EDMO / MOED / EDRJ / RJED / 11R / 14R

[jaymac]

...and with 22K on CSXT are they still filleting at Mechanicville or are there clearance issues on the Worcester Main?

[johnpbarlow]

22K has not been filleted at Mechanicville for the past year or more. Rather, it departs Chicago in single stacked configuration. So far, only a single 22K has detoured over CSX on its way to Worcester/Ayer and it was conventionally single stacked. As it did not pass through NS Bison Yard Buffalo or Mechanicville, the detoured 22K didn't have loaded autoracks either. After this one detour, NS annulled 22K for about 4 days. As of Sunday 2/16/20, a single stacked 22K is heading east on NS led appropriately by New York Central heritage unit NS1066. I'm guessing this 22K-16 will detour via CSX from BUffalo to Worcester but perhaps not.

[jaymac]

johnpbarlow-
tnx for Mechanicville ops info!

[NHV 669]

Q: are any of these 11R/16R/RJED/EDRJ detour moves hauling empty or loaded auto racks?

No, nothing beyond 263k, plate F, and no stacks/racks on the GMRC.

[QB 52.32]

Q: are any of these 11R/16R/RJED/EDRJ detour moves hauling empty or loaded auto racks?

Conventional fully-enclosed autoracks aren't cleared on the Conn River between Greenfield and Northfield, the way the re-routes are moving. However, the NECR, GMRC, C&P and CP are good to go for conventional fully-enclosed autoracks and low/high-cube doublestack configurations with 19'6" vertical clearance, if they could get there.

[NHV 669]

OP was probably implying such, and I misunderstood. Double stacked trash containers went though BF and over the GMRC yesterday morning on 11R, and a 27W rack train passed through the tunnel around midnight this morning.

[oibu]

The tunnel (Hoosac) is open? Or is there some other tunnel inference/reference I'm missing?

[newpylong]

Bellows falls.

[oibu]

I figured there had to be some other intent but it is a little confusing to say a train went through the tunnel when talking about detours around a closed tunnel. Greenfield? BF? Or THE tunnel?

Thanks for deciphering, I was pretty sure Hoosac wasn't going to be opened that quickly but the context was a little hard to follow and also as NHV 669 said aren't there clearance restrictions through Greenfield on the Conn River? So how are these moving? I thought this was why no stacks or racks were detouring, hence adding further confusion to the tunnel reference.

[newpylong]

NS is bringing the eastbounds to Saratoga Springs where CP takes them to Whitehall where VRS takes them to Rutland and then Bellows Falls, and then (I presume a NECR crew) takes it over the NECR to Millers Falls where PAS takes the train to Ayer. No back up or runarounds as the wyes still exist at all these locations - but they are paying a lot (3 different railroads) to move them.

[jaymac]

newpylong » Mon Mar 02, 2020 3:09 pm
...over the NECR to Millers Falls where PAS takes the train to Ayer.

Dag! Just like Ken of Memory was lobbying for all those years ago!

[oibu]

Hadn't heard before about detours of IM/racks via CP and NECR, so I was assuming all detours were via Hoosick Jct-VTR/GMRC/Conn River to Greenfield. They must have done some work at Millers Falls to make the interchange track functional, last I saw it was overgrown (if not half-buried) and track structure looked sketchy for anything beyond spotting a couple of MOW cars from time to time.... wasn't even sure if all the switches were still intact. Maybe they weren't but the lack of viable alternatives forced the issue to rehab.

[NHV 669]

These were the first such moves apparently, of either type of cargo for these detours. Apparently the Maersk containers used for the trash stacks were measured and fit through the Greenfield tunnel. They somehow found five NS geep 38s, and used those for the rack train. Photo by Kevin Burkholder:

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/727463/

Sorry for the confusion, yes I meant the BF tunnel.

[MEC407]

Relevant post from the VRS thread:

NS and CSX got into a dispute on moving auto rack and container trains. So NS and PAR, along with the NECR and the VRS opened a second routing. Begins at Crescent (west of Mechanicville) up the CP (D&H) to Whitehall NY, over to Rutland and Bellows Falls on the VRS, down to Millers Falls on the NECR and east to Gardner and Ayer on PAR. NS assembled five GP38-2 locos and moved 50 autoracks today. NS symbol was 27W.

Thanks to New England Rail for this video at West Royalston MA, 4:24 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdwKElYC1QM

[newpylong]

Hadn't heard before about detours of IM/racks via CP and NECR, so I was assuming all detours were via Hoosick Jct-VTR/GMRC/Conn River to Greenfield. They must have done some work at Millers Falls to make the interchange track functional, last I saw it was overgrown (if not half-buried) and track structure looked sketchy for anything beyond spotting a couple of MOW cars from time to time.... wasn't even sure if all the switches were still intact. Maybe they weren't but the lack of viable alternatives forced the issue to rehab.

The MF wye was rebuilt when Pan Am Southern was formed. Prior to that it was 3 tracks in various states of disrepair. It is now one single through track. It has been used on and off over the years for intechange.