Iron Horse Roundup For December 2012

A Canadian Pacific and DM&E SD40-2 lead a Rapid City to Huron, SD freight past an abandoned farmhouse in Wasta, SD in March 2010. Jeff Robertson photo

CANADIAN PACIFIC-Canadian Pacific has announced their intention to sell approximately 660 miles of former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern trackage between Tracy, MN and Rapid City, SD along with branches from Rapid City to Colony, WY and Dakota Jct, NE.

Canadian Pacific acquired the DM&E as well as sister railroad Iowa, Chicago & Eastern in 2008. Even before it's acquisition by CP Rail, the DM&E had made plans to build new trackage west of South Dakota's Black Hills to tap coal traffic from Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Although CP Rail planned on following through with construction of the new line, declining coal prices and a hostile takeover of the company from Pershing Square Capital Management in 2012 have caused those plans to be shelved.

While the western end of the DM&E still generates considerable freight traffic in the form of grain, ethanol, aggregate and clay, much of the right of way through South Dakota is in need of an upgrade, with speed restrictions between 10 and 25 MPH commonplace. With no new line into the Powder River Basin and coal traffic, Canadian Pacific CEO Hunter Harrison has decided the railroad should divest themselves of the entire western end of the DM&E.

The DM&E itself started up in 1986 after taking over operations from former Chicago & North Western trackage in Minnesota and South Dakota that was spun off. In 2002, the DM&E purchased the assets of the Washington Company's I&M Rail Link, renaming it the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern. This encompassed the former Milwaukee Road/Soo Line route between the Twin Cities and Kansas City (via the Quad Cities) as well as the east west line between Sheldon, IA and Chicago, IL. It's believed that Canadian Pacific will likely retain most of the former IC&E.

With the shutdown of the Catalyst Paper mill in Snowflake, AZ looming Apache C420 #91 hauls a string of boxcars to the BNSF interchange at Holbrook, AZ in September 2012. Ted Ellis photo

APACHE RAILWAY- The facilities for Catalyst Paper's mill in Snowflake, AZ- including the Apache Railway- has been sold to Los Angeles-based Hackman Capital for a reported $13,460,000 and other non-cash considerations.

The massive paper mill at Snowflake, AZ permanently shut down in October- both the railroad and mill were owned by Canadian paper company Catalyst. While the long-term future of the Apache is up in the air, the railway has been kept busy with removing stored cars from the line and hauling feed to a sizable pig farm north of Snowflake. Meanwhile the town of Snowflake is looking into potential tenants for the former Catalyst mill just west of Snowflake. In November, the Snowflake town council had threatened to seize the Apache right-of-way via condemnation when it learned potential buyers for the railroad were appraising it for scrap value.

Although the Catalyst shutdown this fall resulted in nearly 300 layoffs, geologists and mining concerns have discovered significant quantities of Potash nearby in the Holbrook Basin worth more than $300 billion.

Ann Arbor GP38 #7791 switches autoracks in Toledo, OH in March 2011. Michael Harding photo

ANN ARBOR- Kansas-based shortline operator WATCO has announced their acquisition of the Ann Arbor Railroad at the end of December. In its most recent incarnation, the Ann Arbor's fortunes have been tied to the auto industry.

The Ann Arbor Railroad serves southeastern Michigan and the Toledo, Ohio, areas, mainly shipping auto and other manufacturing goods. It operates 50 miles of track between Ann Arbor and Toledo and has Toledo-area terminals serving General Motors Co., Chrysler and Ford Motor Co.

The original Ann Arbor operated line out of Toledo, OH as well as a number of train ferries on Lake Michigan until its 1973 bankruptcy and 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Eventually, a truncated version of the original Ann Arbor started up operations between its namesake city and Toledo, OH in 1988. This latest acquisition, along with the 2011 purchase of the Wisconsin Southern represents a trend where shortline operators such as Rail America or WATCO buy up independent shortlines or regionals rather than purchase lines divested by Class 1 carriers.
 

Hampton & Branchville GP9# 667 leads a unit coal train of former Chessie and Norfolk & Western GP9s at  Hampton, SC. Adam Finger photo

SOUTH CAROLINA- The 40 mile Hampton and Branchville made what may be their final revenue run at the end of December. The H&B's only customer is the South Carolina Electric and Gas power plant in Canadays, SC. The line, which started out as a lumber carrier in 1901, had the SCE&G plant as its only remaining customer before the plant switched from coal to natural gas.

The line uses a mix of former Chessie and Norfolk & Western GP9s for motive power- all of them still in the colors of their previous owner.

Amtrak Baggae/cab control car #90213 is seen departing Brunswick, ME with a southbound Downeaster on November 3rd, 2012. Michael White photo.

AMTRAK- Some changes are afoot for the national passenger carrier in New England. At the beginning of November, Amtrak launched an extended service on their popular Downeaster route. The daily Boston, MA-Portland, ME train has been extended east to Brunswick and Freeport, ME via Pan Am's former Maine Central Rockland Branch.

In 2010, Amtrak and the Maine Department of Transportation announced their plans to extend the Downeaster route another 30 miles to serve Freeport and Brunswick. Freeport, ME is perhaps best known for being home to LL Bean's flagship store while Brunswick is home to the small Bowdoin College. During warmer weather, the Downeaster  will also reportedly connect with Maine Eastern's seasonal excursions between Brunswick and Rockland, ME.

Meanwhile, in western Massachusetts, work is proceeding on rerouting the Vermonter to PanAm's former Boston & Maine line between Springfield and Greenfield, MA. The move would eliminate a 20-mile dogleg over the CSX's former Boston & Albany mainline between Palmer and Springfield, MA before travelling north on the New England Central to St Albans, VT. The Vermonter's predecessor, Amtrak's Montrealer, ran this route until deteriorating track conditions forced its suspension in 1987.

There has also been talk of restoring Amtrak service all the way to Montreal via White River Jct and St Albans, VT. In June, Vermont's Agency of Transportation was awarded a $7.9 million TIGER grant to upgrade some 20 miles of New England Central line used by the Vermonter. At the time, Rail America was reportedly contributing $3 million to the effort.

"The award shows the confidence in the state of Vermont and the railroad by the Federal Department of Transportation," said Christopher Parker, executive director of the Vermont Rail Action Network, an advocacy group. Parker noted Vermont's TIGER IV grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation was given to primarily to improve freight train speeds and raise weight limits for freight, but passenger trains also eventually would benefit. The federal funds will help pay for 19 miles of new welded rail, ties, ballast, and bridge upgrades that will raise speeds to 40 mph for freight (and 59 mph for passenger trains). The weight limit will rise from 263,000 pounds per car to 286,000 pounds. resulting in a competitive benefit for Vermont. Vermont is providing $7 million and the NECR, owned by RailAmerica, Inc., is contributing $3 million. Said Parker, "This award checks off one of four steps needed to extend Amtrak's Vermonter to Montreal," said Parker. "Progress is happening on the other three items as well, thanks to Vermont House and Senate member] efforts and the work of the Agency of Transportation and Amtrak." St. Albans, Vt., has been Amtrak's northern terminus for the Vermonter since 1995, when the Montrealer's route was cut back.

Meanwhile, the western Massachusetts reroute of the Vermonter through the rather presumptively named 'Knowledge Corridor' will eliminate Amherst, MA as a stop while adding Greenfield and Northampton, MA. Currently, the line sees freight service from Pan Am Rail serving the coal-fired power plant at Mt Tom as well as the CSX interchange in Springfield and Pioneer Valley Railroad interchange in Holyoke, MA.

MBTA- Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has announced the resumption of service to Cape Cod beginning this summer.

The service, dubbed the CapeFLyer, will run through Labor Day. Trains will depart South Station Friday evening , and also on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Trains depart from Hyannis Saturday and Sunday evenings, with a possible Monday morning departure still being discussed. Round-trip tickets will cost $30, and bicycles will be allowed on board. The two-hour trip time is considered time-competitive, given the near-legendary, decades-old seasonal road gridlock that occurs on approaches to both the Bourne Bridge and Sagamore Bridge, each of which spans the Cape Cod Canal. Cape Cod is a major summer destination not just for Massachusetts residents, but for many in the New York metropolitan area as well.

Between 1988 and 1996, Amtrak handled trains to Cape Cod with their New York to Hyannis, MA Cape Codder service- at the time running over trackage belonging to the Bay Colony Railroad and being one of the few Amtrak trains to regularly operate over a shortline.

You can't tell through those weeds, but apparently this train HASN'T derailed yet. Still lettered for Santa Fe, Maumee & Western GP7u #5 trundles over the former Wabash right of way in Okolona, OH. WM Heilman photo

OHIO- A shortline that has gained infamy in some circles for its deferred maintainance has found a new owner.

Pioneer Railcorp completed their purchase of the 51-mile Maumee & Western at the end of December, renaming the line the Napoleon, Defiance & Western. Although the line runs from the Norfolk Southern interchange at Woodburn, IN to Cecil, OH, the line between Defiance and Cecil is currently used for car storage. Trains typically operate at what could be describes as walking speed over the rest of the right-of-way due to deferred maintenance.
The line was spun off as a result of Indiana Hi-Rail's bankruptcy in the 1990s and in apparent defiance of both gravity and at least a few FRA regulations, hauled aggregates, manufactured goods and feed with an array of secondhand Geeps from the Santa Fe and Illinois Central.

Saratoga & North Creek B39-8 #8524 is seen with BL2 #52 with the Snow Train to Gore Mtn in March 2012. John Sesonske photo

NEW YORK- Saratoga & North Creek's aspirations to be a freight carrier may be realized sooner than expected thanks to Superstorm Sandy. Over the summer, Saratoga & North Creek's parent company, Iowa Pacific holdings, outlined plans to rehab more than 30 miles of  abandoned former Delaware & Hudson line to Tawahus, NY to remove tailings and waste rock from abandoned mines there.

The tailings were to be used in making cement and concrete- something needed along the northeastern corridor as parts of New York City and elsewhere are still cleaning up after the damage from Superstorm Sandy.

Although the S&NC started out as an excursion line, Iowa Pacific began actively courting potential shippers along the route despite opposition from the Sierra Club.

Iron Horse Roundup for July 2012- Genesee & Wyoming to Purchase Rail America For $1.39 Billion; Mill Closure May Be Catalyst for Apache Shutdown; Sails on Rails- America's Cup Yachts Take Cross Country Train Ride

Apache C424 #98 is seen leading six green & white ALCos southbound out of Holbrook, AZ with 60 loads of coal for the Catalyst Paper mill in Snowflake in May 2011. Drew Mitchem photo.

APACHE- Eastern Arizona's Apache Railroad may be on borrowed time as its parent company and primary shipper announced that it plans to shut down the massive paper mill in Snowflake, AZ this fall.

Citing lowering demand for newsprint and increased fuel prices, Richmond, BC-based Catalyst Papers issued a statement on Monday announcing that they would be permanently closing the Snowflake mill by September 30, 2012.

"Pink slips" are expected to be in the hands of workers by 4 p.m. this afternoon, according to plant officials.

They have also told state officials that if they could get their hands on enough raw wood fiber, perhaps as part of the 4FRI initiative, they could convert back from recycled to fresh paper. That conversion, they have said, would cost around $30 million, which they are apparently not willing to invest on their own.

"This is horrible," said State Senator Sylvia Allen (R-Snowflake) Monday night. "That's around 380 direct jobs, but with truck drivers, rail and other ancillary jobs, it could mean 1,000 jobs.

Handling inbound shipments of coal for the mill's power plant and outbound shipments of paper products, the Apache remains popular with rail enthusiasts for their curious choice of operating exclusively with ALCo locomotives when the manufacturer closed its doors in 1968.

Decked out in Rail America livery, Toledo, Peoria & Western GP38-2 #3821 leads an EMD endcab switcher across the Illinois River in August 2007. The bridge is owned by Genesee & Wyoming's Tazewell and Peoria Railroad. Craig McGregor photo

GENESEE AND WYOMING- In a move that would consolidate the two largest shortline operators in North America, Genesee & Wyoming has reportedly reached an agreement with Fortress Investment Group [NYSE- FIG] to purchase shortline holding company Rail America for $1.39 Billion.

The transaction would give Connecticut-based Genesee & Wyoming control of 111 lines total, pending regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board. Genesee & Wyoming reported that they would incorporate the existing Rail America lines into the GWR corporate structure and operations.

Genesee & Wyoming said the deal would diversify its customer and commodity bases, increase its total revenue by nearly two-thirds, to about $1.4 billion, and double its North American revenue to about $1.1 billion. Following the transaction, Genesee will have 111 railroads.

RailAmerica shareholders will receive $27.50 a share, an 11% premium over Friday's closing price.

Shares of Rail America [NYSE- RA] have seen an 83% increase in value since the beginning of 2012 while Genesee & Wyoming shares are down 7% over the same period of time. GWR attributes that in part on a decline in the demand for coal- a commodity many of of its subsidiaries haul.

New England Central SD40-2 #721 is seen leading the northbound 'America's Cup Express' over the Winooski River in N. Duxbury, VT on July 12, 2012. Kevin Burkholder photo

NEW ENGLAND CENTRAL- The America's Cup is coming to Vermont!

Actually, that's only partly true- the America's Cup came and went from the Green Mountain state, only it was in a form that hardly anybody would recognize.



The America's Cup tournament is a yacht racing tournament that pits some of the most innovative vessel designs against teams from around the world, and for the first time in the history of the Cup, the bulk of the equipment was moved across the country via freight train. Reportedly, organizers had considered loading up all the equipment and sending it via the Panama Canal to San Francisco where the America's Cup 2012-2013 World Series is set to get underway on August 21 but decided sending the containers and support equipment to the City by the Bay by rail was more cost effective and fuel efficient.

After finishing up the final event of the 2011-2012 World Tour in Newport, RI most of the yachts and support equipment made their way to Quonset, RI where they were loaded into containers, then placed onto COFC cars and assembled into a 1.5 mile long train by Seaview Transportation before being handed off to the Providence & Worcester on July 9th.

From there, the train was handed off to the New England Central where it made its way north through the western reaches of Masachusetts and New Hampshire before heading northwest through Vermont. The train- dubbed the America's Cup Express- was supposed to hand off its 121 car train to the Canadian National at St. Alban's, VT. However, the trip didn't go quite as smoothly as hoped.

It was supposed to be a 10-day trip until a container shifted Tuesday causing a one-day delay and then crew scheduling problems Wednesday led to a second day on a siding in New Hampshire. Thursday, it finally got underway again.

From St. Albans, the train continues to Montreal on the Canadian National before heading southwest to Chicago where the massive consist was handed off to the Union Pacific. The UP handled it the rest of the way to San Francisco, where it arrived on July 24th and was offloaded at Pier 80.

San Francisco Bay Railroad ALCo S2 #23 seen switching container well cars at the final destination of the America's Cup Express, Pier 80 in San Francisco, CA. Ron Close photo

Despite the America's Cup Express setback in New Hampshire, those involved in the sails-on-rails move remained enthusiastic about the move.

“It is a great example of a freight train as an alternative to trucking if railroads cooperate,” Vermont Transportation Secretary Brian Searles said. “It is pretty exciting it is coming through Vermont,” he said, noting he hoped to be able to see it pass by Montpelier. Freight trains of more than 100 cars are pretty rare sights these days, he said.

The special freight train turned out to be the preferred option to not only trucking but the more likely option of chartering a freighter and sailing the load through the Panama Canal and up to San Francisco, explained Eric Moffett, president of Seaview Transportation Co. in North Kingston, R.I. Moffett worked with several railroads, including the New England Central Railroad, which runs through Vermont, to put together the travel package.

“It is exciting,” Moffett said, because the special train will show the competitiveness of rail transport to a world audience — the international teams associated with the America’s Cup

Moffett of Seaview Transportation likened the train to the circus trains of another era that contained everything the entertainers needed for their shows. The setup for each America’s Cup regatta includes machine shops, broadcasting facilities, and team gear tents, Moffett said.

Christopher Parker, executive director of the Vermont Rail Action Network, noted the importance of freight to the future of rail as well as roads in Vermont.

“While this is an unusual move, it illustrates how much of the freight in Vermont is moving through en-route to or from other parts of New England,” Parker said.

While in San Francisco, the America's Cup World Series will get underway the week of August 21st through the 26th and resume beginning the week of October 2nd.

A trio of Wheeling & Lake Erie SD40-2s in charge of a stone train in Rochester, OH at sunset.Cody Zamostny photo

WHEELING & LAKE ERIE- Officials from the Wheeling & Lake Erie were on hand for the grand opening of a 10 acre National Lime and Stone site in Martins Ferry, OH that would see 60-car unit stone trains offloaded and used for construction and drilling pads for natural gas exploration in the nearby Utica and Marcellus Shales.

He said the operation begins when the limestone is mined, processed and crushed at Carey Quarry, which employs about 30 people.

The stone is loaded into 60-car unit trains. The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad transports trains to the Martins Ferry facility. It is unloaded at the site for use in various projects such as contractors, asphalt and concrete production, Ohio Department of Transportation projects, commercial and residential projects, the Utica Shale pads and roads and the general public.

[National Lime & Stone's] DiBerardino noted afterward that they have been in operation in the site for about a month. The company will hire several employees to manage the site and load and unload the stone.

In addition to hauling coal, grain, steel coils, salt, coke, lumber and scrap metal the W&LE has been kept busy hauling frac sand and pipe for natural gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

The W&LE remains one of the relatively few independently operated regional railroads in the United States.

Today's Train of Thought: Going Green (With a Touch of White)- October 7, 2009

Today's Train of Thought is from railpictures.net contributor John Ireland, who caught Apache Railway C424 #98 heading south through the desert with two Alco C420s after picking up its' train from the BNSF interchange in Holbrook, AZ in September.

The Apache is fairly unique in that their motive power is exclusively Alco or MLW (Montreal Locomotive Works). Alco manufactured their last locomotive in 1969, making spare parts or replacements increasingly difficult to find over the years. However, there remain a handful of railways scattered across the country who continue to use nothing but Alco (or similarly-designed MLW) locomotives to this day. Now that's brand loyalty.