by Rockingham Racer
octr202: are you smelling anything?
Railroad Forums
Moderator: MEC407
Andover Townsman wrote:Cynthia Scarano of Pan Am said this week that town officials and residents living along the railway corridor may not have realized it at the time it was built, but the MBTA needed the double-track to get freight trains off the commuter rail to prevent back-ups and delays.Read the rest of the article at: http://www.andovertownsman.com/news/pan ... 34608.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"The track was built for that," she said Tuesday. "It was part of the whole project to improve MBTA service. There was an area of Lawrence where we could hold the trains. But they needed to change that ... to meet the needs of commuter service. So they built that stretch of track, over 1,700 feet long," in Andover as a place to store long lengths of freight — up to 100 cars long — being towed by diesel engines.
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Salafia added, "if that's what it's for, you (Pan Am and MBTA) never sold it to us that way. We just thought it was going to commuter rail increase service. During that 8- to 10-year period (of planning and construction) not once was it ever sold as a place to park trains. It was always to increase service to the commuters."
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Kerry Poe of Fleming Drive told selectmen during a recent hearing on the subject that trains have been idling in her back yard for years.
"We were told when the second track was done, it would stop," she said. Instead, "it's become worse. When they stop, the noise, the coupling and uncoupling, vibrated glasses off our shelves. ... The idea they can't go elsewhere, that they have to be there, is a fallacy."
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Dozens of residents living along the railroad corridor near North Main Street are expected to turn out for a meeting with railway officials to discuss the growing nuisance of trains idling overnight and on weekends near their homes. The meeting, according to Salafia, is tentatively set for Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m., in the Town Offices building on Bartlet Street.
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Salafia said he is hopeful that officials from the MBTA, which actually owns the tracks, will attend the Feb. 27 meeting. As track owners, they have some authority over users of the track, like Pan Am.
"If we can get the MBTA there as well, we can accomplish a lot more at the meeting," he said. "Our state delegation is trying to accomplish that. Pan Am is a tenant of the MBTA. That's how this is going to work. Pan Am can make some decisions on their own, but there's a lot of influence by the MBTA. A lot of this is imposed on Pan Am by the MBTA."
Cynthia Scarano wrote:"The track was built for that," she said Tuesday. "It was part of the whole project to improve MBTA service. There was an area of Lawrence where we could hold the trains. But they needed to change that ... to meet the needs of commuter service. So they built that stretch of track, over 1,700 feet long," in Andover as a place to store long lengths of freight — up to 100 cars long — being towed by diesel engines.What kind of black magic are they using to fit 100-car trains onto a 1,700-foot siding?
MEC407 wrote:Extended by that length.Cynthia Scarano wrote:"The track was built for that," she said Tuesday. "It was part of the whole project to improve MBTA service. There was an area of Lawrence where we could hold the trains. But they needed to change that ... to meet the needs of commuter service. So they built that stretch of track, over 1,700 feet long," in Andover as a place to store long lengths of freight — up to 100 cars long — being towed by diesel engines.What kind of black magic are they using to fit 100-car trains onto a 1,700-foot siding?
MEC407 wrote:Is this because PAR does not have enough crews?PAR doesn't have enough crews, but they also wouldn't need so many crews if the trains moved faster. When a crew comes on, their train should be ready to leave Rigby. None of this "yard the eastbound from Cooks, first," "break apart and put together power," and "test some more cars to double onto the train." It is insanity.
Rockingham Racer wrote:According to Google Maps, there's a track just to the east of the new # 1 track that runs from Andover St [MP 284.96], almost to the new interlocking at I-495. Why is it not possible to extend that track as a runner down to the Shawsheen River culvert [MP 286.68]? That would give them about 1.5 miles to stash a train. [The mileposts are from an unofficial track chart.].That is Track 1 (yard, not mainline) and Track 17 East (depending on what side of Andover St you're on). They could just as easily use mainline No. 1 for that. Either way, you hem in the west end of Lawrence Yard and can't switch on that end. The more infrastructure you give to Pan Am, the more they'll use, anyway. Track 1 is supposed to be a through-track or yard-lead for Lawrence, but often has cars or trains on it because Pan Am doesn't maintain the inside of the yard.
The new, 1,700-foot stretch of train track running through Andover that is parallel to the MBTA rail line was built and designed to serve as a holding area for diesel trains, according to the vice president of Pan Am Railways.Andover town officials aren't buying what Scarano is selling
Cynthia Scarano of Pan Am said this week that town officials and residents living along the railway corridor may not have realized it at the time it was built, but the MBTA needed the double-track to get freight trains off the commuter rail to prevent back-ups and delays.
"The track was built for that," she said Tuesday. "It was part of the whole project to improve MBTA service. There was an area of Lawrence where we could hold the trains. But they needed to change that ... to meet the needs of commuter service. So they built that stretch of track, over 1,700 feet long," in Andover as a place to store long lengths of freight — up to 100 cars long — being towed by diesel engines.
"Not once was that ever indicated to the public," Salafia said, adding that Scarano mentioned her view of the double-track's use at a meeting recently with town officials, to which Town Manager Andrew Flanagan responded, "well then just rip it up."http://www.andovertownsman.com/news/pan ... 34608.html
F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Wow...that claim took some brass ones. Think the MBTA now has no chpice but to intervene and set the record straight.One has to wonder if PAR has quietly assured the MBTA that this practice will cease once the Everett Casino dirty dirt operation stops which will make more crews and track space in Lowell available. According to another thread here it's supposed to end by March.