Portsmouth Branch Activity

Thanks for the write up. I took a video a few years ago of the bridge lowering to let the train through.

https://youtu.be/NEDLL3ncUd4

I have not seen any photos of the train coming back to Portsmouth yesterday so I would also love to see those!

That is a great video,THANK YOU.This is a new bridge that replaced the old bridge 10 +- years ago.I was wrongly thinking of the old bridge with the girder span pulled up onto the tracks.I am turning into a dinosaur.

Ah yes you were describing the old bridge... I didn't actually catch that.. it must be early...

Here is a video from Eric Reuter showing the first rail vehicle over the new bridge. It's a nice view as he was stood on the bridge itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUp_9q1RqjE

Three pieces of MOW equipment dropped of in Portsmouth yard between yesterday and today, stay tuned!!!

Equipment for the CSX tie gang. They did most of the branches last fall to keep them open, I imagine they will be doing Portsmouth and the Saco IT this year.

A new office trailer has been placed at Rockingham Jct.
By the sounds the long run around up by Patterson Lane will be rebuilt soon, per comments on Facebook the town supposedly won a lawsuit against the railroad and this work is being done to move some of the cars in storage out of downtown as well as to keep the units at Rockingham now.

The old MP-P14 mile post marker is on the disused section of track past Patterson Lane. When CSX changed the mile posts to count down instead of up from Rockingham P1 is now by the SubCom/Tyco spur. Would they create a MP-P0 now where MP-14 was? Or not bother at all?

Is that DCS still or Industrial? If the latter mileposts only matter for valuation and not on the ground operational purposes.

Yes likely just operational. It's controlled between P13 (old P1) at the start of the branch near Rockingham Junction to Emery which is around around P5 (old P9) and past that I guess it really doesn't matter as its the yard and the industrial track.

The MOW dept was out this morning dropping switch timbers and a reused frog and switch points.

Jonathan603 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 27, 2024 2:19 pm Yes likely just operational. It's controlled between P13 (old P1) at the start of the branch near Rockingham Junction to Emery which is around around P5 (old P9) and past that I guess it really doesn't matter as its the yard and the industrial track.

I must have been imagining things thinking the Newington was DCS, it actually was the Hampton Branch that popped in my mind. Which as you know split off at Emery and was DCS/TWC - it was still serviced for a time when I was there.

Since it is an Industrial track then yes, mileposts aren't used for anything really operational wise. Just for valuation, and perhaps crossing puposes.

Thanks for the followup. I wonder what reason they renamed the MP's in descending order from Rockingham in the first place. Seems to me it would make sense to keep it ascending just in case active track gets added like in this case.

Also, on that note, does anyone know if there are any mile post markings on the track that goes over the bridge to the Navy Yard? I have never seen any.

Jonathan603 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 12:06 pm Thanks for the followup. I wonder what reason they renamed the MP's in descending order from Rockingham in the first place. Seems to me it would make sense to keep it ascending just in case active track gets added like in this case.

When the branch went all the way from Portsmouth to Manchester, mileage was measured from Portsmouth. Considering the bankruptcy when the rails between Rockingham and Manch. were lifted, renumbering may have seemed extravagant, and in the subsequent decades, simply overlooked.

They were renumbered by CSX last year.

The ties that marked the end of the track just before Patterson Lane have been removed.