"Up North" Gawking (District 1 sightings)

petahgriff8316 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 6:44 pm Slightly off-topic but kinda funny: I've been a railfan for about 25 years and, as someone who grew up in the digital age, loved train sims but used to be "meh" about the railroads – there was never a PAR route that I was aware of other than Portland Terminal so being in Maine it wasn't very relatable. Anyway, I bought TS 2022 a week or so ago determined to figure out how to make a legit route. Turns out there is a Google maps overlay that's pretty easy to use and builds the models to scale, so I built the routes from Rigby to Waterville, the Lower Road to Brunswick, and SLR from Yarmouth to Auburn. Super bare-bones at the moment – I'm also working on the same routes with legit elevation (which will be like a year-long project) – and at present it's basically just a handful of crossings and Leeds/Danville/Readfield siding/Royal but I believe I built the first ever sim route between Portland and Waterville. Ran a Downeaster from WA to PO in 1h5m*...79 all the way!

* Even with perfect tracks, and recognizing that speeds fluctuate between 10 and 25 between Royal and Waterville, totally recognize this is a farce...there are some sharp switchbacks that prevent many straightaway tangent sections. That said, Walnut siding in North Yarmouth is on about a 3 1/2 mile straightaway track (MP 181 to 184.5). Also it's a game, so physics don't exist (as much).

As I write this, flying through Danville. ~25 minutes to Portland.

Not to drag this thread too far off-topic, but do you plan to stream it on Twitch at all?

markhb wrote: ↑Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:29 am Not to drag this thread too far off-topic, but do you plan to stream it on Twitch at all?

I'm not opposed to it! A friend suggested that I stream my Microsoft FS2020 flights (I do a lot of TATL flights out of PWM, BXM, and BGR) so maybe I need to look closer at Twitch.

With the route that I've built out completely (CPF 113 to CPF 200), the only hesitation at this point is that it's insanely bare bones and very little elevation detail — there are trees/the big sidings/around 10 crossings, but that's about it right now. That said, I have a separate route with the accurate elevation for the whole route, but constructing the track with elevation/bridges/etc. is a bit more than I have wrapped my hands around at the moment, but once I learn those things it'll just be a case of doing it for the whole route. Still, it's kind of fun to know that the scale is "correct" and to see how long it takes to get from X to Y in a perfect track world given the route.

Happy to let you know when it's further along — PM me if you're interested and I can give you a more detailed breakdown of what is in place — and would definitely do a Twitch stream for all those interested (assuming others are ). I might also make the (more accurate) version available for others to use once it is in such a place.

Back on topic...am I correct in that (excluding Rigby to Royal) the only CWR installed in D1 is to Danville? I recall Nate Moulton from Maine DOT saying that the balance of the CRISI work would be done after the proceedings are resolved, but am a bit sketchy on where there is CWR vs. stick.

There is welded rail in spots to the east. The DOT paid for sections between Bangor and Lincoln when Guilford tried to snag some of the container business in the 90's and early 2000's.

I've long been a railfan but have only recently started to educate myself on the particulars of PAR operations, and even that is from my lens as a non-RR employee. That said, I am aware that a number of POWA/WAPO freights either have to recrew or do yard work at Danville. How often to POWA/WAPO trains run "straight through" — as in, starts moving at PO and stops at WA, or vice-versa? It seems like best case scenario is that the whole line is 25, which would take roughly 3 1/2 hours, but knowing Pan Am and the number of 10 mph zones, I figure it takes at least 4-5 hours end-to-end. Between slow orders, meets, and crews timing out, I figure there are few "straight through" runs.

As an aside, in my "terrain-accurate" route-building exercise, I've come to appreciate the terrain between Portland and Waterville. I knew there was a climb from the Maranacook bridge up to Readfield Depot and then another from Bean up to ~134 (and generally that there were several grades since the Back Road starts at the coast in Yarmouth, goes inland, and then back to the Kennebec) but this photo at 139 (Thomas Coloumbe) really underlined it for me. Would be curious to know what the highest point of elevation on the Back Road is — the lowest I can recall is ~15 feet above sea level crossing into Portland and the highest either in Greene or Readfield at ~300 feet.

Been a while since I've seen RUPO- happened upon them leaving Rileys this afternoon about 1430.
Attached photo shows them approaching the route 106 crossing just west of Stricklands at 1610 with
MEC 345_503_501 and 37 cars.

Spotted CP 3057 at Rigby this afternoon.

Eastbound and down, said unit is awaiting pickup at Brunswick by a CP crew.

Came across another article this am talking about the Maine potatoes that shipped out by rail earlier this year. Nothing Pan Am specific, just a little more background info… https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wes ... t-83829097

Does anyone know what the routing is/was for the potato shipments to Washington?

I could be wrong, but I think it was something like MNR-CP-ST-CSX or NS-BNSF.

Here's what a knowledgeable poster on the Pan Am Railfans FaceBook page (ie a RR employee) said regarding the potato reefer routing:

From Maine Northern to Pan Am, to CSX across to Chicago [POAY/Q427 to Selkirk], then CP from Chicago to the western US and over to UP/former SP territory in Washington State.

The potato traffic out of Van Buren, ME is now done and over for the season. Last few cars loaded in mid March.
No more empties coming to Pan Am, and all the loads are now on CSX or further west on UP.

Danville Junction switcher just returning from the IP container plant late this afternoon-
been using GP40's on this job most of the time.

Good catch!