Pan Am Worcester Main Line

taracer wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2024 11:57 am To be clear, I don't mean to imply that this will be an active switching yard. It's more like what CP did in the old D&H Watervliet shops yard to stage the oil trains for Kenwood yard in Albany.

A few tracks for a place to park trains off the B&A main and turn an engine which is often necessary due to the cab signals required on the B&A.

I was thinking it would look more like the Mattawamkeag "yard". At least three tracks. Maybe P&W on the left, CSX on the right and a track between to leave cars for transfer.

Interestingly enough from the Worcester property map, the site narrows to ~60' from the existing main track center to the I-290 property line, over ~40' from the roadway, for ~1800' of the ~4000' area toward functional track capacity. Unless there's an easement onto the I-290 property, good for 3 additional tracks dependent upon 14' track centers and whether extending the 2nd main for throughput vs. yard track capacity.

Did Mid-States Packaging precede the mid-90's ECM Plastics locating in that facility north of Millbrook Street?

Regarding the questions about what the old yard looked like/track arrangements were, here's a B&M valuation map from 1974, right around the time the P&W acquired the line to Gardner. It shows the track leading under I-290.

Interesting the lot next to the Worcester Telegram building (south of CK Smith) is labeled "Piggyback Area."

Looking just above what is labeled "Piggyback Area" there's a track right against the "Taken by the Comm of Mass" (I-290) area leading to a structure called "Ramp". That was the B&M's circus-style piggyback ramp, where in the same year of Mr. Moldover's generously provided val map they offered a late afternoon departure arriving Chicago 2nd morning via the D&H-EL.

Here are a few photos from Sunday 7/14/24 taken of the clearing work for the future CSX engine servicing/turntable area (?) just south of the Worcester Business Center's south parking lot off Millbrook St. With all the foliage, it's tough to get a decent photo - the red line represents the location of the currently out-of-sight P&W Main to Barbers. The other 2 photos are north and south views from the Garden St crossing of the P&W. The north view shows remnants of a 2nd track plus a new (?) manual switch stand - not sure what the shed sitting on the concrete slab on the old track is. South view shows the crew operated DTMF-activated (?) switch machine for the tracks leading to CSX at CP-45 and the P&W yard at Southbridge St.

Here's a link to a web page containing 51 Tad Arnold B&W photos of the B&M's yard at Millbrook St with its engine service facilities and piggyback ramp (vintage '50s and/or '60s?): https://www.nerailroadphotos.com/TadArn ... aphs/The-B

Thank you, Mr. Barlow. As info., all of those linked photos on page 1 of the engine servicing facility and pigs are in South Worcester, location of today's upgraded and expanded P&W engine servicing facility, and with the last shot taken from Union Station where today that tower still stands. B&M power at the New Haven's yard in those period photos speaks to the 2 roads' operational integration at that time, with subsequent unwinding and a B&M retreat back up to North Worcester among the many changes informing the yard's evolving function and form.

As far as I can tell (looking through historic maps of Worcester over the past ~150 years), if they do put a turntable in that area, it will be the fourth one serving B&M trackage -
Pre-1870 to 1896 - roundhouse (with turntable) along Foster/Manchester St (downtown). Gone by 1911
1896 - 1922+ - roundhouse (with turntable) along Crescent St. Gone by 1936
1911 - 1936+ - roundhouse (with turntable) inside curve of Millbrook St. Shown as vacant in 1936 and gone by 1950.

I find it weird that the clearing stops before the edge of the old 2d track and is not complete— they left a few trees and bushes. It raises the question in of whether the clearing might be for some other purpose

Fantastic level of detail of the area from 1911: https://collections.leventhalmap.org/bo ... m433j#1/34

Regarding the clearing, CSX also cleared out a large part of their property in Concord, NH and Manchester, NH. In both cases, I think one effect was a reduction in people using the area as a place to live. The work in Worcester looks a little different with the grading and runoff prevention.

F74265A wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2024 9:14 am I find it weird that the clearing stops before the edge of the old 2d track and is not complete— they left a few trees and bushes. It raises the question in of whether the clearing might be for some other purpose

I don't find it that weird. They did the same thing in Voorheesville when they were clearing the old D&H main. They left clearing the ROW near where the new interlocking would be until last. From the old crossing of the D&H main you couldn't tell anything was going on for months, until one day it was all cleared.

In the old B&M yard in Worcester, I'm just guessing that it's easier to clear the area away from the power lines first, since they don't need any foul time for the single track that would have to be coordinated with the P&W. Basically, roughing out and grading an area in the old yard so they can get the proper equipment staged to get the track next to the power lines cleared.

The easy areas are cleared first and fast and then cut in to the more complicated parts gradually, but that is just my take on how new railroad construction happens after seeing it for 20 years.

FatNoah wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2024 10:09 am Fantastic level of detail of the area from 1911: https://collections.leventhalmap.org/bo ... m433j#1/34

Regarding the clearing, CSX also cleared out a large part of their property in Concord, NH and Manchester, NH. In both cases, I think one effect was a reduction in people using the area as a place to live. The work in Worcester looks a little different with the grading and runoff prevention.

My guess is that it's being graded to allow heavy equipment in to allow the more delicate clearing work next to the power lines, although I understand the homeless encampment take.

I'm not claiming that I know for sure what is going on, but it always starts with rumors. For example, I remember when the bridge was going to be raised in Westfield on the B&A. Most of us T&E heard the plan of getting rid of CP-107, which was just a hold point CP since the diamond from the old NH line had been removed with no switches, for a new CP-105 with universal crossovers from the track guys well before anything actually happened.

Same thing for the bypass tracks in Selkirk. Some of the yard guys, which are around the big wigs a lot, knew way before anything happened.

I've heard rumors of the grand plan for Worcester and the new CSX territory, and now see things actually happening, and relativity fast.

Thanks for that excellent map.

Thanks for the thoughtful and informed response

It will be interesting if they do end up putting in a turntable - setting up a brand new turntable is not something that's done that often - particularly outside of museum/historic restoration environments. All of the existing CSX-owned ones I can think of are all ones that have been around for several decades at historic shop locations.