St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR/SLQ)

Hello,
Last night's SLQ eastbound 394 did not arrive into Island Pond until 2 a.m. so today's westbound 393 did not depart until 1258:

GP40-3 3806

RM-1 806
5 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
13 boxcars
20 tank cars
7 covered hoppers

That's 46 cars total, including 3 loads and 43 empties.
Have a great day,
Fritz

Hello,
I managed to catch both last night's and this mornings trains in Island Pond.

The SLQ eastbound 394 rolled past Lake (old station site at Norton Pond) at 1900 with the following:

GP40 3004
GP40-2 3007
GP40-2 3047
16 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
3 boxcars
3 covered hoppers
18 tank cars
1 hi-sided gondola

That's 42 cars total, including 41 loads and 1 empty.

This morning's SLQ westbound 393 reached the U.S. Canada border in Norton at 0825 with the following:

QG SD40U 6904
GP40-3 3806
RM-1 806
9 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
12 covered hoppers
30 boxcars
27 tank cars

That's 79 cars total, including 14 loads and 65 empties. Lots of cars interchanged from Pan Am.

It is my understanding that the 393/394 road trains have not run on Friday nights for the last 6-9 weeks.
Have a great day,
Fritz

Fritz made note of trains not running on Friday nights lately so perhaps just to be contrary 393
just went west thru South Paris about 2000. Thought about chasing them up to West Paris but
there's just about enough clouds off to the west to kill what little light is left.

Greg,
Of course! I have to admit I didn't even check to see if they ran last night! Maybe they ran last night to make up for not running Monday night on account of the 4th of July holiday. I know that the Richmond-based crew works whether or not they run to the States. They usually work around Richmond.
Have a great weekend,
Fritz

Caught 393 going up the grade in Greenwood tonight about 2030 with 3047-3007-3004-3403 and
a little over 60 cars. Because of my inattention just as I was about to shoot my camera battery
died- oh well, pretty poor light anyway. Quickly swapped batteries and managed to catch something
I'd not seen before. Back in the train was GTW 623529 with a load from Hancock Lumber. For those
of you unfamiliar, Hancock has three mills in in Maine at Casco, Bethel and Pittsfield and claims to
be the largest producer of Eastern White Pine lumber. I wonder if this is just a one-off, an experiment
or being shipped by a third-party as I've never known of them shipping by rail before.

394 apparently dropped GMTX 205 in Groveton. Storage cars, or the rumored new dome car for CSRX? We shall see.

Last nights 393 ran a little earlier than has been the norm lately, shown here crossing Old
County Road in Bryant Pond at the crest of the grade up from West Paris with a train of
10 cars. Looks like the mid summer low traffic doldrums might be setting in although I
have seen some fair sized trains for this time of year lately.

S1f3432 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 8:42 pm ...Back in the train was GTW 623529 with a load from Hancock Lumber. For those
of you unfamiliar, Hancock has three mills in in Maine at Casco, Bethel and Pittsfield and claims to
be the largest producer of Eastern White Pine lumber. I wonder if this is just a one-off, an experiment
or being shipped by a third-party as I've never known of them shipping by rail before.

Any further intel on this? It doesn't appear that any of the Hancock mills have sidings, so it would have to have been transloaded somewhere.

I was hoping someone with the ability to track cars might be able to determine origin/destination
for this car. I think the siding adjacent to Hancock's retail lumber yard in Yarmouth still exists, if only
the track was still in service.

My guess is somewhere in Auburn or NEPW (MechFalls/S Paris). McFalls has a short lumber site, but if its private not sure they'd load other people's stuff. In any case, plenty of places in the Auburn area to do it. Come to think of it could be Lynch Logistics too.

The intermodal yard at Lewiston Jct appears to see some use as a team track as I've seen
a variety of things unloaded there over time so is probably as likely a location as any.

Hello,
I tried tracing GTW 523429 (with the Hancock Lumber load), but I don't have an account, so all it said was "No Status", which often happens with loaded cars. Possibly once it is unloaded, that will change. I'll try keeping track of it.

However, in a relevant note, RCP Transit in Island Pond has been sending loads of Hancock Lumber outbound for the last year and a half (the first one I saw was in January 2021). There's never more than one and they are sporadic. I always assumed that they were trucked over from the Bethel mill.

So it is very interesting that you saw one coming west out of Lewiston Junction.
Best,
Fritz

Hello again,
Tonight's SLQ eastbound 394 arrived in Island Pond at 1951 with the following:

QGRY SD40U 6908
QGRY GP40-2L 3014
GP40-2 3047
1 bulkhead flat
3 covered hoppers
7 hi-sided gondolas
25 boxcars
28 tank cars

That's 64 cars total, including 52 loads and 12 empties.
Have a great night,
Fritz

Fritz- Do you think that Hancock load might have originated at RCP in Island Pond and was taken
east by mistake and was simply backtracking when I saw it?

Greg,
The same thought crossed my mind BUT the empty centerbeam flat behind it is an NS one, and I have only ever seen those go to Maine Wood Treaters and the hi-cube boxcar in front could be an empty from NEWP in South Paris, so I am thinking that it may have been loaded at Maine Wood Treaters Mechanic Falls. The 393 often have back-to-back cuts from South Paris and Mechanic Falls. And Maine Wood Treaters, like RCP Transit, would have the equipment to load lumber onto the flatcar in addition to unloading their own loads. Such would not be available in LJ or Auburn.
Best,
Fritz