Trains on CSX St. Lawrence Sub (CR's Montreal Secondary)

I'm with you lvrr325. I never mind the sounds no matter the time of day. As I type this I am listening to the Q620 passing south through the village of Canton.

lvrr325 wrote:If anyone's interested, a northbound is approaching CP-W as I type this at 6:50 AM with CSX 345 leading a white Soo SD60 who's number was too small for me to read. A little grungy and one of the hood doors on the fireman's side was open, but it's also going to be a nice, sunny, warm day and given it's not uncommon for it to take them most of the day just to make Watertown.. it might be worth chasing a bit - them Soo units won't be around forever -

You posted this Thursday very early in the morning. Friday lunchtime I was flying out of Massena and thought I'd go see what I could see. Jackpot! Got a picture of the SOO SD60 from the ground AND from the air. It's number 6040.

Russ- the lumber facility in your aerial photo appears to include a pellet mill. Is it a customer? I have heard about such a facility being built in the Massena area so that might be it. Wondered if they used rail and if so for inbound sawdust and chips or outbound finished product.

CSXT #375 and SOO #6040 are on the Q620-05 that departed Massena this evening. They were through Canton around 10pm.

Scott

JoeCollege wrote:Russ- the lumber facility in your aerial photo appears to include a pellet mill. Is it a customer? I have heard about such a facility being built in the Massena area so that might be it. Wondered if they used rail and if so for inbound sawdust and chips or outbound finished product.

Haven't heard anything about that plant using rail service ... or not. Of course they're right next to the tracks, so that rail service is a no-brainer.

Friday afternoon late a ballast train went north. Power was a road slug set, I didn't catch the numbers, but the slug was a GP30 carbody. Ballast cars were a dirty yellow color, mostly side-dump cars, didn't look like they had CSX reporting marks but it was hard to see.

Gp40 6903 was leader, Ya gotta let me know about where you live so I can make some noise by you. W055-09 went to Watertown, and will go further North, (I have no idea where). 2 bottom dump hoppers on front, and 27 side dumps I think they all were Herzog cars.
Long live the Lehigh Valley!!!

Looks like a Q621 ( I always forget which is which) north this morning with two CN SD60Fs and another road slug set with a GP30, the 6427/2255 I believe, plus a GP38 tucked in behind. By MP 3.2 at 7:45 AM.

Have been noticing lately it seems like 9 out of 10 boxcars are tagged with graffitti going back and forth up here -

Q621 went North, Q620 is southbound. The 4 xl power is most likely headed to Watertown and the GP40/slug would be headed to Massena for local power.

lvrr325 wrote:Looks like a Q620 north this morning with two CN SD60Fs and another road slug set with a GP30, the 6427/2255 I believe, plus a GP38 tucked in behind. By MP 3.2 at 7:45 AM.

Have been noticing lately it seems like 9 out of 10 boxcars are tagged with graffitti going back and forth up here -

I also have been seeing a few small 4 axle units mostley GP38/GP30 slug set went up and came back heading West the GP38 was plastered with Graffitti all down the long hood and I'm talking every inch of it from the Cab to the vary end of the long hood! and the letters CSX on the GP30 were completeley painted out in Dark Gun Ship Gray Paint and plastered with Graffitti as well. I caught the set 3 weeks ago going to Buffalo.

Q620-16 is departing Massena now with CN 5516 (SD60F).

Scott

scharnhorst wrote:

lvrr325 wrote:Looks like a Q620 north this morning with two CN SD60Fs and another road slug set with a GP30, the 6427/2255 I believe, plus a GP38 tucked in behind. By MP 3.2 at 7:45 AM.

Have been noticing lately it seems like 9 out of 10 boxcars are tagged with graffitti going back and forth up here -

I also have been seeing a few small 4 axle units mostley GP38/GP30 slug set went up and came back heading West the GP38 was plastered with Graffitti all down the long hood and I'm talking every inch of it from the Cab to the vary end of the long hood! and the letters CSX on the GP30 were completeley painted out in Dark Gun Ship Gray Paint and plastered with Graffitti as well. I caught the set 3 weeks ago going to Buffalo.

Q270 came down about 5:45 tonight with like 5 units on it - 4 various CNs and a BC Rail GE cowl unit trailing in nice clean unaltered paint. I have to think it will be in Selkirk in the morning if anyone wants to venture out in the heat to try to get pictures of it. I haven't kept track how fast the power turns around these days but I'd expect it to go back north by Tuesday or so.

Good thing there was a tresspasser or an animal or something down there on the tracks for the engineer to blow the horn at or I might not have looked up from the crazy Nascar Talladega stock car race on my TV -

Around 6:30 or so on the 7th, a track geometry train went north. CSX GP38-2 with two cars in dark blue with imitation gold stripes on the window band. Not the usual set that shows up up here (which IIRC would have one F40PH behind a GP40-2 or other unit and the cars had light blue window bands). Probably can expect more slow orders by the end of the weekend.

After the geometry train went through, north of Potsdam, I now see a bit of orange tape tied between two spikes, along with two paint marks on either side of a weld, and about 12' of rail of the same vintage (WWII). On visual inspection, I see nothing that needs fixing. What has the geometry train seen that I can't?

RussNelson wrote:After the geometry train went through, north of Potsdam, I now see a bit of orange tape tied between two spikes, along with two paint marks on either side of a weld, and about 12' of rail of the same vintage (WWII). On visual inspection, I see nothing that needs fixing. What has the geometry train seen that I can't?

Car dose the same work as a Sperry car it inspects the inside and out side of the rail for defects. It could be anything a small shell hole in the head of the rail even a hair line crack under the railhead.