Harrison931 and 930 are interchanged to CN at Rouses Point. We have three tracks to work with in total. The Controlled Siding is about 2.5 miles long, from CPC 188 and CPC 191 (south of the actual MP 191, which is the northernmost milepost. The "farm tracks" consist of two rather short sidings on the CP Lacolle sub north of the border point, but still in NY. The usual procedure is for CP to take 931 to the farm tracks, using one or both depending on the length. If it won't fit there, or there's another 931 sitting there, they leave it on the siding just south of CPC 191. During the night, CN brings 930 south as CN 528. They leave it wherever is available, and take 931, symboled as CN 529, north to Montreal. The next morning, a CP crew brings 930 south.
I didn't see 930/931 on your previous list of trains. Is this another designation of the NS run-thru trains? I see the "farm tracks" north of the CN-CP split, and I assume CN must back thru Rouses Point. Is that what you mean by:
Harrison931/930 go through customs under CN control, even if CP brings them through the scanner to and from the farm tracks.
Sorry- 930 and 931 are CP's symbols for 30T/31T. And yes, they do back through Rouses Point.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
It has been a while since I posted a railfanning video- no worries, here's some interesting action on the D&H from last week.
https://youtu.be/zMAP-9sa-D8
We're back to Downeast Maine in this video. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/rzVkvzWkYD8
We remain in Maine this week with our ride on the Maine Narrow Gauge in Portland.
https://youtu.be/F5o0HWmDK5c
Next week we'll head west to the CSX St. Lawrence Sub...
I thought I heard the Portland NG was being forced to vacate for some waterfront developement. They were going to move to Grey, ME. Although I see some new ties waiting to be installed.
I researched it further and found that the Grey location had wetlands problems, so they are staying in Portland. It looks like that new construction was next to their station and storage yard, and they are going to have to move their yard. They are fundraising for a new equipment storage shed.
You'll need some patience on the St. Lawrence line. Just a single southbound and northbound daily.
And the former which I manage to catch a fair bit, typically runs at night (I'm a night owl that likes going for car rides, most recently last night when I followed the southbound from Gouverneur to Evans Mills). The northbound also seems to be noctournal more often than not, but I stumble across it less frequently.
The local out of Massena that serves customers in the northern part of the line is a daytime operation that seems to run most weekdays (Primarily serving the interchange in Norwood, the Potsdam papermill, and Poulin Grain in Canton). If I hear a horn and catch up with it at a crossing during daylight hours, it's almost always the local with a GP38-2 or GP40-2 and a handful of cars in tow.
The Watertown local is also a daytime job. Sometimes they go north, sometimes they go south, sometimes they do both, and sometimes they go to Fort Drum.
Generslly, they go to Gouverneur north, and as far as Parish south. A local out of Woodard handles the south end, I believe.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Thanks for the info everyone, I guess I should have clarified that I meant the video was coming this week, I had already chased Q621 (southbound freight) across the line. Anyways, here's the video:
https://youtu.be/qkWzd2TqHxc
The train mainly seemed to be CN traffic. Does this CSX line interchange with CP, or does CP funnel all the traffic to their own line on the ex-D&H ?
CN power used to be quite common on Q620 and Q621 (as well as Q622 & Q623, before they were abolished). The line heads up to Valleyfield, QC.
I'm pretty sure that's wrapped lumber products on the centerbeam flats, as opposed to paper.
It's "gov" not "goov" for Gouverneur.
The line was upgraded several years ago from 25 MPH to 40 MPH.
A continued chase south of Evans Mills would be quite difficult - US 11 is quite congested, especially in the area adjacent to Fort Drum. The train would have been slowing down fairly soon, though, for the curve just past "BRAD" (Bradley Street) and their trip down to and up from the Black River and an arrival at Massey Yard.
The local crew (B778) has been known to stop for ice cream at the convenience store next to the crossing in Evans Mills...
I suspect the vast majority of traffic destined for CPR rails in Canada is using the D&H.
Since about when Canadian National became interested in acquiring the line (A deal that I believe is dead now after losing their STB appeal and the subsequent Wall Street attack on management in the wake of the KCS failure), their power seems to have become a bit more of a regular sight again after years of virtually nothing (Although nothing like it was 10+ years ago where CN power was more common than CSX it seemed).
I imagine paper would be in a boxcar for weather protection. As I understand it, most of the boxcar traffic on the St. Lawrence line is just that. Paper loads southbound from Canada to customers in the States and empties heading back north to reload.
Nice that you caught some daytime action. Especially with the shorter days this time of year, that's far from guaranteed as I spoke about. My last dozen or so meetings with the southbound over the past few months have all been at night, so I was figuring you'd be uploading some nighttime video.
We return to Maine for the last time this week with my final batch of Maine catches.
https://youtu.be/XumkJw4dcdw
It sounded like those ATK trains that had engines at both ends, that both engines were working.
If the loco is providing HEP, I think they run in notch 4 or higher all the time.
tree68If the loco is providing HEP, I think they run in notch 4 or higher all the time.
I have heard that some crews, when possible, prefer to let the rear unit provide propulsion as it reduces the noise and vibration in the cab. On Harrisons video, I note that there is little engine noise as #122 passes and you hear the prime mover as #118 passes. The Genesis locomotives can provide HEP at different engine speeds. Per wikipedia: All Genesis engines can provide head-end power (HEP) to the train drawn from an alternator or inverter powered by the main engine at a maximum rating of 800 kilowatts (1,100 hp), making each unit capable of providing HEP for up to 16 Superliner railcars. The P40DC and P42DC power plants can supply 60-hertz head-end power either from the HEP alternator with the engine speed-locked to 900 rpm (normal mode) or from the traction alternator with the engine speed-locked to 720 rpm (standby mode). In the latter case, traction power is unavailable.
Are there any Amtrak engineers on here?
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.