Pan Am Worcester Main Line

My guess is that it would remain yard limits from CP-45 to Garden St. which would be the west end entrance to the new yard. that would be restricted speed not exceeding 20 MPH on the CSX track instead of not exceeding 10 now. TWC would start just east of that with a new block station on the CSX track. The P&W would just pull the interchange traffic up out of their yard on the track they already use, and then cross directly over to the new Garden St. yard, most likely DTMF switches to keep things moving over the two crossings in downtown Worcester.

Looks like it's about a mile from Garden St. to the east end of the yard around Millbrook St. So, they would be able to just pull the train in and then run around through the yard back down to Garden St. Likewise CSX would be able to do the same with the inbound interchange and ethanol train. The CSX power would just stay there.

The turntable has been a thing ever since Beacon Park was closed 11 years ago. The P&W can't always handle a wye move and the only other place is Frammingham. There was talk of putting one in the old Jamesville yard near CP-48, which obviously never happened. And to be fair everything I'm hearing and saying here could mean nothing, but the
old yard area is being cleared and that is visible from I-290.

The CSX Worcester yard was designed by CSX Intermodal for their needs, so that's why one was not put there.

The yard would also make it so CSX trains don't have to wait for a train to come down before one could go up, and frees up CP-45 and having to deal with Keolis for head room to shove into the P&W. The new platform at Worcester Union Station is now open and in use, so they may also be thinking about the T going to Springfield. Selkirk crews also would not have to break the train up in the P&W yard, which can take several hours. Meaning the will get off duty faster and be rested that much sooner.

At the end of the day though, I think it boils down to control, as I've said. CSX wants to control the access to the territory they paid hundreds of millions for and spent many millions more upgrading. No more dealing with a third party to access it.

I like your thought process but does it make too much sense?

I was down at Garden St earlier today (7/11/24). No clearing yet but just eyeballing it there's enough room for everything in the plan. The WPI Gateway parking garage will provide a good view of the proceedings.

Could someone help with the location we are talking about here.

Pin A is near the WPI garage as mentioned in the last post but there is no visible clearing yet.

Pin B is near I90 mentioned earlier as the location to see the clearing work.



OpenRailwayMap shows there was more of a yard at Pin B in the past.

The area's potential lies between and just beyond both pins and where track configurations had changed as the ex-yard's functions changed, including in handling interchange until Conrail's formation, over ~25 years of B&M ownership up through to Guilford's exit and the P&W taking control.

It's around a 4,000 x 100' area for functional track capacity in the old North Worcester yard's footprint.

Unrelated question. Who was this B&M and then P&W customer just north of Millbrook Street in this area and on the west side (2 tracks) that got cars up until around 2019 when it seems the property changed hands and the storage silos at the north side were removed? It looks like they got a ton of cars at one time.

How was the spur routed that crossed under 290 to the other side?

I believe that was Mid-States Packaging north of Millbrook Street, now part of Quantix, within their supply chain roles of handling bulk plastic pellets now located further south and included within their 3 Worcester & area P&W-served facilities.

That industrial lead under 290 came from the north either off the yard ladder or eastern-most track, IIRC, and reflected in the angle of the underpass.

ST377 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 11, 2024 6:21 pm I was down at Garden St earlier today (7/11/24). No clearing yet but just eyeballing it there's enough room for everything in the plan. The WPI Gateway parking garage will provide a good view of the proceedings.

You can't see the new clearing from Garden St. at ground level it's east of there. You can see it from the ramps of the I-190-290 junction.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2024 8:24 am Could someone help with the location we are talking about here.

Pin A is near the WPI garage as mentioned in the last post but there is no visible clearing yet.

Pin B is near I90 mentioned earlier as the location to see the clearing work.



OpenRailwayMap shows there was more of a yard at Pin B in the past.

The latest clearing is in the pin B area and near the AGF Surfaces pin and you can see that part from I-290. You can't really see pin B area from 290. Basically, the whole area next to that parking lot in pin B is clear except for a thin tree line next to the power line and single active track.

This sat view is old and the tracks seen are much more overgrown now as in the industry tracks by Millbrook St. and the sidings in the old yard are not visible in a current sat image.

This sat image has to be from like 10 years ago I would think.

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 know you all are good for information and thank you for that, but it was still shocking when I went from 190 to 290 yesterday and seeing all the vegetation that was removed.

Here are the parcels in question. As was the last time I looked this up, the land itself is owned by the B&M (now CSX Transportation.)

So they own from the current tracks east to the interstate and the one other parcel to the south of that parking lot at the top owned by the Business Park.

newpylong wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2024 9:18 am Unrelated question. Who was this B&M and then P&W customer just north of Millbrook Street in this area and on the west side (2 tracks) that got cars up until around 2019 when it seems the property changed hands and the storage silos at the north side were removed? It looks like they got a ton of cars at one time.

Newpylong that was ECM Plastics. Pellet hoppers, usually had about half dozen at any given time. P&W crews I've talked to disliked that move a great deal.

taracer wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2024 11:28 am

ST377 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 11, 2024 6:21 pm I was down at Garden St earlier today (7/11/24). No clearing yet but just eyeballing it there's enough room for everything in the plan. The WPI Gateway parking garage will provide a good view of the proceedings.

You can't see the new clearing from Garden St. at ground level it's east of there. You can see it from the ramps of the I-190-290 junction.

Roger, I'll have a look in that direction next time I'm in the area. I was up on top of the Gateway parking garage waiting for GRWO. Of relatable note - St. Albans held GRWO at Barber and gave M426 Worcester to Barber limits before letting GRWO into yard limits.