CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

Where in Waterville is the propane terminal going? Rail served?

South/West end of the yard behind the yard office between the tracks and the river. Definitely rail served.

Thanks. Looks like there is empty land in that spot. Construction has started already?

BobbyT wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 7:00 pm With their own rail terminal now, Fabian is going to push as many of their gallons as possible through Waterville, even if an existing operation, like Hermon, is in much closer proximity to someone else's rail facility. I also believe that their primary market out of Waterville is more going to be the central and mid-coast part of the state, as Western Maine has more competition in already having access to 3 facilities in Auburn and one each in Westbrook, Portland, Biddeford, Newington, Rochester and North Stratford.

Where's the Portland terminal? I know where Westbrook is (alongside the Mountain Division near Lee Dodge).

Yes, construction is well underway at Waterville, I believe the tanks are already in place.

Amerigas has a busy transload operation at the West end of Rigby at the old intermodal site.

Marginally relevant news re: the pending acquisition:

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $76.4 million in funding for 38 projects to renew and modernize New York’s freight rail infrastructure.

Here are a couple of items related to NS and PAS:

• $5.000 million to Norfolk Southern Railway toward safety and service reliability enhancements, including the rehabilitation of 15 miles of track along the Voorheesville corridor, grade crossing resurfacing, the installation of welded rail, and other enhancements.
• $767,000 to Pan Am Southern toward safety and service reliability enhancements, including the replacement of a timber bridge deck and installation of new welded rail on the main track over the Hudson River and repairing the bearings of the bridge over Knickerbocker Road.
• $4.607 million to Pan Am Southern toward rehabilitation of an eight-mile section of the Rotterdam Branch, including the replacement of ties and ballast, and bridge and concrete repairs.

The guvnah's press release: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/govern ... nvestments
The complete list of recipients/projectshttps://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/defau ... T_List.pdf

There was a soil crew out there in Voorheesville 2 or 3 days ago around where the new switch will be taking soil samples. They usually do this when figuring out where to place the new signals.

CN9634 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 7:18 pm ...The LPG demand in Maine is growing… the home fuel mix is changing and there is a lot of new construction. LPG hot water heaters, boilers, stoves and fireplaces are all popular as they are more efficient than old oil burners, and a good alternative if you don’t have natural gas off the street.

Interesting point. LPG has only a 13% market share of Maine's residential heating, compared with 60% for oil. Propane has been growing 5-10% annually over the past 20 years, and I can't imagine oil ever gaining back share (or wood or electricity, for that matter). Natural gas is problematic given population density outside greater Portland and the fact that it's at the end of the pipeline. Maine consumes the equivalent of about 5.5-6K carloads per year. (Some moves in by truck.) If growth progresses, volume in the state may increase 40-50% by the end of the decade.

I'm surprised how much heating oil is still used. Its pretty much unheard of south or west of PA. As someone from the Midwest living on Long Island in the 1999's, it was quite comical to hear LILCO ads making fun of oil heat.

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Per gallon #2 has more BTUs and currently cheaper at the rack than propane in Northern New England. Unless someone is installing a new boiler or wants to use it for cooking etc there just isn't the incentive to switch for a lot of folks.

All new builds obviously go LPG (or heat pumps in some cases).

eolesen wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 6:23 pm I'm surprised how much heating oil is still used. Its pretty much unheard of south or west of PA. As someone from the Midwest living on Long Island in the 1999's, it was quite comical to hear LILCO ads making fun of oil heat.

The Maine Oil Dealers have had very effective lobbyists in Augusta over the years, such that extension of existing natural gas lines even within Portland is nearly impossible.

I've long wondered: what do homes in e.g. the cold-weather Midwest use to heat their homes? Especially in suburban/rural areas.

If you've ever seen a new LPG or Natural Gas unit compared to the size of a traditional furnace.... but if it works why replace it?

I've long wondered: what do homes in e.g. the cold-weather Midwest use to heat their homes? Especially in suburban/rural areas.

Depending on the state, Midwest residential heating is 60-80% natural gas. Electricity as a heating source is bigger, as well. Maine/New England is really an anomoly with regard to heating oil. For example, Indiana and Michigan heating oil share is <1%.

markhb wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 9:17 pm I've long wondered: what do homes in e.g. the cold-weather Midwest use to heat their homes? Especially in suburban/rural areas.

Natural gas is king in the built up areas, and there's certainly no shortage of 500 gallon propane tanks in the countryside and smaller towns.

My in-laws used wood burning furnace in their Michigan house, but they also had land with no shortage of trees...

my in-laws in michigan heat with number 2 home heating oil.