Bowser has announced an HO scale EMD F7A in blue, due May 2014. This model is part of their Executive Line.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Bowser Announces HO B&M EMD F7A w/Sound
Bowser has announced an HO scale EMD F7A in blue, due May 2014. This model is part of their Executive Line.
#24028 Cab #4265 $179.95 each
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Pros & Cons of Portsmouth NH Rail Line Revival
(SOURCE: Seacoast Online)
The prospect of a resurgence of freight shipped
by rail may be a positive development on multiple fronts, however,
residents who live along the local rail system and motorists in general
are right to express their concerns.
Use of
the rail line from Newington through Portsmouth, Greenland and Stratham
to the Rockingham Junction on the Newfields-Newmarket town line has been
largely dormant for as long as most residents can remember. However,
the line was never abandoned and the day was likely to come that its use
would rise again. Beyond the shipping of freight — and it is the plan
of Sea-3 in Newington to ship propane via the Newington-Portsmouth
branch that produced concerns — it remains the hope of many that
passenger service could also resume.
Increased freight shipping via railroads can
get many tractor-trailers and other commercial shipping vehicles off
local and state roads and interstates and decrease the reliance on
standard fuels. The operation of trains would also potentially have a
regional and national economic impact.
Furthermore,
increased rail freight could lead to substantial upgrades of the
tracks, which would improve the chances of restoring passenger service
that must operate at speeds in excess of the 10 mph currently allowed on
the Newington-Portsmouth branch.
With all
that said, the many residents whose homes are near the rail lines need
to have their concerns addressed. Because of federal regulations, local
communities have no legal say over what is shipped on rail lines.
However, that doesn't mean the rail company, Pan Am Railways, the
Federal Railroad Administration, Sea-3 and its parent company, Trammo,
can't address resident concerns in a fair and open manner.
This is particularly true when it comes to shipping a fuel such as propane, or others for that matter.
There
are many concerns about the condition and safety of the current tracks
that roll through downtown Portsmouth, pass through rural areas of
Greenland and cross over Great Bay. The first attempt to assess the
condition of the tracks proved difficult. The FRA was not forthcoming
with information on the condition of the tracks last week. It provided
only a fact sheet on federal track safety standards, and said the latest
track inspection report would be made available only through a Freedom
of Information Act request, which Seacoast Media Group filed.
The
issue extends beyond the current condition of the tracks. According to
Cynthia Scarano, executive vice president of Pan Am Railways, the tracks
of the Newington-Portsmouth branch currently limit train speed to 10
mph. Ensuring the safety of the tracks to allow for the shipping of
propane is step one, but learning more about any potential improvements
that would allow faster speeds must be discussed.
The
area is not used to seeing trains on the tracks, and the few that do
use them crawl along. More trains, traveling faster through areas not
used to seeing them, is one reason to bring all parties to the table to
discuss how rail commerce can be safely permitted.
All
crossings must be thoroughly inspected to ensure there is proper sight
distance and signage and, wherever necessary, to feature lighted signals
and stopping arms. Any other protective measures, such as fencing in
residential areas, should also be considered.
Federal
regulations protect the right of interstate commerce along the rail
system, and that is a good thing as rail for freight and passenger
service, is a vital link; a promising alternative to highways. But that
doesn't mean local residents' concerns should be pushed aside. There is
promise here. The ability to revive rail service lies in the hands of
the business that owns the lines, the businesses that will use them and
the federal agency that regulates them. It is necessary that a balanced
approach is taken to the revival of the rails.
MBTA Commuter Train Derails in Fitchburg MA
(SOURCE: Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, by Alana Melanson)
FITCHBURG -- A
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter-rail train carrying
between 50 and 60 passengers derailed at the Intermodal Station on
Tuesday, just before 8 PM (12/17), after several hours of heavy snowfall.
Police Sgt. Thomas Daoust and Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Curran said there were no injuries in the incident, and that passengers were quickly evacuated from the back of the train and left the scene.
"Most of them were unaware there was an overshooting of the platform," Curran said.
He said one engineer on board sought treatment by MedStar ambulance personnel but signed a release.
Curran said the engineer told officials there were 2,500 gallons of fuel on the train and not a single drop spilled during the derailment, which led to the train going about 10 feet off course but remaining upright.
Radio reports at the scene indicated that a second train was held in waiting behind the derailed train, and that angry passengers wanting to go home became rowdy and threatened the conductor.
Fitchburg police, firefighters and ambulance workers were staying on the scene until MBTA officials arrived, which occurred past press time.
 |
Workers investigate after an MBTA train derailed as it was pulling into the
Fitchburg Intermodel Stationt.
SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / JOHN LOVE
|
Police Sgt. Thomas Daoust and Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Curran said there were no injuries in the incident, and that passengers were quickly evacuated from the back of the train and left the scene.
"Most of them were unaware there was an overshooting of the platform," Curran said.
He said one engineer on board sought treatment by MedStar ambulance personnel but signed a release.
Curran said the engineer told officials there were 2,500 gallons of fuel on the train and not a single drop spilled during the derailment, which led to the train going about 10 feet off course but remaining upright.
Radio reports at the scene indicated that a second train was held in waiting behind the derailed train, and that angry passengers wanting to go home became rowdy and threatened the conductor.
Fitchburg police, firefighters and ambulance workers were staying on the scene until MBTA officials arrived, which occurred past press time.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
MBTA #2001, the "T Emblem on Wheels"
The MBTA's first brand new, direct ordered diesel locomotive to arrive since the F40s sits at Boston Engine Terminal. Numbered 2001, it is the first of a large order to arrive. Rumor has it it's too heavy for use over some bridges. (Photo taken by D. Hutchinson during his lunch break, 11/17/13)
Friday, November 22, 2013
Recent New England Model Railroad Announcements
N SCALE
HO SCALE
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Wants to Discontinue Freight Line That Connects Portland with Auburn Maine
(SOURCE: Portland Press Herald - By Tom Bell tbell@pressherald.com)
The freight railroad that operates on the historic line between Portland and Montreal wants to stop running trains to Portland – and serving its last customer east of Auburn.
The maker of B&M Baked Beans, which relies on trains for deliveries of dried beans from the west, would have to find another way to bring supplies to its plant on Portland’s waterfront.
Meanwhile, some proponents of passenger rail say that removing freight from the line could make it easier to re-establish passenger service between Portland and Auburn.
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad President Mario Brault said the railroad is losing money on the line between Auburn and Portland because it must maintain the tracks and crossings to serve just one customer.
“For us to maintain operation for this property is a money-losing venture, and nowadays we can’t afford to do this,” he said Friday from his office in Montreal.
On Nov. 7, the railroad filed a petition with the federal Surface Transportation Board seeking permission to discontinue freight service on the 24-mile line between Portland’s East Deering neighborhood and the Auburn city line. Auburn would be the new terminus of the freight service.
A decision is expected before March.
Officials from Burnham & Morrill Co. did not return a phone message, and a spokesman for its parent company, B&G Foods Inc., said he did not know enough about the situation to comment on it.
Brault said he believes that B&M, which has been baking beans in Portland since the 1920s, will be able to have its dried beans trucked in. One possibility, he said, is for trains to haul the beans to Danville Junction in Auburn before trucks deliver them to B&M’s five-story, century-old factory on the shore of Casco Bay.
Trains are considered the least expensive way to move such heavy, low-value commodities long distances.
While the railroad is responsible for maintaining the tracks between Auburn and Portland, the state owns the right-of-way, which it bought for $6.8 million in two transactions, in 2006 and 2009.
The state will not oppose the railroad’s petition, said Nate Moulton, director of the industrial rail access program for the Maine Department of Transportation. “We believe the economic case they are making is legitimate,” he said.
Formerly the Grand Trunk Railway, the line between Portland and Montreal was once hugely important for Portland’s development.
When it was completed in 1853, it linked the city’s port with Montreal, 292 miles away, thus connecting Portland to western Canada and the U.S. Midwest.
Portland became the winter port for much of Canada. In 1916, when Portland’s trans-Atlantic trade peaked, grain elevators on the eastern waterfront loaded 37 million bushels of grain from western Canada onto steamships bound for Europe.
The line ran to India Street in downtown Portland until 1984, when a fire damaged a bridge over Back Cove. That made the B&M plant the end of the line.
Amtrak’s Downeaster serves Freeport and Brunswick on a different line, owned by Pan Am Railways, which also runs freight on a separate line that connects with the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad at Danville Junction.
Advocates for passenger rail service between Portland and Auburn view the St. Lawrence & Atlantic line as the best route.
Discontinuing freight service could help because it would cost less to establish passenger service on a line that didn’t also have to accommodate freight trains, said Tony Donovan, founder and president of the Maine Rail Transit Coalition.
Portland City Councilor David Marshall, who chairs the council’s Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee, said the tracks would have to be upgraded to support passenger trains, which run faster than freight trains.
“I don’t see this as being a step backwards,” he said.
Freight service is regulated by the federal government because railroads are monopolies. Discontinuing a freight service is known as “rail banking” because it allows a railroad to resume service if it can get more customers. If a railroad gets permission for discontinuation – which the St. Lawrence & Atlantic is seeking – the tracks are left in place.
Abandoning a line is more permanent, allowing the tracks to be removed.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad had three customers in East Deering and served them three times a week, according to Atlantic Northeast Rails & Ports, an industry trade publication.
By late 2006, the only customer left was the B&M Baked Beans plant.
Traffic to the factory has since declined, and the factory now receives less than one carload per month, according to the trade publication.
The freight railroad that operates on the historic line between Portland and Montreal wants to stop running trains to Portland – and serving its last customer east of Auburn.
The maker of B&M Baked Beans, which relies on trains for deliveries of dried beans from the west, would have to find another way to bring supplies to its plant on Portland’s waterfront.
Meanwhile, some proponents of passenger rail say that removing freight from the line could make it easier to re-establish passenger service between Portland and Auburn.
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad President Mario Brault said the railroad is losing money on the line between Auburn and Portland because it must maintain the tracks and crossings to serve just one customer.
“For us to maintain operation for this property is a money-losing venture, and nowadays we can’t afford to do this,” he said Friday from his office in Montreal.
On Nov. 7, the railroad filed a petition with the federal Surface Transportation Board seeking permission to discontinue freight service on the 24-mile line between Portland’s East Deering neighborhood and the Auburn city line. Auburn would be the new terminus of the freight service.
A decision is expected before March.
Officials from Burnham & Morrill Co. did not return a phone message, and a spokesman for its parent company, B&G Foods Inc., said he did not know enough about the situation to comment on it.
Brault said he believes that B&M, which has been baking beans in Portland since the 1920s, will be able to have its dried beans trucked in. One possibility, he said, is for trains to haul the beans to Danville Junction in Auburn before trucks deliver them to B&M’s five-story, century-old factory on the shore of Casco Bay.
Trains are considered the least expensive way to move such heavy, low-value commodities long distances.
While the railroad is responsible for maintaining the tracks between Auburn and Portland, the state owns the right-of-way, which it bought for $6.8 million in two transactions, in 2006 and 2009.
The state will not oppose the railroad’s petition, said Nate Moulton, director of the industrial rail access program for the Maine Department of Transportation. “We believe the economic case they are making is legitimate,” he said.
Formerly the Grand Trunk Railway, the line between Portland and Montreal was once hugely important for Portland’s development.
When it was completed in 1853, it linked the city’s port with Montreal, 292 miles away, thus connecting Portland to western Canada and the U.S. Midwest.
Portland became the winter port for much of Canada. In 1916, when Portland’s trans-Atlantic trade peaked, grain elevators on the eastern waterfront loaded 37 million bushels of grain from western Canada onto steamships bound for Europe.
The line ran to India Street in downtown Portland until 1984, when a fire damaged a bridge over Back Cove. That made the B&M plant the end of the line.
Amtrak’s Downeaster serves Freeport and Brunswick on a different line, owned by Pan Am Railways, which also runs freight on a separate line that connects with the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad at Danville Junction.
Advocates for passenger rail service between Portland and Auburn view the St. Lawrence & Atlantic line as the best route.
Discontinuing freight service could help because it would cost less to establish passenger service on a line that didn’t also have to accommodate freight trains, said Tony Donovan, founder and president of the Maine Rail Transit Coalition.
Portland City Councilor David Marshall, who chairs the council’s Transportation, Sustainability and Energy Committee, said the tracks would have to be upgraded to support passenger trains, which run faster than freight trains.
“I don’t see this as being a step backwards,” he said.
Freight service is regulated by the federal government because railroads are monopolies. Discontinuing a freight service is known as “rail banking” because it allows a railroad to resume service if it can get more customers. If a railroad gets permission for discontinuation – which the St. Lawrence & Atlantic is seeking – the tracks are left in place.
Abandoning a line is more permanent, allowing the tracks to be removed.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad had three customers in East Deering and served them three times a week, according to Atlantic Northeast Rails & Ports, an industry trade publication.
By late 2006, the only customer left was the B&M Baked Beans plant.
Traffic to the factory has since declined, and the factory now receives less than one carload per month, according to the trade publication.
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