CP Track Upgrades & Infrastructure of CMQ

[CN9634]

I guess I'll start this since no one else has....

There are several tie gangs working CMQ these days as part of their 3 year plan. I'm also told some turnouts are being replaced as well as Detectors and radio stations being added/upgraded. With that Trains Mag posted a blurb today about how the single tracking of the Winchester Sub in Ontario will see rail lifted and moved to CMQ. That sub is being upgraded from ABS to CTC with 12000' sidings at various locations. 60 miles of rail are being lifted, although its not clear how much will come to CMQ, I'm told they wish to do it this year but we will see...

https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2 ... o-montreal

[Cowford]

CN - any idea of rail weight? Isn't much of the Moosehead still 100 Lb?

[backroadrails]

On the Maine side of things the Loram grinder hit the Moosehead and Millinocket subs, and currently Holland Rail Services has 3 large box trucks at Jackman along with a backhoe, and portaband saw and has been welding the current stick rail into CWR. The new Long Pond DD is in pace but has yet to be hooked up. Two more DD's are sitting at Derby, and if I were to guess one will end up at Mile 19, and the other west of Jackman. There have been a few cars of ties at Moosehead, Jackman, and Brownville Jct but I haven't seen any tie crews out. Quite a bit of the Moosehead has speed restrictions at the moment. I know 251 dropped 4 sticks of rail per sightings on Facebook at Greenville and there is quite a bit of MOW material there as well. As far as the Millinocket sub is concerned I believe from the bypass switch to Norcross is all 10MPH again. I remember seeing photos from a friend on Facebook who has a hunting cabin near the tracks at Long A of MOW crews removing a sizeable section of track and repairing the roadbed and installing drainage.

[CN9634]

Cowford -- CMQ did a good job of taking out quite a bit of the 100lb rail and replaced with 115 on curves and other places through Bodfish, Greenville, ect. That being said there are a few patches of 100# left.

I'm told from a friend that HBDs are going in on the Moosehead as noted by Backroadrails, but also a few on the Nocket and Bangor subs. Also should include some AEI readers so thats good. Nice to see the Long Pond HBD is already in if not active. I'm told some turnouts are going to be done this year, I suspect to get them at least able to make some meets in places.

One of the things CMQ did early on was to scrap out a lot of the 'surplus' sidings, which to CP's dismay will likely need to be reinstalled at some capacity. From what I understand they are trying to add a pair of direct Intermodal/Auto trains from Saint John to Montreal by October (in line with their marketing materials and crew hiring on both CP and NBSR side), but likely they'll need to have the HBDs, sidings and other things in place to ensure they can safely get that 24 hour quoted transit time SJ to MTL. I also believe that transit time is contingent on a steamship line planting a flag at Saint Johhn, so the sooner they get that going and operationally optimized, the better. I do know the crews have been out 7 days working, and Irving is the contractor on the Maine side doing the tie jobs ( gang out between 17 and Brownville Jct I understand at the moment)

Lastly, the Canadian side is supposed to go to 40MPH by the end of this year, and Maine side all 40MPH next. Not sure the timeline on the Winchester sub relay rail but I suspect that is also ASAP.

All in all a busy season ramping up for the new service in October

[trainsinmaine]

What was the speed limit "back in the day" when VIARail was still running on the Moosehead Sub>?

[gpp111]

I believe it was 40mph

[CN9634]

The University of British Columbia has posted online the 'Chung Collection', which is a collection of CP artifacts and documents from a former worker. In the collection are various timetables, including the below Saint John Division 1978 timetable which shows trackspeed as 45MPH for freight and 65MPH for Passenger.

Have a look below:
https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0362228

[Zeke]

Regarding CMQ infrastructure has CP given the axe to Derby or that Kataden tank cleaning operation yet ? I think Derby is the only location for refueling locomotives on the CMQ .

[NHV 669]

They've been shuffling units out of Derby, as for Katahdin Railcar Services, that is still owned by Fortress.

[CN9634]

First test of the trackwork and operations comes next week.... Hapag Lloyd diverted the DETROIT EXPRESS due to Port of Montreal strikes. It's being called a 'trial ship' to see how the port and RR handle it operationally. If it goes well they get the business long term.... or at least probably a few more ships since Montreal is rapidly falling apart with no sign of relief.

Irving has hit their stride on trackwork for CP, hitting 600 ties per day on average the past week. The plan as I was told was to do the tie job then install the rail, and they'll be working until that ground is firmly frozen.

[newpylong]

I take it none of the CTC on the Moosehead from back in the day still left? CP loves to install CTC islands on their DCS territory, gotta wonder if a couple won't be in store. I doubt they're going to make meets with those high priority stack trains with hand throws and train orders.

[S1f3432]

Was it CTC? I only have an older employee timetable for the Moosehead and Mattawaumkeag
Subdivisions- Atlantic Region, Saint John Division #12 of 25 Oct 1964 showing ABS over the
entire Moosehead and on the Mattawaumkeag from Brownville Jct to Kirby, a short stretch of
CTC to the junction with MEC at Mattawaumkeag and another stretch of CTC from Vanceboro
to McAdam. The McAdam Subdivision was ABS from McAdam to Lancaster with another short
stretch of CTC into Saint John. The MEC between Mattawaumkeag and Vanceboro was also ABS.
A later employee timetable, Atlantic Region #29 of 29 October 1972 covering Montreal Terminals,
Laurentian and Farnham Divisions and the QC show the Sherbooke Subdivion as a mix of ABS
and dark territory ( a surprise for me! ) with a short piece of CTC between Sherbrooke and
Lennoxville. Adirondack Subdivision is shown as CTC from Brookport to to the start of double
track at Delson with ABS the rest of the way into Montreal. The short stretch of CTC between
Kirby and Mattawaumkeag was pictured and described in Omer Lavalle's " Canadian Pacific
To The East" printed in 1991 ; while more CTC could have been installed after this date, it would
be surprising.

[CN9634]

As I derail my own thread.... CP Intermodal train came over the Adirondack sub overnight, still on the Sherbrooke sub and will be in Jackman about 0800 this morning. The 24 hours might actually be realistic if no snafu's already.

[newpylong]

Was it CTC? I only have an older employee timetable for the Moosehead and Mattawaumkeag
Subdivisions- Atlantic Region, Saint John Division #12 of 25 Oct 1964 showing ABS over the
entire Moosehead and on the Mattawaumkeag from Brownville Jct to Kirby, a short stretch of
CTC to the junction with MEC at Mattawaumkeag and another stretch of CTC from Vanceboro
to McAdam. The McAdam Subdivision was ABS from McAdam to Lancaster with another short
stretch of CTC into Saint John. The MEC between Mattawaumkeag and Vanceboro was also ABS.
A later employee timetable, Atlantic Region #29 of 29 October 1972 covering Montreal Terminals,
Laurentian and Farnham Divisions and the QC show the Sherbooke Subdivion as a mix of ABS
and dark territory ( a surprise for me! ) with a short piece of CTC between Sherbrooke and
Lennoxville. Adirondack Subdivision is shown as CTC from Brookport to to the start of double
track at Delson with ABS the rest of the way into Montreal. The short stretch of CTC between
Kirby and Mattawaumkeag was pictured and described in Omer Lavalle's " Canadian Pacific
To The East" printed in 1991 ; while more CTC could have been installed after this date, it would
be surprising.

That sounds right. Quite the mix...

When I worked for the Big G the MEC had a mix of unsignalled DCS, DCS w/ABS and straight CTC. I believe all the weird DCS/ABS territory has been decommissioned and the CTC was decommissioned between Waterville and N. Maine Junction. My timetable is getting old though.

[backroadrails]

The ABS signals were deactivated by CDAC/BAR. Most are still in place but have had the heads turned away. I know the former Bodfish section foreman had one in his yard, but since his passing it has been removed. In other news in Jackman a person broke into several pieces of heavy equipment in Pikes lot by the LMS track and operated a loader, before stealing a pickup and crashing it into several trailers, and a dumpster before driving to Route 201, across the tracks, down the ATV trail, across the tracks, through the LMS yard (hitting a stack of lumber), and coming to rest on a dirt berm around a tank trailer containing liquid asphalt. At some point the truck caught fire and was reported by a train crew. Jackman FD has photos on Facebook, and you can see several new switches sitting in gondolas, as well as a tie crew further down the siding.