Eastern Railroad Discussion > No wonder I'm not seeing any trains here!

Always happy to hear over a scanner a track car foreman giving up his/her track warrant freeing up the RR behind him/her. At around 1pm Friday 12/02/16, a wb track car waits at the west end of his operating authority, CPF345 at Gardner, to hear back from the dispatcher as to what happens next. Fortunately, the track car was switched onto main two and told he would pause for awhile until westbound AYRJ empty grain train led by a UP ES44AC passed. Meanwhile, the P&W WOGR turn arrived the east end of Gardner yard to find a couple of cars had been dropped (by Pan Am?) fouling switches critical to P&W's interchange work. Fortunately the yard is built on a grade that descends heading west so the crew was able to use gravity to gently roll them out of the way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/16 05:18 by JPB.

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That new signal bridge looks so strange on that kind of track.

I was thinking the same thing!

inCHI Wrote:
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> That new signal bridge looks so strange on that
> kind of track.

The NS has been doing track work on this part of the railroad.  Hard to tell, though, isn't it?

All new NS track will be next.... Just getting the sigmals done now.

Here's what I understand to be the story re: the new signals at both CPF-345 (pictured) and CPF-346 (aka "Parkers"): apparently as part of the Wachusett Station extension funded by the MBTA, Pan Am Southern was originally going to relay 10 miles of 2nd track east from CPF-345 to CPF-335 (the continuation of track two shown in the photo is a stub end track called the "Dead" track - it gets little use these days). I guess PAS reconsidered and opted to get the B&M era signals at the CPF-345 and -346 interlockings replaced. So signals have been installed for a few months now but it's not clear when they will go live (standard Pan Am MoW procedure). As far as the track is considered, NS did supply some materials and labor to upgrade/repair PAS District 3 track west of Ayer shortly after PAS was formed but since then PAS has done only sporadic maintenance to track and structures (eg, they have an intent to get the line up to 286K pound weight loading). Most recently they dropped a bunch of ties at various places along Pan Am, including far northern Maine to re-open the Mattawamkeag interchange with New Brunswick Southern. Some of the tie work is done but rather half-assed (eg, a few newly installed ties aren't spiked). An NS CWR train just dropped a lengths of new CWR mostly along curves in District 3 but I don't think the rail is installed yet. What I have not seen in the PAS era is any major re-ballasting/rebuilding of long negelected roadbed. What you see in this photo is typical Pan Am track where maintenance isn't funded by public dollars. Even when Pan Am gets inspired and performs occasional maintenance on their own nickel, the workmanship is poor.

It would be nice if NS would hurry up and acquire the other 50% of Pan Am Southern. Word has it that even as inconsistently as trains operate, Pan Am Southern is a profitable business. And apparently Pan Am Railways (ie, operations east of Littleton, MA) is not as profitable. I'm not sure what the basis for these assessments are.

It would be really cool if the original poster (JPB) would keep us updated as work progresses here.  I'd say we all like to see worn out, neglected stretches of track like this come back into play. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/16 16:55 by Rathole.

I like the look of Pic 3!!

The first photo looks like it was taken with a telephoto lens--the track looks even worse than it really is.  Also, for those of us out here in Cali-for-ni-ay, it would help if the location were identified as part of Massachusetts.   Enough of the place names were given to allow me to figure this out (my wife has relatives in New England), but many town names back east are duplicated in other states (e.g. Springfield). 

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> The first photo looks like it was taken with a
> telephoto lens--the track looks even worse than it
> really is.  Also, for those of us out here in
> Cali-for-ni-ay, it would help if the location were
> identified as part of Massachusetts.   Enough of
> the place names were given to allow me to figure
> this out (my wife has relatives in New England),
> but many town names back east are duplicated in
> other states (e.g. Springfield). 

Yep, this problem pops up occasionally on the Western board as well.  

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> The first photo looks like it was taken with a
> telephoto lens--the track looks even worse than it
> really is...

Clearly the first photo is a zoomed in picture but Pan Am track (other than MBTA owned or where NNEPRA funds the maintenance for the Downeaster) is still in very tough shape. Here's a photo of a new tie installed in early September 2016 on the main track on the Stony Brook branch east of Ayer that connects Pan Am Southern to the New Hampshire and Maine, hosting four heavy freights per day plus the occasional coal train to Bow, NH. After two months this tie and at least one more still aren't spiked in. Rumor has it that a company Pan Am hired to perform field welds on rail joints on mains 1 and 2 at Wachuset didn't finish the job since it wasn't getting paid. There isn't much 40mph track west of E Deerfield anymore and a recent visit by the NS Geo train added 8 segments of 10 mph running west of EDY.

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