Andover complains about Pan Am train parking

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

https://andoverma.gov/AgendaCenter/View ... 72017-1084" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Andover Board of Selectmen meeting on the issue tomorrow 2/27, 7:00pm @ Memorial Hall Library (address in the PDF agenda linky ^^above^^). Ms. Scarano of Pan Am to be there, as well as State Sen. Barbara L'Italien. They're giving the idling trains issue the largest chunk of meeting time...a full hour at the start of the meeting.

Don't know if any MBTA representatives are going to attend, but Sen. L'Italien says in a press release on her Senate page that she's been barking up the chain on it.

[jaymac]

Given how much of the westerly end of the Lawrence yard continued OOS as of 02-24 in Rod Dauteuil's 02-25 http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=235793" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, wonder how much the idling issue is in reaction to that.

[Abe Froman]

With apologies and credit to the late Gilda Radner:

"A Mister Richard Feder, formerly of Ft. Lee NJ, writes as follows:

Dear Roseanne Roseannadanna:

Last June I reluctantly gave up my basement apartment in Ft. Lee New Jersey and relocated to Andover MA where I sublet a condo near the tracks. As you know, I like to sit out on the stoop so I can watch everything and I always sleep with my bedroom window open.

After 8 months I'm depressed, I've gained weight, my face broke out, I'm nauseated and constipated, my feet have swelled, my gums are bleeding, my sinus is permanently clogged, I've now got hair on parts of my body where I never had hair before, I've got heartburn, I'm cranky and I've got gas.

Roseanne Roseannadanna, what should I do?"

[johnpbarlow]

Here's the Eagle-Tribune article capturing the goings-on at the Monday evening meeting among PAR, MBTA, and a healthy number of Andoverites.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/merrim ... 90ec7.html

Excerpt:

ANDOVER — It may be another six months before residents see any relief from the diesel fumes, roaring engines and shrieking whistles brought on by idling trains. That's according to officials from both Pan Am Railways and the MBTA who told more than 60 residents and selectmen Monday night that they are working on a solution to the town's idling trains problem. "I can't guarantee 100 percent because it takes a whole series of events," said Pan Am Railways Vice President Cynthia Scarano. "But we are keeping it in our focus and trying to keep the trains out of here. By the end of summer, you hopefully should not see them anymore." But residents weren't buying it. One woman shouted, "I don't believe you," followed by, "This is a joke!"

So, what happens in 6 months time? Will another siding in a more suitable location become available for parking trains?

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

Not "suitable" location...they just high-tail their canning spot somewhere else when tempers get too hot. The dirty dirt loads are already winding down, but that was never the root cause...slop ops were. Nothing's going to change in 6 months that's going to make them suddenly start running on-time. They're just buying time with excuses until Andover gets too hot to handle. Then this same situation will start repeating itself in Atkinson.

Doesn't sound like the townies are much buying that 6-month cop-out. But this PR flak of theirs seems particularly inept at her job.

[MEC407]

I hope Andover's council meetings are viewable online; I'd like to watch. There's only so much that can be included in an article, and oftentimes the most interesting stuff isn't printable.

[BostonUrbEx]

I wonder if the Merrimack River Bridge will be done in 6 months? I thought we were still looking at a year or more. The Dirty Dirt operations are kaput. You might see some stragglers kicking around, but Lowell should be clearing up.

[Z31SPL]

FWIW in Atkinson there is only a house or two that would be effected right there where they can the trains under the overpass.

[BandA]

I hope Andover's council meetings are viewable online; I'd like to watch. There's only so much that can be included in an article, and oftentimes the most interesting stuff isn't printable.

http://andovertv.org/selectmen_meetingsLink name is right in the acrobat of the meeting agenda; interesting that if you click their hyperlink it just points back to the same agenda document, so you have to type it in manually!

[johnpbarlow]

At approx the 45 min mark, Ms Scarano of Pan Am indicates construction of yard enhancements at Lowell and Lawrence and freight speed increase at Lowell will be needed to eliminate 90% of the Andover idling. Not sure that is credible given she just finished saying there is more freight business in the area now than there was in 1970, when the B&M Single-tracked through Andover. Maybe she meant to say there Are more passenger trains now than in the '70s?

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

At approx the 45 min mark, Ms Scarano of Pan Am indicates construction of yard enhancements at Lowell and Lawrence and freight speed increase at Lowell will be needed to eliminate 90% of the Andover idling. Not sure that is credible given she just finished saying there is more freight business in the area now than there was in 1970, when the B&M Single-tracked through Andover. Maybe she meant to say there Are more passenger trains now than in the '70s?

Yard enhancements at Lowell? ORLY, Ms. Scarano? Let's see what your own employer has to say about that:

http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma. ... df#page=35" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

• Pan Am shall release any and all rights to various MBTA owned tracks on the New Hampshire Main Line WEST of the commuter main line tracks located between the Concord River Bridge (Bridge 23.79) to Hale Street Bridge (Bridge 25.19)

• Pan Am shall release any and all rights to various MBTA owned tracks EAST of Bleachery #3 The MBTA would therefore get Bleachery 4 - 5 - 5a - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 13 - Scale Buggy - Shovel - track 15.

• Pan Am shall release any and all rights to track accessing the former Lowell RIP Facility North of the PAR main line tracks in the Bleacherey Interlocking between the 147 crossovers and the 125 switch -this will include:the following tracks: the DOWN STRAIGHT - RIP #1 - RIP #2

• Pan Am shall release any and all rights to the complete yard office/RIP track area at Morre Street Lowell, Massachusetts and associated access roads.

Oh, that's right...you CAN'T expand in Lowell because PAR deeded all that property to MassDOT in the Green Line Extension land swaps and committed to getting the hell out of there and consolidating Lowell ops to Lawrence.

Good thing that takes 4 excruciating seconds to Google, otherwise somebody might wave that legally binding document at a public meeting!



They really aren't very good at this PR thing.

[BostonUrbEx]

They really aren't very good at this PR thing.

As long as the complaining public remains ignorant, they're doing fine. I don't any of the complainers have a clue of the realities of the situation.


At any rate, when's the last time a train was tied down here and not just waiting for a meet/being live recrewed? I'm going to guess at least a week or two, but I don't know for sure. I think the issue has [mostly] gone away, along with the dirty dirt.

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

At any rate, when's the last time a train was tied down here and not just waiting for a meet/being live recrewed? I'm going to guess at least a week or two, but I don't know for sure. I think the issue has [mostly] gone away, along with the dirty dirt.

Doesn't sound like that's the case, since Monday's contentious meeting came with a town resolution to start taking independent air quality readings around the idling trains at-cost and bend PAR into committing regular data counts on frequency and duration of idling so Scarano's "90%" guarantee gets backed by verifiable performance metrics. Those are the moves of a municipality that's not seeing improvement in the weeks since last meeting and is now upping the ante with a documentation effort in case they have to resort to legal measures.

http://www.andovertownsman.com/news/cov ... f401d.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said he has scheduled air quality testing around the tracks. Residents said they are hopeful air quality testing will continue through the end of the summer to offer measurable data about improvements.

Salafia also requested that Scarano send the Board of Selectmen a written document outlining the plans Pan Am has for the next six months, as well as a timetable for when the town can expect to see changes. Scarano said she would be happy to do so.

Selectman Dan Kowalski also asked Scarano for data on how often idling trains are parked in Andover. He said he would like to see updated data as the months go on so the town can know for sure whether there has truly been a 90 percent decrease in idling trains by the end of the summer.

[BandA]

The T should temporarily disconnect the second track so that PAR can't use it for storage.

[Red Wing]

So with the dirt traffic done, I've noticed "regular" trains parking again at Wamesit. Does this mean that Andover is happy again?