CMQ Operations

[KSmitty]

Yeah, the windmill train above and an east/west manifest. Don't know how often, but at least 2-2/week.

[dnelson]

A worthwhile read on CMQ track investments and the decisions regarding how to go about it, as well as on CMQ public relationships work with communities around the system. Nice to see quotes from CMQ officials in the context of a railroad orientated publication instead of a newspaper for the general public where there's the temptation to oversimplify for the average reader with no railroad knowledge.

http://cpeast.teamsterscanada.ca/2015/0 ... e-rebuild/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ryan Ratledge, chief operating officer at CMQ: “When we arrived, we were told, ‘we were a Class 3, 40 mph railroad’, which is what the time table said at the time, but when you looked at the operating bulletins and speed restrictions, it was as a practical matter a couple of sections that were good for 40 mph, but most of the rest of it was 10 mph . . . One of the plays we immediately called was to abandon the fiction that it was practical to think about returning it to a 40 mph railway. We decided that we would return it to a continuous maximum authorized speed to 25 mph and get to work fixing the 10 mph slow orders.”

[KSmitty]

Windmill train hit the property today.
http://steelribbon.smugmug.com/Other/Wi ... 9&lb=1&s=A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fritz]

Hello,
A meeting in Enosburgh Falls, Vemront allowed me to catch the CMQ making a trip into and out of Newport, Vermont on Tuesday, March 31st.

The CMQ eastbound 710 arrived in Newport on Tuesday, March 31st, at 1518 with the following:

CEFX GP20D 2007
1 SMW hi-cube boxcar
1 DJTX covered hopper
1 GATX tank car

The SMW boxcar would go south on the WACR on Wednesday's train (see below), and I am guessing that the WACR crew spotted the two other cars at Poulin's and/or Feed Commodities.

At 1605, the CMQ westbound 710 departed Newport with the following:

CEFX GP20D 2007
1 ADMX covered hopper

Meanwhile, the WACR apparently took 17 or so south on Monday, brought 17 cars north on Tuesday (all going to the CMQ (6 for local VT customers and the remainder going further north and east on CMQ), and brought 10 cars south on Tuesday (all interchanged from CMQ).

Word that I heard is that CMQ is now making 4-5 trips per week into Newport, which is a great and much needed improvement. Maybe the Newport Sub is now catching up with the other 90% of the CMQ system. Hopefully, both the local and overhead traffic will rebound now that service is more frequent and the local customers are again being switched more reliably.
Have a great day,
Fritz

[csx2039]

They have averaged 2-3 trips per week to newport in the last 3 weeks... They were cancelled again today ...

[Townshipfarmer]

They leave Farnham most of the time in the late morning, around 11 or 12.

[csx2039]

And again today as well...

[Fritz]

Hello,
Yesterday, after giving a talk about water quality, I intercepted the CMQ eastbound 710 arriving in Newport at 1530 with the following:

CMQ B23-7 2006
1 SKRX boxcar
1 KRLX boxcar
2 COER hi-cube boxcars
1 ADMX covered hopper

They left those cars for the WACR along with 7 other cars that arrived earlier in the week.

Here's a link to a photo of the 710 arriving in Newport:

http://fritz.rrpicturearchives.net/show ... id=4155102" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have a great day,
Fritz

[Townshipfarmer]

It's nice to see 2006 back in the area.

[Fritz]

Hello,
Now that the dust has settled and the CMQ seems to be getting its feet on the ground, I thought it time to revise and update the former MMA Guide that I had posted to the Files section of the CMQ Yahoo Group (the former MMA Guide is still there). Since I live about an hour (I know it's only 19 miles but this is northern New England!) from the far end of one of the CMQ branch lines, I don't often get trackside to see what is going on on other parts of the CMQ system. Thus, I was hoping that others might be able to fill me in on what is happening on the CMQ. In particular, I would like know...

What trains (preferably by symbol) are where and when into and out of:

Northern Main Junction (turns to Searport and Brownville Junction?)

Derby (switcher to Brownville Junction?)

Brownville Junction (switcher? when does train 1 leave for Farnham)

Millinocket (if any)

Megantic (is there still a switcher?)

Sherbrooke (is there still a switcher?)

Farnham (switcher? turns to St. Jean and Cowansville? what is the 812? when does train 2 leave for Maine?)

Ste. Rosalie (is there still a locomotive stationed there? )

Also are the Ste. Rosalie and Bedford Subs back in use?

I feel pretty good about the locomotive roster, so I don't think I need any information there (until the newest units arrive from LTEX).

Also any updates on new industries that are being served (or old industries that are no longer being served)

Finally, any updates on general track speeds for the various subdivisions

Okay, I think that is all for now (and I know it is a lot of questions), but I'd like to get an up-to-date CMQ uploaded to the Yahoo Group and anyone else who is interested. I don't know how - or if it is possible - to upload the guide to this site (it is in a PDF format), but I would be happy to send the revised guide to anyone who is interested.

Thanks for any help.
Cheers,
Fritz

[Townshipfarmer]

The stanbridge sub and at Rosalie sub have seen no action at all since MMA. In St Sabine where 8583 sat and was left for dead they have removed the track, ballast and soil under the ballast. I imagine this is because of a fuel leak. The large Shurgain feed mill that burnt in Ange gardien was directly next to the tracks and there is debris on the tracks. Either of these two lines were cleaned all winter. I live with in five miles of the sherbrooke main line, but I have not been able to determine a regular time that they leave farnham. However I am am with in ear shot of the newport sub and have had a hard time catching the newport train regularly since October or November. The Newport train has been running more regular in the last month or so. However they seem to pass threw cowansville and sutton just at chore time so I have not been able to see the size of the trains. Sorry for not having any specific info. I do not have a radio so I do not hear anything that is said.

[doublestack]

A little action on the Moosehead sub.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7luJO7cPsc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks to MaineRailFanner PAR/CMQ/NBS for the video.

[csx2039]

Traffic has dried up on the Newport sub. What little traffic we had (through and local) has disappeared. I have never seen it this bad...

[CN9634]

Traffic has dried up on the Newport sub. What little traffic we had (through and local) has disappeared. I have never seen it this bad...

Well I would once again be patient, we are barely a year into CMQ ops in the US and not even in Canada.

A friend showed me this: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 822&type=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[csx2039]

The rest of cmq lines are doing well. Kudos to them for that. I'm just wondering why they continue to loose business in vt. Over the course of a year you would think that they would make at least some progress. Or at the absolute least stay constant. Not loose everything. Something is a miss. No trips to newport this week.