CSX2039,
You are right: There has been a lot of salt lately moving from the WACR to the SLR via the CMQ. And you are right it is only seasonal, usually occurring in late summer and early fall. That being said, it still only represents about 1/4 of the cars moving on the WACR right now (usually moves in blocks of 7-10 cars, at least for the empties going back). The rest is mostly lumber, paper, grain, calcium chloride (dust control on dirt roads, of which there are a lot in northeastern Vermont), and lumber (did I say that already?). So, even discounting the salt, it does seem like traffic is improving, and hopefully it will continue to do so. Hopefully, the CMQ will match the WACR's new (really old since this is how they used to run prior to 2011) schedule of daily turns out of Newport and White River Junction.
Best,
Fritz
You are right: There has been a lot of salt lately moving from the WACR to the SLR via the CMQ. And you are right it is only seasonal, usually occurring in late summer and early fall. That being said, it still only represents about 1/4 of the cars moving on the WACR right now (usually moves in blocks of 7-10 cars, at least for the empties going back). The rest is mostly lumber, paper, grain, calcium chloride (dust control on dirt roads, of which there are a lot in northeastern Vermont), and lumber (did I say that already?). So, even discounting the salt, it does seem like traffic is improving, and hopefully it will continue to do so. Hopefully, the CMQ will match the WACR's new (really old since this is how they used to run prior to 2011) schedule of daily turns out of Newport and White River Junction.
Best,
Fritz