The sad state at Pan Am Railways

Interesting article. Read it and let me know what you think.

http://www.ctnow.com/custom/nmm/valleya ... a-advocate


If this should be in the Pan Am part of the forum forgive me and move is required.

Okay, not all railways are speedways. She forgets thet the business on on Pan Am has to come up before big maintenance can happen

Another way to look at it is the fact that the tracks were in far better shape when Mellon bought the railroad. After years of drawing every possible dollar out of the operation while doing minimal maintenance, you can't expect businesses to agree to come on line to pay for all of this neglect which we all know will continue as long as this clown is allowed to play with trains. It's too bad that there isn't a way that the state could take away at least the Conn River line and give it to an outfit that really WAS interested in running a railroad. Just like the state can take land to make way for a road in the interest of serving the public, they should be able to do the same for railroads. Guilford/PanAM or whatever other name is put on this debacle is clearly helping both keep passenger service from happening as well as driving what industry is left either out of the region or, at the very least to trucking.

I was around the B&M quite a bit in the mid to late 60's and it was not in great shape. However, having been along the same tracks under the ownership of Pan Am, 1967's track looked great. Today's railroad looks like a neglected rural branch line from the '50s rathar than a mainline operation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Hudson River. Pan Am, and other so called railroad companies of today, certainly have not been good caretakers of the properties. The attitude is to produce a product with as little input as possible and if the customer doesn't like it, they can go elsewhere. It is a shame that the Federal and state governments who have issued the charters for service do not hold the owners/operators of those charters responsible for a level of service and safety for the regional communities served. Because a railroad like Pan Am doesn't want to maintain and operate a track to a standard which might attract or keep or grow a business in a town or county or state or region should reviewable by the governments who issued the charters. Just because Pan Am, as a private corporation, has a right to make money, doesn't mean it can deny proper service to its online communities and their attending economies.

Interesting article. I'm not a Pan Am or (former) B&M insider, but she really seems to hammer Mellon and Co. Actually I'm surprised the paper printed such a one-sided story-- even if the reporter is right, it's odd that she doesn't get a comment from anyone in the industry talking nice about Pan Am.

Henry, I couldn't agree more--just because they're privately held does't give them the right to run their railroad into the ground. The reporter's points about hazardous cargo are well taken, but more generally, railroads-- freight and passenger-- are public goods. They shouldn't be allowed to deteriorate the way Pan Am evidently has.

I wonder if what the State of Maine has done with the Lewiston Lower Branch and the line from Brunwick to Rockland will become more of the norm-- to purchase the line outright, rehab it and contract operations to a short line carrier like M&E, etc. I'm veering off topic here, but the State of Maine's best investment at this moment might be to buy the Pan Am tracks from Portland to Brunswick, regardless of the price Pan Am demands. The potential growth might make it worthwhile. At least then the state wouldn't be held hostage by a company intent on sucking the marrow from it's railroad operations.

This person writing this story does not have a clue what she is talking about. Amtrak has an average speed of 55 Miles per Hour on the line from Brattleboro to Palmer. That line is not Pan Am's, its New England Centrals line. Amtrak travels at the speed limit for that line, 59 MPH. There are only a 5 or 6 slow orders for them and they are only for 50 MPH. When Amtrak gets on the CSX line to SPringfield, they can travel at 60mph.

Brian

Don't confuse track speed with scheduled or actual speed, Brian. If you have a 60 mile an hour no speed restrictions railorad exactly 60 miles long you will cover the distance in over an hour allowing for a train to attain the speed and then slow down to a stop. If you were to add even 6 stops you would increase your schedule drastically. For the sake of arguement lets say the six stops, including slowing down and acceleration to 60 plus the dwell or actual stop time at station, each consumes 5 minutes of time not at 60mph. You are now down to an average speed of 40 mph. Look at an intercity bus schedule: usually based on 60mph point to point. In order achieve that schedule a bus has to be travelling 70-80 mph on your highway. Check commuter train schedules: 30-40 miles in one and a half to two hours! Track speeds can be 80, but station stops and terminal speeds makes for longer schedules.

NH1>>Just like the state can take land to make way for a road in the interest of serving the public, they should be able to do the same for railroads.

I'm not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV) but IIRC the Feds took the Conn River Line in NH and VT away from Guilford and gave it to NEC because it became inadequate for Amtrak through neglect. Since railroads are mainly subject to Federal law, not state, I suspect that this is what would be necessary. Unfortunately, I don't see Norfolk Southern - or even P&W - showing any interest.

Guilford's actions seem less perverse if you look at them as being a real estate company that runs a railroad only because it has to, by law.
PBM

Talk about one thing and venting on another. I can't believe the story included past due tax bills? I would think the town would have some means other than public print to collect it's tax. I don't agree with the articles untimate goal at all, we already know what type of neighbor ANY RR is, a nosiy dirty one with the same potential of accident as living next to any major means of transportation, if you don't like it .....don't move next to it!

SPACEMONKEY wrote:Talk about one thing and venting on another. I can't believe the story included past due tax bills? I would think the town would have some means other than public print to collect it's tax. I don't agree with the articles untimate goal at all, we already know what type of neighbor ANY RR is, a nosiy dirty one with the same potential of accident as living next to any major means of transportation, if you don't like it .....don't move next to it!

Timmy?

Henry6

I agree with you too. I'm currently working for a private electronics company that is up for sale. The reason for the sale - because the owners have sucked every last cent they can, and now there's nothing left except to sell what they can and get out!

It's sad the way companies operate today. GTI, Pan Am, or whatever you want to call them, is no different then the company I work for now.

John

cnr6060 wrote:Okay, not all railways are speedways. She forgets thet the business on on Pan Am has to come up before big maintenance can happen

Uh, Pan Am (Guilford) had PLENTY of buissness. for the last 20 years. But they have continually provided horrible service to so many customers that they choose to deal with trucks. This is a fact. The reason Pan Am tracks are falling apart has NOTHING to do with lack of buissness (they have plenty). It has to do with management not wanting to spend any money. The same reason there loco's are falling apart. Fink likes to play a game where he can squeeze as much out of the railroad without putting anything back in. Again, this is FACT. If you know anything about how railroads work, you would know that Pan Am is NOT in any sort of financial trouble. They could buy new engines and fix all the track and still make a profit. They simply choose not to.

Another reason for poor rail service in New England is the Teamsters Union.

I find a couple points of the article interesting. First, citing that trucks go 70 MPH on the interstate. Maybe so, but at that they are legally speeding.

The second is the comment that the trains move so slow that crews sometimes stretch their legs by walking alongside the train. Shouldn't the crew be on the train at all times unless it is stopped (except while switching, of course)?

Pan Am Ry. sounds like those Wall Street brokerage houses that will
take a company private then suck the life out of it by selling off assets
and raiding the pension fund until the company is bankrupt.