johnpbarlow wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 9:23 am
Q: what do you make of G&U's slow build-out of the long abandoned track between Hopedale, MA and the connection to the largely moribund CSX branch at Milford, MA? Do you see CSX ceding its Blue Lynx/Garelick Farms traffic at Forge Park to G&U? Or any moving of CSX SE Mass traffic to G&U operations over largely MassDOT/MBTA owned track? Just curious what G&U's ultimate goal is in connecting its meandering cow path of a line to CSX at Milford...
Mr. Barlow, I would think that G&U's activity suggests movement toward execution of the plan to buy or lease CSX's rights on the Milford branch and assuming operations to serve Blue Lynx and Garelick. Besides turning over the operation over to G&U, it also gives them more opportunity to develop rail-oriented sites within the larger context of freight rail moving westward out of metro Boston as land values continue to rise. Because the Milford branch also has some hill-and-dale characteristics like the G&U itself, plus the apparent inability to make a southward connection from the G&U onto the branch, I don't see this moving much beyond what it is. And, like any carrier in the game, while the G&U probably wouldn't mind a 2nd class 1 connection, I don't see that in the context of this move (I believe CSX still owns the Franklin I.T. due to a remediation issue and most likely CSX will be very careful to handle that in their agreement) as has been speculated.
Knucklehead wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 6:58 pm
The North Framingham Yard Master controls both that yard, and the East Worcester Yard from Framingham. Where the road trains now terminate in Worcester, and only two locals now originate out of North Framingham (B724 & B725), any word if the North Framingham Yard Master will be relocated to East Worcester?
Knucklehead, I haven't heard anything about that and would think the position will stay in Framingham, but I guess you never know. That question also might go to the permanence of this change.