Railroad Forums 

  • FRA Grant

  • Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.
Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.

Moderator: MEC407

 #1511446  by KSmitty
 
It has been discussed in the "Up North Gawking" thread, but I don't believe the grant summary you linked to had been posted. Thanks for posting this!
 #1511717  by gokeefe
 
Very helpful and much appreciated. Notable that neither Vermont nor New Hampshire had projects funded in this round (no guarantee that either applied but they usually do). I can't remember the last time a freight rail project in Maine got funded and something or another in Vermont didn't.
 #1511727  by BM6569
 
This work will probably happen next year?
 #1511730  by gokeefe
 
Yes but given the scope it will probably take more than one year to complete.
 #1512113  by codasd
 
Where is the work to be done? North or south of Portland, or both?
 #1512117  by KSmitty
 
Royal (CPF 185) to Waterville. Basically the mainline outside of Downeaster territory.
 #1512121  by gokeefe
 
Still interested to see the exact details on the signal work. So far it seems to be just replacement of previous ABS "islands" with new signals. I'm assuming based on past practice they will become CTC "islands". Curious if perhaps there is something "more" in the mix but can't imagine it would be considered necessary or justified. CTC from Royal Junction to Leeds Junction is one thought that crosses my mind. Alternately CTC only to Danville Junction also seems like an intriguing possibility. Again, I don't know enough about operations and engineering to understand if that would be considered justified at current traffic levels. I'm guessing not ...
 #1512136  by bostontrainguy
 
gokeefe wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:14 pm Again, I don't know enough about operations and engineering to understand if that would be considered justified at current traffic levels. I'm guessing not ...
Does anyone think this may have something to do with the Saint John's Port expansion.

Port Saint John Rail Handling Capability per Annum:

Currant: 75,000 TEU
Planned: 330,000 TEU
 #1512140  by gokeefe
 
Your question about Saint John reminds me that I saw a set of empty well cars in a recent video of POED. Not sure if these were related to the Poland Spring to New Jersey service (since terminated) or not.

Regardless, there's no public document that I'm aware of which considers these grant proposals as part of a broader port plan for Saint John. That would almost certainly run counter to MaineDOT's clear goal of supporting Eastport, Searsport and Portland.
 #1512147  by 690
 
Supposedly CTC islands for the sidings; we really don't need a full signal system for the entire line. With any luck they'll pull the ABS signals between Poland and Merrill Road too, those can be a pain.
gokeefe wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:41 pm Your question about Saint John reminds me that I saw a set of empty well cars in a recent video of POED.
That was just going west. We're not supposed to use wells for the PS stuff going to Ayer, but there were a few that were just going back and forth empty.
That would almost certainly run counter to MaineDOT's clear goal of supporting Eastport, Searsport and Portland.
Eastport and Searsport are never going to happen with Saint John as close as it is, and Portland isn't big enough.
 #1512148  by gokeefe
 
690,

I believe you're probably right with regards to Eastport and Searsport. But I do not believe that reality is going to stop MaineDOT from trying to make them into something they can never be.

Greatly appreciate the insight with regards to the signals.

Does Walnut still need work or was it updated as part of the Royal Junction project?
 #1512160  by roberttosh
 
Is the planned Saint John rail business going to compete with NY/NJ, Norfolk, etc for Midwest traffic or will it simply be a shuttle to/from Ayer handling exclusively New England traffic? Without DS service the former seems like it is going to be a long shot.
 #1512200  by CN9634
 
roberttosh wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:52 am Is the planned Saint John rail business going to compete with NY/NJ, Norfolk, etc for Midwest traffic or will it simply be a shuttle to/from Ayer handling exclusively New England traffic? Without DS service the former seems like it is going to be a long shot.
There isn't anything mainstream at the moment being offered right from either MSC or CMA from Ayer to Saint John. Focus is more on Midwest US, Central CAN and Western CAN mostly with CMA by rail over CN. Also both can move box via Port of Boston with transshipment to reach the same service points in similar transit times, so until SJ gets more services or something else changes, unlikely see anything take this routing.
 #1512298  by S1f3432
 
I have to wonder how successful St.John will be at recapturing container traffic. The harbor is hampered by a narrow
channel with high currents and high tides- the eastern portion of the Bay of Fundy has some of the highest tides in the
world- making navigation especially challenging for larger ships. For European bound traffic an additional day of sailing
is required over landing at Halifax, which doesn't have the aforementioned problems. These navigational and distance/time
issues have been given as the primary reasons the large ocean shipping companies pulled out in the 1980's, followed by
the CP.