St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR/SLQ)

Eastbound Canadian crew with 394 arrives at IP late Monday afternoon and goes on their rest. US crew
operating as a turn takes 394 east to Berlin and swaps trains with the crew that brought 393 up from
Lewiston Jct. Each crew then returns to their point of origin, each arriving early AM. When the Canadian
crew at IP completes their rest Tuesday morning they take 394 west. the cycle repeats again on Thursday
and Friday and as the weather gets colder and gas traffic picks up they'll likely return to four trips a week,
Mon-Tue-Thur-Fri. I typically hear 393 go west through South Paris between 8 and 10 PM with the return
through eastbound about 5 hours later. From the time the crew goes on duty at Lewiston Junction it's
usually a couple of hours before they get to South Paris given the time it takes to do the air test, inspect
the train, get track permits, etc.

Tuesday's and Thursday's 393s this week were minutes apart, clearing S. Paris at 19:45 and 19:42, and it's still roughly 2 hours to Berlin and the meet/crew change from there.

Thanks Greg S, that is what I thought but was consfused by some recent Tues PM 394/wed AM 393 reports here. I guess there was somes sotmr damage etc so maybe that is why they were off sometimes, or maybe those were "extra" days here and there in addition to the normal "schedule".

Times can very widely, 393 through South Paris as early as 6 PM and as late as midnight, based on
when the Canadian crew is estimated to arrive at Island Pond. That in turn is dependent on when
CN decides to make deliveries to Southwark yard in St. Lambert, PQ ( across the river east of Montreal )
and whatever else might be going on with SLQ.

Hello,
The former is correct: 393 normally departs Island Pond on Tuesday and Friday mornings (usually around 0730) and 394 normally runs through Island Pond on Monday and Thursday evenings (1830-2000). The Tuesday night/Wednesday morning run was a one-off and there are occasional "extras" on other days of the week.

This morning's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0730 with the following:

QG GP40-2L 3014
GP40-2 3035
RLHH SD40-2 3403
6 centerbeam flats
3 covered hoppers
28 tank cars

That's 37 cars total, including 1 load and 36 empties.
Stay cool out there!
Fritz

Thanks for clarifying/confirming Fritz. Your reports are a great resource.

A rare daylight 393 ran light power out of Lewiston Jct. this morning. Unsure of where they were headed, but they were into Berlin at 2pm with 3007/804/3804.

Hello,
After four weeks working "down south" (southern VT and NH), I finally caught this morning's SLQ westbound 393 departing Island Pond at 0740 with the following:

QG GP40-2L 3014
GP40-2 3047
GP40 3004
9 centerbeam flats
1 hi-cube boxcar
3 covered hoppers
18 tank cars

That's 31 cars total, including 1 load and 30 empties.

Also of interest was a rusty old boxcar parked on one of the yard tracks in Island Pond. As best I can tell, it is an old MEC MOW boxcar. It looks like it is MEC976MW, but it is hard to read from a distance. There is also some sort of flat car there as well.
Have a great day,
Fritz

Sounds like more cars off the Guilford/Pan Am wreck train bound for CSRX. I'm told more are coming, some will have to wait until next year.

Thanks, Casey!
The sole MOW boxcar and flat (looks like a wreck train car) are still sitting in the yard at Island Pond. No new cars have arrived yet.

On this quite cold morning (6oF), the SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0737 with the following:

GP40-2 3007
RLHH SD40-2 3403
GP40-3 3806
RM-1 806
10 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
3 covered hoppers
9 hi-cube boxcars
54 tank cars

That's 77 cars total, including 5 loads and 72 empties. Winter must be here!
Have a great day,
Fritz

Hello,
This morning's SLQ westbound 393 did not depart Island Pond until 0941 with the following:


QG GP40-2L 3014
RM-1 805
GP40-3 3805
9 centerbeam flats
1 bulkhead flat
10 hi-sided gondolas
2 covered hoppers
15 boxcars
29 tank cars

That's 66 cars total, including 11 loads and 55 empties.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Fritz

Hello again,
I also got a better look at the two MEC wreck train cars stored in the Island Pond yard currently:
The two cars are MEC 998MW (modified boxcar) and MEC 999MW (6-axle depressed-center flat).
Happy Thanksgiving!
Fritz

OK, those are the same two that came west with 393 on 10/30. Figured they had been dropped elsewhere.

Hello,
This morning's SLQ westbound 393 departed Island Pond at 0726 with the following:

RM-1 804
GP40-3 3804
GP40-2 3035
1 centerbeam flat
2 hi-cube boxcars
40 tank cars

That's 43 cars total, including 1 load and 42 empties.
Have a great and snowy day,
Fritz

Hello,
This morning's SLQ westbound 393 did not depart Island Pond until 1043. Trains this week have been running much later, possibly due to Monday's heavy, wet snows (although tonight's 394 departed Richmond at a more reasonable 1615). Anyhow, this morning's train had the following:

RM-1 804
GP40-3 3804
RLHH SD40-2 3403
5 centerbeam flats
2 bulkhead flats
5 hi-sided gondolas
1 covered hopper
9 hi-cube boxcars
34 tank cars

That's 56 cars total, including 10 loads and 46 empties.
Have a great day,
Fritz