Greenport, NY (Hudson) ADM Plant

[aabrea2]

Can anyone provide information about the CSX trains servicing the ADM plant in Greenport, NY (Hudosn area)? There are some older posts on this topic but was looking for more current information if possible. I have seen a few different train symbols mentioned in these posts, namely B957, B757, and G051. Information such as such as once a week, once a day, time of day etc. would be great. What route do these trains take to get to ADM? I believe there is a Rensselaer local that is run from South Schenectady - West Albany - over the Livingston Ave. Bridge in Albany and then south. Maybe ADM is served from this train? There is also the Schodack subdivision that cuts off east of the Castleton Bridge which may be the way trains get to ADM. I would think the latter path might be the way since this comes directly out of the Selkirk yard. Maybe multiple trains service ADM?

I was taking the long way home last weekend along Route 9J. I hadn't been down this road in years but knew it paralleled the CSX (now Amtrak leased) Hudson subdivision. I wasn't on Rt. 9J long before I saw what I think was Amtrak 68 heading for NYC Saturday afternoon. There is some interesting trackage along this stretch of road, both the Hudson and Schodack subs, and I also saw what looked to be OK spots to pull over and break out the camera.

Thanks in advance for help – Art.

[Ironman]

It's all the same train and it works every weekday, G051 is what they are calling it now. It comes out of Selkirk and down the Schodack, but it can be hit or miss trying to see it. Basically they bring a whole train down, like 50+ cars and then work the plant for a few days pulling empties and spotting loads. It takes a while because you can only bring about 10 loads up the hill at a time, and the plant itself can't handle all that many cars. After they get a bunch of empties in the yard they'll bring them back to Selkirk.

B763 is the train that works the Port of Rensselaer, and it's based out of West Albany.

[aabrea2]

Ironman – Thanks for the info.

After reading your post I looked at the Amtrak schedule. Eastbound there is a two hour morning gap between 8:45 #236 and 10:45 #280 in train times at Hudson coinciding with westbound gap between 9:15 #241 and 10:50 #243. Maybe this would be a good time to look for the Selkirk to Hudson run? I am not seeing any afternoon Amtrak gaps more than about an hour to make the return trip but they can probably squeeze it in somewhere.

To further the conversation, do you know of other trains that use the Schodack sub? I did some searching and found Q430/431 and Q701. I would think these run at night since they are going to Oak Point. I read somewhere that a while back there was a washout on the Post Road sub and while it was being repaired the Lake Shore Limited was using the Schodack sub in a backup move to get to the Rensselaer station.

I would think Knickbocker Road would be a good spotting location. Google maps yields 42.496783,-73.757924 for coordinates. One could then go down to Rt. 9J to the overpass and south from there.

BTW –Somehow the Google photo car was able to catch a train crossing over Route 9J and the Hudson sub. Go to that location and drop the street view guy on Rt. 9J south of the overpass and you will see the hoppers. I could scout that are for a week and not see a train yet the Google car just happens by at the right time. I am envious.

Thanks again, Art.

[Ironman]

Yes, your information is good. The Hudson local is on duty at 06:00, they try to fit in that gap, but they usually hold at CP-125 for the Amtrak 280. The CP you see from 9J is CP-124. That actually brings up a point I've been trying to make on several threads on this board. Amtrak is not, and really never was, at the mercy of CSX in this area, or on the B&A. You get held for hours for the Amtraks. The CSX dispatchers, which are based in Selkirk and know the territory, bend over backwards to keep the Amtraks moving. The whole area is ready for passenger train expansion, but I'll stop ranting.

The other trains you mentioned do run at night, usually on duty at in Selkirk around 19:00. They swap crews so their whole run will usually be in darkness. As a side note, the Scohdack sub is no more. It's all the Castleton Sub now, controlled by the NI (River Line) dispatcher.

There was a washout on the Post Road, which is an Amtrak only line that sees two trains a day. As far as I know, they bussed people to and from Rensselaer during that. I think you are thinking of 30+ years ago when they did use a backup movement before the Post Road was rebuilt.

[Railjunkie]

Ahh Me thinks I sat and waited more for Q431/701 than they waited for me. Normally CP114 sometimes CP124. There were times when I would pass them at either C115 or CP125 but that was rare. Ive worked 241 243 259 or some combination there of for 6 years now. Its better now than it was.

As for the wash out on the post road, while that was being repaired the B&A side of the lake shore did indeed go down to CP125 up the Schodack and onto the bridge and head east. It was normally a push pull with west bound engine cut off at CP187.