CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

wally wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 1:53 pm the link provided by Mr. Norman hides behind a paywall.

Mr. Wally, "sorry 'bout that" which is why I noted that possibility when submitting.

What happens to the folks working PAS after NS becomes the controlling partner (and presumably takes over operations).

roberttosh wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 3:48 pm With the Auto operation at East Brookfield more or less taking up part of the former mainline and making it in essence a single track railroad from CP 60 to CP 64, I wonder if they would try to re-install the third track at that location so they could make it true double track again and get around that 4 mile bottleneck?

It's only double track from CP 57 to CP 64...single CP 48 to CP 57 and CP 64 to CP 79


And I should clarify that CP 57 to CP 64 is single track (south track) with a siding track (north track)

BandA wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 7:48 pm What happens to the folks working PAS after NS becomes the controlling partner (and presumably takes over operations).

The same as the PAR folks - they both work for the carrier (ST).

BandA wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 3:48 pm Does PAR have one region or more? What is CSX' region? I assume they will need all the MOW employees and then some for upgrades. Or maybe they have better more automated TLMs, etc. With increased velocity they would need fewer employees, unless business increases then they will need the same. Plus takes a long time to train. Someone mentioned the risks earlier that they would consolidate their repair shop away from Rigby?

Since it is winter, how do CSX & PAR compare on snow fighting?

For all intents and purposes it's one Division however for the old heads with prior (B&M, MEC, PT) rights there are those seniority districts. By now the amount of guys having those rights is probably getting down there compared to when I was there. I was trained by 100% B&M old timers with said rights. The last guy on the roster to have those rights is (a great) Conductor named Arthur Martin who typically works Deerfield. His in service date was the late 80s AFAIK.

I will say for all the crews who like to toss the anchor out (18mph in a 25, 7 in 10s, making easy moves take hours, etc) those days will soon be over.

BandA wrote:Since it is winter, how do CSX & PAR compare on snow fighting?

I am not sure about CSX, but it seems that they mainly use ballast regulators. As for Pan Am, they rely on ballast regulators as well, but the eastern end of the railroad has had several large storms in recent years which warrant the use of Russell's. And given the fact that in recent years, CSX has scrapped the majority of the plow/spreader fleet, I am not holding my breath on seeing any CSX plow trains.

Csx has operated for years in the Great Lake snow belts around Watertown, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Fredonia and Erie so they must have some experience
The region between Syracuse and Watertown regularly receives heavy snow

CSX also has a number of "snow jets", which consist of a small jet engine mounted on a railcar. These are used to direct a fast-moving stream of hot air into areas around switches to both melt and blow out any snow and ice. They're particularly useful in yard areas.

Quite the rig:

The MBTA has at least one of those too. Really something watching it working the Mattapan Trolley line in 2015. I was interested in seeing what they did when they got to the rubber grade crossings in Mattapan Station but they just went over them as if they were impervious and I didn't see any damage.

Pan Am has one in Deerfield.

I used to see one stored at Rigby, too.

To go even further down the snow-blow rabbit hole, back in the early 70s when I lived in East Cambridge and at least 1 hump was still functioning, 1 jet worked Boston to keep the retarders and other things clear.

Even Rails and Ports is wondering if the Fat Lady is getting ready to sing:

https://railsandports.com/2021/02/par-s ... f-silence/

I just cannot fathom that this guy still thinks CSX plans to move all its tonnage off the B&A.

It's going to be Mellon that walks away before CSXT if it's an uphill battle that can't be won. A buyer for less that actually can close the deal is better than no sale.