An oversupply of natural gas and steep drop in natural gas prices are the primary driver behind the Merrimack Station going off-line, PSNH spokesman Martin Murray said.
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PSNH does not expect to produce much energy at Merrimack Station for six months this year: April through June and again September through November, Frantz said. These traditionally are times of low energy demand, he said.