St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR/SLQ)

[Fritz]

Hello,
Today's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0824 with the following:

GP40-3 3803
RM-1 803
QG GP40-2W 3014
6 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
53 propane cars
1 tank car
3 hi-cube boxcars

That's 64 cars total, including 20 loads and 44 empties.
Happy Holidays!
Fritz

[gokeefe]

So some of the propane was full and some was empty????

[NHV 669]

George, loads stored up in Stratford, they picked up more before departing IP this morning.

On another note, 393 and 394 will make their next runs in daylight for the most part, and on a Sunday no less. 394 will be OD before dawn in Richmond tomorrow; sounds like an early afternoon meet at Berlin.

[NHV 669]

Sunday's 394 departed Richmond at 0630, allowing for a crossing of the US border prior to 10am. News spread in a hurry via the FB group, as there was a solid group of people following along the route. They entered the US with 3008-3007-6904-3014-803-3803 and 89 cars, (10,100 tons) but dropped 40 of those at IP, as they reached me in N. Stratford Village with 49 cars at 1212.

I gave chase until the Route 110 crossing in Stark, where I shot this at 1253: https://youtu.be/1nJsr9pA9z8

They met 393 (a light engine move of 3035-3047-3105 that was supposedly grabbing cars but never did) at Berlin, swapped power, with both moves leaving town before 1530.

There are roughly 15-20 of the AIMX high gons still stored on the Groveton passing siding, so their movements back and forth to IP has me scratching my head. Nothing was parked on the Stratford siding.

[Fritz]

Hello,
After setting out three loads of lumber in blinding wind and snow, last night's SLR eastbound 394 departed Island Pond at 2105 with the following:

GP40-3 3804
GP40-3 3805
RM-1 804
2 centerbeam flats
5 boxcars
8 hi-cube boxcars
9 tank cars
21 propane cars
2 scrap gondolas

That's 47 cars total, including 44 loads and 3 empties.

In cloudy weather but no snow, this morning's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0818 with the following:

GP40-2 3047
QG GP40 3105
GP40-2 3035
14 centerbeam flats
1 boxcar
3 hi-cube boxcars
23 propane cars
5 tank cars

That's 46 cars total, all empties.

I have heard that trains will be running tonight (New Year's Eve) and that there may be another daytime extra 394 next Sunday.
Happy New Year!
Fritz

[gokeefe]

Thanks for your faithful reporting interesting to see steady car counts in the mid-40s. Nothing like what it used to be 10+ years ago but "not dead yet" for sure.

[Fritz]

Hello,
Today's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0755 with the following:

GP40-2 3007
GP40-3 3804
GP40-2 3008
4 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
2 covered hoppers
18 propane cars
14 tank cars
5 boxcars
10 hi-cube boxcars

That's 54 cars total, including 2 loads and 52 empties.

It is my understanding that there will be extra road trains running tomorrow (Sunday), but I do not know at what time (that is, whether at the usual time or a daylight move). Apparently, all of the yards and sidings are full of cars.
Have a great day,
Fritz

[Fritz]

Hello,
I have heard that tomorrow's (Sunday's) extra 394 will be called for 1400 at Richmond, so they will be running on their "normal" schedule, rather than a daylight run. Too bad, as it would be a pretty run in daylight after today's and tonight's snowfall.
Best,
Fritz

[Fritz]

Hello,
So SLQ split the difference, and today's extra 394 east departed Richmond around 1130 and arrived in Island Pond at 1525 with the following:

RM-1 803
GP40-3 3803
QG SD40U 6904
QG GP40-2W 3014
GP40-3 3805
RM-1 804
6 centerbeam flats
3 covered hoppers
12 tank cars
42 propane cars
7 boxcars
11 hi-cube boxcars

That's 81 cars total, including 79 loads and 2 empties. After setting out 29 cars (3 loads of lumber of RCP and the remaining 26 to wait forwarding east), the 394 extra departed at 1650. The yard at Island Pond is now almost completely full with 55 cars waiting to move east (plus the 7 AIMX scrap gondolas and 1 SLR rail flat that were already stored there).
Best,
Fritz

[petahgriff8316]

Driving through Yarmouth, ME, today — about halfway between Portland and Danville on that (non-utilized) section of the SLR — and the RXR sign for the Main St. crossing had a new sign below it: "NO TRAIN HORN." That section of the line hasn't been used since 2015 so I thought it was interesting that the sign had newly appeared...figured it was a town thing but wondered (long-shot) if something had happened that I hadn't heard about, but it seems unlikely that this portion of the line will be seeing trains anytime soon.

[Fritz]

Hello,
Today's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0751 with the following:

RM-1 805
GP40-3 3804
GP40-2 3007
GP40-2 3008
11 propane cars
9 tank cars
1 covered hopper
6 hi-cube boxcars

That's 27 cars total, including 1 load and 26 empties. Only the 805 and 3804 were pulling the train; the 3007 and 3008 were dead in tow.

Interesting that there were no empty lumber flats, which is unusual, but there were 10 loads spotted at RCP.
Have a great day,
Fritz

[Fritz]

Hello,
The SLR ran extra trains last night, and this morning's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond around 0740 with the following:

GP40-3 3803
RM-1 803
QGRY SD40U 6904
GP40-2 3047
9 centerbeam flats
1 boxcar
9 hi-cube boxcars
21 propane cars
5 tank cars

That's 45 cars total, including 1 load and 44 empties.

Meanwhile, the yard at Island Pond is starting to empty: There are only 23 loads awaiting to go east (from a high of 55 last Sunday). These include 10 boxcars, 1 lumber flat, and roughly 11 propane cars. I also hear that the yard in Richmond is clearing out as well: from a high of almost 600 cars at Christmas to roughly 250 cars now.
Have a great day,
Fritz

[gokeefe]

Driving through Yarmouth, ME, today — about halfway between Portland and Danville on that (non-utilized) section of the SLR — and the RXR sign for the Main St. crossing had a new sign below it: "NO TRAIN HORN." That section of the line hasn't been used since 2015 so I thought it was interesting that the sign had newly appeared...figured it was a town thing but wondered (long-shot) if something had happened that I hadn't heard about, but it seems unlikely that this portion of the line will be seeing trains anytime soon.

Interesting observation. Could be a "just in case" by the Town (which would be the entity which applies for a quiet zone).

[MEC407]

It's possible the town enacted a horn ban for the entire town rather than just certain crossings. If that's the case, it would make sense for them to post appropriate signage at all crossings regardless of the ex-SLR line's current dormancy.

[Fritz]

Hello,
On this cold morning, today's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0841 with the following:

GP40-2 3035
GP40-2 3007
QG GP40 3105
2 centerbeam flats
1 hi-sided gondola
36 propane cars
7 tank cars
6 boxcars
24 hi-cube boxcars

That's 76 cars total, including 2 loads and 74 empties. Lots of propane empties (36) and empty boxcars (30). I think the latter may be partly due to catching up with post-CN strike traffic; the former obviously has to do with the cold temperatures.

There's only 7 cars left in the Island Pond yard waiting to go east.

Finally, RLHH SD40-2 3403 went east on last night's 394. This much-needed locomotive should be out and running after some minor adjustments.
Have a great weekend,
Fritz