johnpbarlow wrote:Remember when G&W was just a 14 mile long salt RR headquartered in beautiful downtown Retsof, NY? Power was a bunch of old Alco RS-1s like the ex-C&WI unit sitting outside the shop in 1976.
Observation: Perhaps it has been captured in the discussion above but P&W's acquirer, G&W, will now own direct access to:
- P&W's largest customer, Tilcon, is > 10% of P&W revenue and, captively shipping a lot of aggregate out of CT to NYC and LI during the construction season (G&W should be expert at bulk hauling given their 100+ year history of hauling salt)
- An established auto rack unload facility (NORAD) at Davisville. As I understand P&W's current auto traffic, it's inbound Subarus from Indiana and outbound empties. As I understand NECR, their route to Willimantic is cleared for autoracks given the enlarging of the Bellows Falls Tunnel several years back
- Motiva's Ethanol facility at Providence which gets trains via CSX or NS once or twice a month.
- A small bonded international container facility at Worcester that handles a small amount of traffic from CSX which I think is the remnants of land bridge traffic from the west coast. G&W could deliver international double stacks to Worcester via CN/NECR if such a market exists (Mass Central used to handle such NECR traffic at Palmer but that dried up at least a decade ago).
- Access to Ports of Providence (coal and limestone) and New Haven (bulk) as well as Davisville.
- Gateway Terminal at New Haven (steel and bulk)
- Bulk transload facilities at Worcester
- Access to NYC/LI via NYA interchange at Fresh Pond - currently just Tilcon aggregate but I think other traffic could be interchanged as well if there were any.
Having said this, the P&W's system map indicates that P&W already enjoys trackage rights for CN interchange over NECR between Willimantic and East Alburgh and for CP interchange at Whitehall via NECR/VRS. I don't know how much traffic gets interchanged today at Willimantic but I don't think it's more than 10 or so cars per day so I wonder if there is a lot of upside post acquisition.
The P&W/NECR/VRS rights situation is haulage-only, with NECR doing the hauling between Bellows Falls and Willimantic. P&W doesn't touch anything until it's picked up in Willimantic.
Fresh Pond interchange is paper-barriered by CSX to only certain goods, mainly the Tilcon aggregates. There is definitely a lot of growth there for exploiting more of what they already move, but it'll never be an unlimited interchange.
The system is entirely cleared for 19'6" autoracks and mixed- double-stack from CN to Willimantic to Worcester, Worcester to Gardner, and Worcester to Davisville. 17' from Willimantic-New London and Plainfield-Groton. Both RR's have put in requests for eventual full 20'6" and domestic double-stacks, reflected in the VT, MA, and CT state rail plans. Although reaching for the extra foot is far off and obviously has to be prompted by demonstrable traffic potential before the states go back for a second bite at the clearance apple.
Once ongoing NECR grant-funded upgrades in CT and self-funded upgrades in MA are done, 286K loading weights will exist from CN to New London, Worcester to Willimantic, Worcester to Davisville, Worcester to New Haven, and New Haven to the Tilcon quarry in Durham, CT (with P&W incremental upgrades slowly trudging north towards Middletown). Metro North has even paper-uprated the New Haven line for 286K loads via recent action, but that may only be for the overnight runs to Fresh Pond when no other trains are out simultaneously crossing any bridges. Not sure about Worcester-Gardner...I know it's 286 to Barbers Jct., but having trouble referencing definitive status out to Gardner (the P&W CEO updated shareholders on systemwide weight initiatives, but his letter disappeared when they revamped their website couple months ago).
P&W's also got a large chunk of port real estate at South Quay in East Providence that it's seeking shipping tenants for. Features direct access to I-195 via RIDOT's new Waterfront Drive access road. Right now they're marketing it as truck-centric with no direct rail
unless a tenant specifically request it and commits to rail shipments. As a direct condition of the land swap for building Waterfront Dr., RIDOT is required to re-lay the 2 miles rail it ripped out to South Quay on a new side reservation it set aside next to Waterfront Drive. Would be 19'6", 286K capable via the E. Providence Branch out of Central Falls.