"Up North" Gawking (District 1 sightings)

[backroadrails]

For the record, they aren't even running the occasional extra up to Perma Treat this time. They have GMTX 205 sub-leased from EMRY and taxi a crew (NM-1?) up to switch. They send everything up CMQ and Irving drops the spent tie cars and chocolate chip gons at Keag.

They did run down and back up once I believe as 205 made an appearance at NMJ. Might have had to do with CM&Q not accepting some of the beat to hell ex-D&H 2 bay MofW hoppers. Or maybe they needed to 92 day the 205, not sure if it went to Waterville or not...

All may be a moot point: if CM&Q is sold and Irving is the buyer it's hard to believe daily trains will ever run to 'Keag by way of Old Town again.

As far as I know no Pan Am crew goes to the Keag anymore. I believe a crew based in Mattawamkeag, which normally handles MOW trains, switches the chipper. The 205 was sent west with 30 or so tie cars which were too old to interchange with EMRY and then CMQ. The 205 needed a 92 day if I recall so it was sent to Waterville, and was sent back and was the power for OT-1 (there is a video on Branchline Geep Productions on YouTube). They should be making another trip east soon, the exPTM rail crane is supposedly being brought back from Enfield (I believe it is sitting on the spur to the stud mill which has been recently reconnected and the spur cleared of brush.

[KSmitty]

As far as I know no Pan Am crew goes to the Keag anymore.

Which is exactly what I said...

The job is not daily so no crew is regularly reporting up there. They may report to 'Keag, but its not a predictable practice.

They should be making another trip east soon

GMTX 205 is back at Mattawamkeag and may have stayed very briefly at Old Town but has been at 'Keag for a while. It gets regular use switching Perma Treat, I know it was at 'Keag 2 weeks ago when I photo'd it there... Old Town has been using a Pan Am engine until recently. WATCO now has GMTX 345, another endcab in GMTX blue, at the mill for use as the switcher there.

The 205 was sent west with 30 or so tie cars which were too old to interchange with EMRY and then CMQ.

The 30 cars were likely not restricted for age (I witnessed half a dozen former D&H 2 bays with MEC marks on them at Brownville being interchanged from CM&Q to EMRY recently). Old cars are interchanged all the time, all three of Maine's regionals routinely hand off 50+ year old cars. A large percentage of the fiber service cars (BAR/MMA Paul Bunyons and a variety of the NBSR chip cars) have all surpassed "interchange age" but as long as each carrier will sign off they can still move freely. Specific cars may be rejected because they are in poor shape. It is also possible that if 205 needed a 92 day they simply thought it easier to haul them down on their own dime rather than paying EMRY/CMQ to move them.

the exPTM rail crane is supposedly being brought back from Enfield (I believe it is sitting on the spur to the stud mill which has been recently reconnected and the spur cleared of brush.

This is certainly an interesting piece of information. Wonder what led them to do that when the line is in mothballs?

[roberttosh]

How much rail is ND doing at Old Town?

[KSmitty]

The mill is still ramping up. The last NM-1 run to Old Town took a whopping 3 cars up, and it's not a daily trip by any means. Supposed to be doing about 50 loads/week after their "stage 1 ramp up." Then may go up again if ND puts more money into the facility to expand production.

[woodeen]

Not sure if this is news or not?
https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/two-ye ... s-underway

[gokeefe]

Previously announced grant. Newsworthy that they are now pushing to get underway this year.

[BM6569]

Haven't seen any work going on yet in the L/A area

[pnolette]

Wonder how long this project will take.They have been working 2 years on the new second track at Falmouth and still not done yet..

[gokeefe]

The Royal Siding project is almost done (may be complete at this time).

[fromway]

Should be interesting next, few months. CP ran a "Test"(publicicty) well car to SJ to announce new Direct Service to Atlantic Canada. It is on their Website and is in other news outlets. Here we go. The Keag will come alive again.

[twropr]

On Feb. 4 what train had a problem that delayed Amtrak Downeaster 684 and resulted in cancellation of 681 at Portland?
Thanks!
Andy

[johnpbarlow]

Uh oh...

Not that much rail traffic in and around Bangor but given this bridge is across the Penobscot River is presumably not within Indigenous peoples' territories, may lend credence to the reports that other parties are involved in the Canadian RR blockades. And perhaps these parties are setting their sights on disrupting US RR ops. If so, as the recent attempts to block a handful of of Pan Am coal trains heading to Bow NH resulted in the prompt arrest of protesters by police, I doubt US authorities will be very tolerant to this kind of trespassing.

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article ... 37d3419008

[KSmitty]

All islands in the Penobscot river are territories of the Penobscot tribe. The main reservation is on Indian Island, between Old Town and Milford, 10 miles up river.

Seems perfectly believable to me that it was done by a native American organization.

[Cosakita18]

Caught WANM in Pittsfield the other day. "Crawling" might be too generous to describe the pace it was moving. It really seems like Waterville - NMJ is in dire need of work. From what little else I've seen of that stretch of track, it looks like it's barely usable for road freights even at 10mph.

What ever happened to the TIGER grant for rehabing that stretch of track? Is PAR's long-term plan to sell off everything east of Waterville?

[Hux]

Driving south on I-95 Sunday I was passed or went past numerous trucks hauling Irving lumber. Naturally I thought to my self, "hmmm, those should be on rails." Then I thought, "well, 70 mph is better than 25." Yeah, a hell of a lot faster than a 10 mph crawl. Yikes.