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  • "Pan Am Clipper" Newsletter

  • 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

 #856992  by MEC407
 
cpf354 wrote:Did the search in the pdf for "Guilford". No results found.
They stopped using the Guilford name four and a half years ago. I can't think of any reason why that name would appear in a current issue of the newsletter. They even stated that photo submissions for the company calendar should be locomotives in the Pan Am paint scheme. They're trying pretty hard to leave the past in the past.
 #856998  by 3rdrail
 
TPR37777 wrote:The railroad police equipment acquisition is obscene, and I can not believe that they even put in for such a grant with a straight face. What does PanAm have, 2 people left on the department? That all-terrain vehicle could actually have been put to use by a police or fire department and instead it will sit at Billerica and do nothing. Seriously, I can not believe that they took even a cent of grant money in these time of cuts and layoffs. When have the railroad police ever searched for missing people? The only fires they assist with are the ones that their own engines start with unmaintained exhaust equipment.
Disagree with ya there, TPR. Railroad policing has been on a steady upswing for a few years now, admittedly mostly with Amtrak, but with all sorts of other stuff being shipped on non-Amtrak routes, that's going to be soon to follow. I think that we are going to see even the smallest RRPD outfits greatly expanded, trained, with equipment brought in the likes of which has never been seen before. DHS and DEA information continually indicates that railroads (all types) are a prime target, so it's a need that is already there. For any young guys interested in trains and law enforcement, consider a criminal justice college program where you can also be trained in industrial security science and management. Along with this upswing is going to come more responsibility, such as acting as mutual aid for both city and small town departments when needed (D.C. already does it with Amtrak P.D.), haz mat, etc. City departments are strapped and are not going to be picking up railways. You'll see RR PD's handling far more things in the very near future and needing much better equipment than they presently have.
 #857100  by cpf354
 
MEC407 wrote:
cpf354 wrote:Did the search in the pdf for "Guilford". No results found.
They stopped using the Guilford name four and a half years ago. I can't think of any reason why that name would appear in a current issue of the newsletter. They even stated that photo submissions for the company calendar should be locomotives in the Pan Am paint scheme. They're trying pretty hard to leave the past in the past.
That's my point, but people still call them Guilford. In fact some people refuse to call them anything but that.
 #857167  by MEC407
 
Ah, understood. Old habits are hard to quit, I guess. I think some people lose track of time, too. On another list, someone mentioned something about a fan trip on the West End "a few years ago" -- which apparently happened in the early '80s. That's more than "a few" years ago! That's like saying "Remember a few years ago when Reagan was in his first term as president?" or "What do you think of these newfangled audio cassette tapes? They're the wave of the future!" :wink:

Regarding the newsletter, I bet the new Pan Am "Signature" fashion accessories are gonna be a bit hit with the fashionistas. :wink:
 #857441  by TPR37777
 
3rdrail wrote:Disagree with ya there, TPR. Railroad policing has been on a steady upswing for a few years now, admittedly mostly with Amtrak, but with all sorts of other stuff being shipped on non-Amtrak routes, that's going to be soon to follow. I think that we are going to see even the smallest RRPD outfits greatly expanded, trained, with equipment brought in the likes of which has never been seen before. DHS and DEA information continually indicates that railroads (all types) are a prime target, so it's a need that is already there. For any young guys interested in trains and law enforcement, consider a criminal justice college program where you can also be trained in industrial security science and management. Along with this upswing is going to come more responsibility, such as acting as mutual aid for both city and small town departments when needed (D.C. already does it with Amtrak P.D.), haz mat, etc. City departments are strapped and are not going to be picking up railways. You'll see RR PD's handling far more things in the very near future and needing much better equipment than they presently have.
I am in complete concurrence that railroads are one of the most completely vulnerable parts of our national infrastructure, and one that is woefully under-protected. However, I would submit that privately owned corporate "police" departments should not be the strategy going forward. Unlike governmental entities, these private company officers serve two masters and the one who signs their paychecks will always be the dominant of the two, to the detriment of their mission. Could you imagine a railroad police officer reporting a dangerous condition caused by the railroad? Such as an unreported haz mat spill or a serious rules violation by an employee? It would never happen. The Department of Homeland Security needs to take their snout out of the trough long enough to realize that we are not Achilles and that airports are not our true heel. Pan Am cut their police department almost completely out after 09-11 as a cost savings measure. As far as mutual aid, as you are well aware I am sure, the Massachusetts General Laws restrict railroad police powers to the property and cars of the railroad by which they were appointed (Amtrak Police derive their powers differently as they are employed by a federal agency and attend the F.L.E.T.C.). My issue with the equipment acquisition was twofold; firstly that Pan Am actually makes a profit each year and should be ashamed of taking handouts and secondly that they simply don't work with any other law enforcement agencies and as such will never get a chance to search for anyone, let alone use the vehicle in question. But as always, I respect and appreciate your opinion 3rdrail.
 #857608  by 3rdrail
 
I understand your points, TPR, and agree with some of them. Some, I do not. I'm speaking of a new order of RR policing. New departments, new training, new legislation, etc. Under the existing policies, I agree that such an expansion is difficult (not including Amtrak PD). (Speaking of Amtrak, they derive their powers from the state in which they are assigned, and they enforce state law, not federal.) As far as the suggestion that there is a conflict of interest regarding the objective reporting and actions concerning where the paycheck is coming from, I submit to you that that criticism is not exclusively the problem of RR police. Perhaps sometimes overstated, perhaps sometime understated, it's a potential risk anywhere. It appears that some relief to this problem may be to have jurisdiction over multiple locations and venues. I see this also as happening. Merging of departments is common. Transit (MBTA) Police has wide jurisdiction in cities and towns wherever the T goes, Amtrak has jurisdiction under contract with DC Police in areas which have no ties with RR, but happen to be in a relatively similiar geographical area. Campus police such as Northeastern, are now deputized as County Sheriffs, giving them increased jurisdictional powers over what they enjoyed previously as State "Specials". It's coming to the RR. Not to go on and on, but another factor here is communications. Lack of communications can be deadly. Boston changed a radio policy @ 1984 due to the fact that a vicious rape took place in the vicinity where one-man "service" cars were clear, but the call was not put out because the two-manned cars (on another radio channel) - the "Rapid Response" units, were all tied up. Hundreds of firefighters lost their lives at the World Trade Center due to the fact that they never received a broadcast that the police helicopter reported on the police radio that the South Tower was leaning and possibly going to collapse. Nobody's fault as both radios were in chaos at the time, but at least, had there been a centralized emergency channel to bind both, many lives might have been saved. The point that I'm trying to illustrate here is that merging emergency responders and bringing everyone "into the loop" has to be a project for this century, much the same as the project to install radio communications into cruisers was in the last one. Railroad PD's will be part of this, and they have to be expanded- perhaps under a different organizational structure, but expanded nonetheless. Even a rotating assignment would not surprise me in fifteen or twenty years, whereby officers patrol a city district for 6 months, patrol a railroad facility for 6 months, smaller local area for 6 months, airport for 6 months, etc. It has to happen, and in my opinion, I don't believe that local politics will ultimately prevent it due to various Federal penalties which would kick in for non-compliance.
 #914447  by Mcoov
 
Apparently the service to Saint John is named the "Bluenose". I must say that that is a first. I've never heard of a PAR train being named before.
 #914450  by MEC407
 
They've had some named trains in the past, although most of them have been pretty short-lived. In the early days of Guilford, they had a high-priority pig train called the East Wind. Anyone remember any of the others?
 #914498  by jaymac
 
An intent or "design" for less than four days to Worcester or less than five days to Mechanicville for priority, limited switching, and named service would seem to have a pretty good protective pad built into it. The good news is that PAS got at least a wink and a nod.
Other train names? I don't recall any, and as part of my reduced snarkyness diet, I'm not gonna propose any, either.
 #914596  by FatNoah
 
less than four days to Worcester
How long does such freight typically take? The article mentions that the 4 day timefame "eliminates as many as four days" of time. Does that mean it can take 8 days to move the freight a few hundred miles along the same railroad?
 #914739  by MEC407
 
They can do 40 on their tracks between Portland and Plaistow... assuming they have enough power, and said power is functioning properly. :wink:
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