NYSW Customers on Utica Branch

With the NYSW Utica Branch officially reopened on June 12, I was curious what customers remain on the branch. The first train was a delivery of steel beams to a customer in New York Mills. I know about the F.X. Matt brewery. Are there other customers? Do the trains all originate from Binghamton? Does NYSW get the brewery traffic from CSX in Utica?

-otto-

Primary operation is and has been out of Utica running as far as Sangerfield, there may have been a customer in Sherburne who was less frequent. Nothing between there and Forks. Should be covered here in a post somewhere.

I've forgotten how the interchange is handled at Utica, if it's delivered to NYS&W directly or dropped on the MA&N side and NYS&W allowed to pick it up there (or MA&N switching it over to the NYS&W). Pretty sure I read that here somewhere too.

I know it was a deal cut where CSX hauls it from Syracuse for them. They could conceivably drop that and interchange it all at Syracuse again if they wanted, that's how It was done after they added Ontrak, that's why the connection at Utica became a hand throw.

Until just a few weeks ago, all NYS&W Utica branch traffic was interchanged by CSX in Utica.

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The Susquehanna serves the following customers in and around Utica:

1) FX Matt Brewery (via siding off the Utica Main located on Schuyler Street street trackage);

2) Oneida Warehouse, New Hartford (on ex-NYO&W trackage);

3) McCraith Beverage, New York Mills (fmr West Shore);

4) Fountainhead Group, New York Mills (fmr West Shore);

5) SCI Plywood, New York Mills (fmr West Shore); and

6) Di-Highway, New York Mills (fmr West Shore).

Just over 20 miles south of Utica, there are four customers in Waterville/Sangerfield: three feed mills and an asphalt company.

The pet food company in Sherburne, 20 miles south of Sangerfield, hasn't had a rail shipment since 2009.

The first revenue move up the line from Binghamton in 12 years occurred on June 14th when two bulkhead flats came north destined for DI-Highway, New York Mills.

UT-1 ran all the way to Chenango Forks yesterday returning the two flats brought up on the 14th. It will come north today with a boxcar for SCI Plywood, New York Mills.

So does that mean the UT-1 local is now assigned out of Binghamton and not Utica? Just trying to write a cogent summary for a story. Thanks!

-otto-

When Walter Rich and company took over, all interchange was actually at Utica and there were a number of customers between Waterville and Chenango Forks. As it stands now, the above is accurate. There are a few shippers in the revived zone who could conceivably come back- CV Pet Foods, Baillie Lumber, etc and maybe the stone trains south to Barrett in Binghamton could resume. Some shippers are gone. I would think for any shipper who wants access to NS, the direct routing south to Binghamton for interchange is far cheaper than a CSX haul to Syracuse and then a trip down to Bing.

Current Utica local comes out of Utica and goes as far south as Waterville. At one time the southbound Utica-based crew and the northbound Binghamton crews would meet in Norwich or Sherburne and just swap trains- the Utica guys would head back to Riggie-Land with the northbound and the Binghamton guys would head back to Spiedi Land with the southbound. Not sure the siding space exists anymore for such a meet.

Binghamton based locals get a BH-1, BH-2, etc. symbol. This train left from Utica with the now empty cars that came up previously. I would imagine the track speed must still be low enough to prevent a round trip in 12 hours, so they run down one day and return the next, like a lot of other trains or crews are run.

About 90-100 miles between Binghamton and Utica. If the track speed south of Sangerfield is 10mph would make it unlikely they could do a round trip in one day.