Mass Coastal Railroad (MC) Discussion

The Gallo stub in sagamore is used for All Cape recycling and their metal business. How they currently ship out, I am unsure. I could have swore I saw a rail car inside the building though.

Hopefully the full stub is completely rebuilt, as it will force some of the businesses next door from parking on the railroad tracks. Ask me how I see it every Thursday

Here's a video about this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Gs0r6 ... RailVideos

Humor me: if the Gallo transfer station was once used for the Canal Plant fly ash, where did the fly ash go?

The Fly ash was rich in vanadium making it valuable, so Bay Colony began shipping it to Oklahoma to be refined by US Vanadium. Later Gallo Construction was retained by Canal Electric to construct a building to keep the ash from blowing over to the neighboring marina. See info on page 8 Canal Electric for further details.


https://nears.org/presentations/NEARS_S ... Colony.pdf

That car inside the shed at Gallo has been there for years. Left behind for some reason. Has Housatonic reporting marks.

Otis news today: Brush cutting is being done along the Otis double track RR siding next to the Falcon Golf course area leading to the transfer station, while the WYE track and Military line still look untouched so far.

Mass Coastal pulled out the long stored/"abandoned" gondola out of Gallo Construction in Sagamore, MA today. This will now allow MOW crews to access the siding for it to be rebuilt for the return of freight service.

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

It's so cute! Hiding out on the Cape Cod canal power plant stub

Extensive excursion this weekend: https://www.nerex.org/excursion2023.htm#mas1

Mass Coastal RR has filed with the STB to acquire the 2 Bay Colony lines (Millis and Watuppa).

Millis line: https://dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com/ ... 307491.pdf
Watuppa line: https://dcms-external.s3.amazonaws.com/ ... 307492.pdf

While the Watuppa line has a decent level of business, the Millis line is all but dormant these days. It's not clear how MC can breathe life into the moribund track.

While the Watuppa line has a decent level of business, the Millis line is all but dormant these days. It's not clear how MC can breathe life into the moribund track.

I wonder if it was a package deal, i.e. take both or none at all.

That could be! Reading through all this, my thinking is: "isn't that the total of BCLR'S operational assets?"
My own supposition/conclusion is that MCRR is buying out BCLR totally and they have to take the Millis Branch along with the Watuppa.
That said, it may be that MCRR might be better suited to making hay from the Millis Br. than whatever was left of BCLR. Who knows?
Next question is: will MCRR acquire 1701 and whatever power operates Watuppa, or will they move in their own power?

Re: Watuppa - IIRC, MCRR has been serving the BCLR customers on behalf of BCLR on a contract basis for a few years now - I don't think BCLR has actually been running trains down there.

However, I may be wrong.

It's the other way around. BCLR switches Mid-City for MC, since MDOT/MC own/operate between MP6 and end of track. BCLR's lone customer is
DBS (Dartmouth Building Supply) at Old Reed Rd in N. Dartmouth. BCLR operates MP6 to New Bedford under their own flag.

Based on what I have seen following for Mass Coastal from a high level, if there is anything to shake out of the Millis Branch, they're the ones to do it.