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  • CSX Track Upgrades & Infrastructure of Pan Am

  • Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.
Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.

Moderator: MEC407

 #1623587  by neman2
 
Here's a photo of the weed spray truck at CPF 309 -- sorry about the flipped view, I've tried everything to fix it but whatever way I upload it, it ends up this way.
20230607_112930 - Copy.jpg
20230607_112930 - Copy.jpg (4.86 MiB) Viewed 1808 times
 #1623594  by MEC407
 
Here's the rotated version :)
20230607_112930.jpg
20230607_112930.jpg (966.38 KiB) Viewed 1741 times
 #1623632  by johnpbarlow
 
Bill Stephens of Trains Magazine on-line posted an article re: CSX investments in rehabbing PAR: "A year after acquisition, CSX continues making improvements to former Pan Am Railways trackage"

Excerpts:
Several projects have been completed on Pan Am Railways’ run-down main line and yard trackage since the June 1, 2022 acquisition. Among them:

Rehabilitation of the Worcester Main Line between Worcester and Clinton, Mass., including installation of continuous welded rail and replacement of all crossings and turnouts. The track now meets Federal Railroad Administration Class 2 standards, so the maximum authorized speed was raised to 25 mph from 10 mph. Next up: Installation of welded rail from Clinton, Mass., to Harvard, Mass., which will allow a speed increase to 40 mph from the current 25.

At the former Maine Central Rigby Yard in South Portland, Maine — the largest classification facility in New England — CSX installed 50 new turnouts, more than 20,000 crossties, and surfaced more than 98,000 feet of track, and improved walking conditions. Rigby classifies traffic bound to and from Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. CSX says the work improved the safety and fluidity of the yard, and reduced the number of minor yard derailments that historically plagued the location.

In Ayer Yard in Massachusetts a series of projects increased capacity and fluidity of the yard. Ayer Yard is the interchange point for CSX and Pan Am Southern, the joint venture with Norfolk Southern that includes the former Boston & Maine main line west of Ayer. Ayer also is a strategic point on CSX: It’s where the Pan Am Railways corridor to New Hampshire and Maine begins.

Extensive upgrades to the Freight Main Line from Portland to the end of Pan Am trackage in Mattawamkeag, Maine, including tie replacement and surfacing, installation of continuous welded rail, increased capacity, and installation of new defect detectors.
Re: B&E startup of PAS ops:
CSX and Genesee & Wyoming are still negotiating with unions representing workers on Pan Am Southern, which is currently operated by Pan Am subsidiary Springfield Terminal. Once agreements are reached, G&W’s Berkshire & Eastern will take over as a neutral operator of the railroad.

It’s taking longer than expected to reach labor agreements, Hinrichs says.

ST has 14 crafts of employees represented by a dozen unions. Implementing agreements have been reached with six unions: the International Association of Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD),representing the conductor craft; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; the American Train Dispatchers Association; the Transportation Communications International Union; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. ST and B&E have also reached a tentative implementing agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The agreements cover approximately 228 employees and represent more than 50% of the ST labor workforce.

ST and B&E remain continue to negotiate implementing agreements with ST’s remaining unions, which include the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen; the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division IBT; the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; the International Association of Machinists; the International Association of Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers– Mechanical Division (SMART-MD), and SMART-TD representing the patrolmen and the laborers.
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... -trackage/
 #1623637  by F74265A
 
Unless something has changed very very recently, the part about Clinton- Harvard to increase to 40 post cwr from the current 25 is not accurate as to present track speed.
Every recent video I’ve seen on that stretch is 10 mph.
 #1623638  by neman2
 
A lot of good info in that article.

You realize how bad things were under Pan Am when CSX points out they had to "improve walking conditions" in Rigby yard. Pan Am apparently was willing to take a chance on people getting hurt rather than spend money.
 #1623639  by newpylong
 
F74265A wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 7:26 am Unless something has changed very very recently, the part about Clinton- Harvard to increase to 40 post cwr from the current 25 is not accurate as to present track speed.
Every recent video I’ve seen on that stretch is 10 mph.
Oversight. They meant 10 > 25 like the southern half.
 #1623640  by newpylong
 
neman2 wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2023 7:28 am A lot of good info in that article.

You realize how bad things were under Pan Am when CSX points out they had to "improve walking conditions" in Rigby yard. Pan Am apparently was willing to take a chance on people getting hurt rather than spend money.
I would say out of anywhere I spent the majority of my time on Guilford working in Deerfield. The conditions were appalling. No lights in the yard, no clearance between tracks - if you're riding a shove or a car derails and you're between tracks you're dead. Tripping hazards like broken ties, discarded air hoses, brake shoes and even knuckles. Spilled nasty laden all over between tracks like barley and oats that brew into a rotten oatmeal in the summer. Tracls so bad they are all 5 mph. The whole place should have been OOS.

I can understand this is a huge move that will effect employees lives but it's hard to grasp how some are holding onto anything to do with that place.
 #1623673  by jamoldover
 
Part of the documentation submitted to the STB was a track diagram showing some additional switches and an additional thorofare track that CSX was going to add to allow them to drop/pick up interchange cuts in the yard without blocking either intermodal operations or using existing Hill Yard tracks. That could be it.
 #1623675  by F74265A
 
Exactly
I was wondering if that had been completed
But it seemed like quite significant work, including I think up by the eye, yet I’ve not seen anyone comment on any work at all around the hill yard
 #1623705  by neman2
 
Westbound M427 through Graniteville today with a LOADED rail train and regular freight. Maybe they needed to turn the train at the North Chelmsford wye?
Power was CSXT 478, 8014, 296.
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