Pan Am PLED and EDPL

Could be a coincidence but there is a A Duie Pyle Trucking facility in Southington. Pyle is a large transporter of bottled and bulk water for Nestle. Might make a quick cross dock from container to dry van and a quick return of empty equipment back to Maine.

fogg1703 wrote:Could be a coincidence but there is a A Duie Pyle Trucking facility in Southington. Pyle is a large transporter of bottled and bulk water for Nestle. Might make a quick cross dock from container to dry van and a quick return of empty equipment back to Maine.

They're 1 block away from the tracks on W. Queen St. That's them to the left with the orange trucks in the lot: https://goo.gl/maps/9FTKtkQZuZ12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

I guess if Yarde Metals didn't mind having that sign and nicely-manicured garden mowed down you could fork off a new siding, put down a diagonal grade crossing at the Newell/W. Queen intersection (4-way stop signs), and bring it right onto their property with only 400 ft. of new track construction. Otherwise I can't see where they'd find the room to unload anywhere near here. The abutting commercial businesses aren't going to give up their rear parking lots for a loading pad.

My point was less about direct rail access but proximity to the unloading site to minimize dray times and costs. Think UPS in Shrewsbury. I'd imagine the economics and logistics would be maximized if empties were ready for reloading once the loads were removed. Equipment could be made ready to turn within 24 hours or less in CT. The loads could then be cross docked at A Duie Pyle within 36-48 hours or until the next trainload arrives. Rinse and repeat.

fogg1703 wrote:Could be a coincidence but there is a A Duie Pyle Trucking facility in Southington. Pyle is a large transporter of bottled and bulk water for Nestle. Might make a quick cross dock from container to dry van and a quick return of empty equipment back to Maine.

I'll throw this observation into the mix. I saw a pair of Pyle road tractors each with an Emskip container heading into Clinton, MA last Saturday. I assume they were coming from Ayer and also assume they were heading towards the warehouses near the Worcester main. They were coming from I-190.

fogg1703 wrote:My point was less about direct rail access but proximity to the unloading site to minimize dray times and costs. Think UPS in Shrewsbury. I'd imagine the economics and logistics would be maximized if empties were ready for reloading once the loads were removed. Equipment could be made ready to turn within 24 hours or less in CT. The loads could then be cross docked at A Duie Pyle within 36-48 hours or until the next trainload arrives. Rinse and repeat.

Well, if they're not going to get direct rail access then there's no point in considering a loading site on the Canal Line-proper. Just truck out of Plainville Yard 2-1/2 miles away where they're already set up for that. PAS would have no interest in doing set-offs on the main sandwiched between nearby grade crossings, out in the open, with no runaround track because of the adjacent Quinnipiac River trestle, with the extra liability of having to have the customer cross multiple property lines to fetch at a very awkward-access loading spot. That's a de facto team track, and no railroad with a yard in near- walking distance would ever seek to operate a team track that close to home base. The rumor of this being an on-line operation doesn't pass the smell test unless there is an actual customer siding involved on customer property (though it doesn't necessarily need to be Pyle's property if somebody else adjacent to the tracks is willing to host that siding).

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Well, if they're not going to get direct rail access then there's no point in considering a loading site on the Canal Line-proper. Just truck out of Plainville Yard 2-1/2 miles away where they're already set up for that. PAS would have no interest in doing set-offs on the main sandwiched between nearby grade crossings, out in the open, with no runaround track because of the adjacent Quinnipiac River trestle, with the extra liability of having to have the customer cross multiple property lines to fetch at a very awkward-access loading spot. That's a de facto team track, and no railroad with a yard in near- walking distance would ever seek to operate a team track that close to home base. The rumor of this being an on-line operation doesn't pass the smell test unless there is an actual customer siding involved on customer property (though it doesn't necessarily need to be Pyle's property if somebody else adjacent to the tracks is willing to host that siding).

Good point. Perhaps that industrial building to the south and its siding are an option.

That building appears to currently be occupied by a shooting range/law enforcement training facility. How much is occupied and if there is enough space for Poland springs would be my question.
However on another note is anyone aware of a special delivery to the plainville yard. Driving by the other day there were a couple of cranes unloaded a rail car.

I can only begin to imagine the volume of containers that would run down to this terminal if Poland Spring decided they wanted to ship water here. This would be a near daily service.

gokeefe wrote:I can only begin to imagine the volume of containers that would run down to this terminal if Poland Spring decided they wanted to ship water here. This would be a near daily service.

Plainville's got room, and a couple good-condition cranes installed in the early-90's for a short-lived IM operation back in the day. Very well-equipped and well-positioned yard for an increase in activity, and lots of slack space where they can re-lay long ago removed track to add capacity. When the I-84 Aetna Viaduct in Hartford goes under the knife for a 10-year carmageddon Plainville's got a lot of strategic upside as a lifeboat for the severely compromised truck access spanning Greater Hartford during the disruption. PAS's recent renewed interest in growing EDPL and the PL-#'s is no accident. Whether it ultimately fits into the NS system after they buy out PAS or whether it's a shortline outsource candidate where they bank on profit margin growth at the interchange, there is a healthy amount of medium-term upside to exploit here. The Highland and Plainville Yard are overbuilt for what they handle, obviously the Conn River and Springfield Line are being rebuilt all-new, and the state-of-repair on the branch and in the yard is pretty decent relative to lots of D1 & D2. They don't have to expend very much money or effort getting decent ROI here.

Sounds like a major opportunity. Interesting to think this could happen.

The overhead crane down there was installed and only used by the steel company who owns the adjacent warehouse and who used to get rail cars. Not aware of any IM ever going to Plainville yard outside of those few test loads last year.

I would have to imagine this would help Poland Spring access the New York market. PS has an NYC warehouse in White Plains, NY. Relatively convenient to Plainville, CT. Interesting to note that Plainville, CT appears to be the closest intermodal rail-road terminal going east out of New York City.

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Plainville's got room, and a couple good-condition cranes installed in the early-90's for a short-lived IM operation back in the day.

When was this? Are you thinking of the short-lived BASP intermodal service?

Not to nitpick, but NYC has an intermodal terminal of its own (Harlem River Yard). Problem is, no one wants to use it.

There tends a security problem at NYC yards,Breaking seals and five finger discounting from containers ,trailers,and
boxcars.