Eastern Railroad Discussion > Pan Am north of Boston AYER area

What is the traffic like in the area around AYER and to the west? Quite a few old searchlights available looks like. But if traffic isnt there, could we a waste of a drive from Boston? Not really looking for MBTA, but know there is weekday service up that way.

Bring a scanner, and a good book. Ayer can have lengthy dry spells.

M426 leaves town for South Portland early to mid morning, daily. 
M427 gets there late afternoon.  Might tie down east of Ayer pending room at the inn.
EDPO passes by a couple days a week, morning train.
POED seems to be at night
16R from East Deerfield seems to run whenever it feels like.  Turns back as 16R, which mostly runs in the evening.  After dark this time of year, might be seen in daylight when the days get longer.
265 (formerly 23K) supposed to be leaving around lunchtime now, 264 shows up when it feels like it.

Usually a local or two working in the area too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/23 21:51 by pennsy3750.

So on the downside there might be only 4-6 road freights operating west of Ayer on Pan Am Southern (PAS) using NS and ex-PAR power (ie, blue or faux-CSX) depending on the day. But only a couple of these freights may operate in daylight. On the plus side, if you're willing to risk burning gas on a snipe hunt, you can fill up your tank cheaply at gas stations at Leominster, which for some reason have relatively low prices. 

Also note that by the end of Q1 '23, CSX involvement in PAS is expected to end with G&W's Berkshire & Eastern taking over operations but probably using the same NS and ex-PAR power at least initially. But I suspect it won't be too long before G&W orange shows up on EDPO/POED.

And perhaps by later this year, the 264/265 IM trains will be diverted off PAS to the CSX "Southern Route", further reducing Pan Am Southern train frequency to just 2-4 daily road freights. NS is currently dropping welded rail along the Albany Main to begin rehabbing a connection between its D&H line and the CSX Selkirk line at Voorheesville to permit 264/265 to be operate to/from Ayer as double stacked IM trains.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/23 04:05 by JPB.

The other thing you can catch in this area is the Providence & Worcester WOGR/GRWO, which comes up from Worcester to Gardner to interchange with PAS, which is just west of Ayer.  Last week I chased it both ways, and it arrived Gardner at 1255pm, swapped trains, and left southbound at 155pm.  See my TO Eastern thread posted on 1/20/23 titled "Providence & Worcester Chase".    Info I have is that this trains usually runs Mon-Fri at about this same time. 

Re: 16R from East Deerfield seems to run whenever it feels like.  Turns back as 16R, which mostly runs in the evening.  After dark this time of year, might be seen in daylight when the days get longer.

I think you mean returns back to Binghamton as 11R.

Good info, thanks for posting. I have a few trips to the Boston area this year.

So EDPO and POED just "pass by" without working Hill Yard? Do they crew change out on the mains near the wye?

pennsy3750 Wrote:
> EDPO passes by a couple days a week, morning
> train.
> POED seems to be at night
 

For the most part.   Crew changes on Pan Am can happen anywhere but for these its usally in the Lowell area.   Though more common for them to tie the train down somewhere east of Ayer.

Soo715 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So EDPO and POED just "pass by" without working
> Hill Yard? Do they crew change out on the mains
> near the wye?
>
> pennsy3750 Wrote:
> > EDPO passes by a couple days a week, morning
> > train.
> > POED seems to be at night
>