PanAm Freight Train on the Old Billerica & Bedford Line
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 04. 2014
- Came home one day and saw a PanAm freight train go through the North Billerica MBTA Station and stop. I grabbed my camera and went up the old Billerica & Bedford Railroad Line and sure enough, the train was heading down the line with a good size train for the customers in the old Boston Globe Factory. What a break!!!!!!
- Zábava
Yeah! She was just as surprised as anyone when she saw the train. I wasn't expecting the cruiser to come by. What timing!!!!
❤ I love watching trains but this stretch of track needs to be replaced maintenance away needs to look at it
This should be an active Crossing when crossing gates to avoid accidents
I used to live on Salem Road up until a year and a half ago and I would hear the horn's and engines all the time late at night...It was wicked awesome lol!!!!
I love the old branch line runs nice catch and enjoy your historic info ! I'm an old Salem Switcher fan ... Salem, Lynn, Peabody, Danversport, Danvers, Wakefield, Beverly, Ipswich, Newburyport, Gloucester and the Portsmouth, NH branches from 1975 to the 90s. I found the Branch lines so much more fun and interesting and usually had older power. I love Tweety Bird on the last Box Car !! : )
nice catch, i used to live at Parlmont Park 1989-1994 and would walk these tracks home from Rodgers St after getting off the train. I never saw them used. Only thing i saw was some flat cars being stored with rail behind my apt bldg. Not sure if MBTA or Guilford. Was not into rail fanning at the time. Used to hear the locos all the time at Iron Horse Park though. I went into Iron Horse Park last week since i was in the area. What a dump!!!!
EARTH ANGEL😇WOW!!! NICE TRACK IN THE BEGINNING THERE!! AND LUCKY CATCH FOR YOU!!! THANK YOU😍👍
good size train for one customer
that was great I love it
Used to know people who lived on Rogers St. I used to visit them often, and never did see a train use that track.
Cool! At leas the cop Helped out
I believe she was as surprised as well for the local area drivers not expecting 2 c a freight 🚆 on a line that had'nt seen a one in long time!
Well that's ironic - an old B&M locomotive on the old B&B line
Very cool man! For due intense purposes maybe should invest in some signals at that one crossing just to be safe?
Omg, that track!
Low usage rail line. The rail road would rather stop all shipments to that client, and abandoned the line all together to save money. It probably costs them more money to keep the line open then they makeup from the one customer on that line.
Dennis, there shall be NO criticizing of railroad workers on my videos. The dispatcher may have told the to stop at the crossing and wait his/her orders to proceed. So don't sit there and judge when you don't know what orders they are under. As far as the horn, Billerica is a quiet zone. (Damn it Selectmen!)
Well written. Too many railfans spend too much time second guessing professionals
i would have done the same thing If i was a cop in Billerica.. Those tracks almost never see a train.. I was thinking my self man you sure that train did not make a mistake, those tracks are in such bad shape.. And the cop wanted to be sure.. I rather have a cop stop a train to make sure they are not going the wrong way over a traing acutally going the wrong way an detrailing and crashing the train.
getrealplease Honey, the railroad crews know what they are doing. If they were on the wrong track, don’t you think they would’ve backed up back into the main line at the beginning of the video?
The railroad crews are qualified to know each route their trains run on in a specific railroad. If the line is abandoned then there wouldn’t be crossbucks and signs at the crossings. Even crossings that say “Exempt” on them could still have a train come through; they just have to stop and flag the crossing first.
How far does that line from from one town to the other
@@EJG48706 bad shape??? You need to get a job on a railway....
That cop was asking for direction like if she had just discovered trains for the first time lol
Sweet! :)
I just stumbled across these tracks today and was thinking to myself, “there’s no way a train could run over those wobbly rails”…
Only 5 mph limit and flaging each crossing
Thank God there haz-mat or flammable or tanker cars on that train
How any crossing are on that line ? That switcher or flagger is going to get his excise climbing up or down locomotive flagging each crossing on the line
Great catch! And the 332 tops it off! Its too bad she was retired.
Yep she was certainly surprized to c it. At least she said Thank You after hearing the explanation from a member of the crew!
Question
Should have the railroad company told or called the town or city officials that reread was going to be used that day so law enforcement would know about the situation
@@jeffrumbach150 The line isn't exempt, so there is no need to. Motorists should always be expecting a train.
Do trains only come one direction on that line ?
How often has that line been used year
How customers are there on that line
@@jeffrumbach150 they go both directions and several times a week.
5 mph. track oh well at least it's still active!!
I didn't catch what the person yelled at 1:38? Fantastic catch, btw!
i think he said weirdo
lol wow wht a scene! Even the cops had to get involved :p
Nice
The engineer didn't blow the horn. No wonder that cop was surprised.
Not required if the crossing is being flagged...
Wow. That wouldn't even be attempted here in Britain! How on earth did that train cope with those tracks !? Impressive stuff!
True. In most of Western Europe the lines are pulled up and the traffic moves on highways. In North America we preserve branch lines to keep as much traffic off the highways as possible (and reduce pollution)
That is exactly what "you" do not do. That is what EU does. EU keeps as much traffic off the highways as possible and reduce pollution. Does not work, because the service is bad so everybody uses trucks and polute.
What USA does is ofering a great service which is the thing that keeps traffic off the highways and reduce pollution. Fundamental misunderstanding of the process. The funny thing is the US capitalism is more ecological then EU ecofascism. At least when it comes to transportation of goods..
Anyway, I am pretty sure she is refering to those steel bars bolted to timber that someone dubbed "railway" because the jolly soul thought it bore some resemblance to an actual railway. And that someone failed to realize it was an artistic expresion and accidentaly pulled a switch that sent the train on this.
These men are true heroes.
the government here in australia have kinda woken up that there is to many trucks on the road.. so in one state they looking at fixing some of the old railway lines for the feight trains.. better for small towns and farmers
This sight is common throughout the Northeastern and much of the US on the lesser used branch lines that service individual business/es, which still use rail for shipments. The Federal Government and state governments do not maintain the freight rails since the tracks are owed and maintained by the individual rail roads. Railroads usually keeps these lines minimally maintained to save resources for maintaining the important main lines.The flagman/conductor is there since the crossing has no crossing gates, which is common on low usage lines. In some cases when a company really needs rail service they will help pay for the maintenance of the track to their location or even own their own rail road that services their location, such as seen with many mining operations.
Off topic but have you followed any of the old abandoned B&A Athol Branch that went up through where the Quabbin is now? It parallels RT 21 from Ludlow up to Belchertown and I believe there may have been an interchange around Canal Jct.
Believe that I once saw a photograph of the B&A Athol Branch. Mr. J.R. Greene, an author, covers the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir, the four towns that were disincorporated so to create this massive reservoir and, what not.
I believe that Canal Junction branched off of the Central Vermont. It was part of the old Central Mass Branch, to which crossed over the Athol Branch (a/k/a The Rabbit/Rabbit Run, etc) by a bridge.
This Athol Branch also crossed the CV at a location called "Barretts Junction," north of the village of Three Rivers, part of Palmer, MA. There is a long double ended siding at Barretts Junction, having the Orth end switch, which the Quaboag Transfer interchanges with the CV (now, the NECR).
Hopefully, I offer the answer you are seeking pertaining to the Athol Branch.
you can tell the tracks on that line are old.
It sad you don't see anymore gp-7 in the area
Opps that's a gp40
Wow, was this a detour? I can't believe there were that many customers on that track!
i live in billerica and had no idea the tracks were even in use.. In 10 years i have NEVER seen a train there.. I too like the cop would think they went down the wrong track..
Yeah and they aren't using containers and the branch is still there is a huge surprise
This posting is from seven years ago. Is this line still active?
Did it have a problem with the horn or something?
The rails on one side of the highway look in DANGEROUS condition!!!
Were is that? Looks mint compared to the 30mph track I ran on when I was with Railnet
@@trainandtruckmodeler786 I don't really know much about railroads. Just seemed that the rails in area looked rough? After 4 years, kinda hard to remember.
@@jtc1947 if there only maybe one customer maybe 2 and this is a bi weekly operation, the railway may not have dedicated funds to retamp, tetie, or do ballast work....actually when I was with Chicago Central and Pacific they had a salesman that would drive up and down the line...were all the branches were he went to seek work, and even along the main....if a warehouse wanted rail service CC paid a good portion for the switch and straight panels ...then the IC bought them back and less cared....then the CN and no one cared....some branches were torn up and containers were used instead as the truck is cheaper....well then a branch. When I was at the railnet no one cared about track maintenance, went from a 40 mph main to 20 with 15 mph slow orders....while we were lucky to make 28,000 a year running their trains the corporate big wheels were driving high class SUVs....we had one grand mall derailment and I said enough is enough ...
Where is this going? Most of the tracks of the B&b aren't even there anymore
Michael Witkowski - They go to the switch at the north cemetery on Salem road and deliver
the cars to a new customer in the old Boston Globe building. They then
exit through the old Billerica Shops yards and take the Lowell Line
back to Somerville.
Silk said move that train
Line was abandoned for a while wasn’t it?
Why is the train creeping along so slow? The tracks in that bad of shape? Wonder why there’s no lighted signals at the crossing?
I think there is a 10-15mph speed limit there, and the crossing not being lighted is determined by the average annual crossings, with the low usage it doesn't require a lighted crossing regulation wise :)
What was this line used for?
how often does train cross this crossing
Almost never.. 10 years in billierca and ive never seen even one!
And they wonder why it was called the bent and mangal railroad just look at the tracks and half of the letters are missing on the locomotive lol
Blow the horn??
No horn. That blows.
This is a great catch! Excellent. I didn't even know that line was still in use. How often is it used? Who are the customers who now occupy the old BG factory?
Don't know who the customers are, just know that there are customers that need rail service. I don't know how often they use the old line. I caught them in the afternoon during the evening rush hour, but I've been told by people who live along the track that they have seen the train go by mostly in the morning a few times a week.
Is this line still used ?
Yes, the Billerica Shops which was PanAm(now CSX) southern headquarters, there is a large yard with some customers off the main line and there are two access points to it, one on this old branch line and one off the main line on the other side of the yard👍
What's up with the turbocharger on that unit? It sounds like a roots-blown 645E on steroids!
StarWarsTrains - PanAm Railways, we use only the shittiest equipment.
Unit is now retired from a busted crank shaft and is parts. It was the last B&M lettered Pan am loco.
Your post is a primary example of why more and more railroaders hate railfans. You trash the industry you follow
I feel like all police officers in towns that have railroads that pass through them, should at least have a basic knowledge of how train operations work.
Very perfect timing with the police officer approaching the crossing with the train there, otherwise there would’ve been an accident with the motorists.
How can someone be a cop on a town with plenty of active railroad tracks, and not know the very basics of how these trail crossings work?
the old B&B tracks are not used that often.
But they are used, and there are plenty of other tracks in billerica that are used. And the track is essentially the lead into pan am HQ. I just don't understand why the cop would not know how gate-less crossings work. Or whatever she was stopping for, did you hear what she was saying to the flagger?
+l008comm the only other tracks in Billerica is the MBTA commuter rail line. there are no grade crossings on that line. I could not hear what they were saying.
It has been abandoned and in use so many times one cannot stay on top if it.
I lived in Billerica for 10 years, and NEVER seen a train on thsoe track.. I was shocked to see this video.. People walk on those tracks all the time and none of the crossing have any signals and some dont even have signs that say rail road crossing.. I too figured they were never used.. I almost would think the train people got lost on the wrong track.. They are VERY dangerous and in very bad shape
code 55 track
hahahahah
It's a train. Get on with it.
Do ppl even stop at crossings anymore? Every car just blasting across the tracks like they are not even there. Amazing society we live in. Sad
Johnny B if there were gates, they would have gone around them
OK, I've seen a cop stop a car but a never a train.
I've been "stopped" a few times. It's always funny to look down at the cops and go "Hey man? Was I speeding?". LOL
C David LOL
talk about milking a job ;-)
Those tracks are in awfull condition.
That's PanAm for ya.
The fact that ive live in billerica for 10 years, and NEVER seen a train on them shows that they are used maybe maybe once a year.
That track didn't look that bad.
A long zoom always exaggerates the peaks and valleys of the track
Rails in HORRIBLE shape.
scott coleman get a life
No bells, no gates, bad tracks,
Why is the train even there?
I bet it will not take long before someone gets kills or dragged a mile or three.
I wouldn't agree that flagging a crossing is more safer than mechanical protection. The crew member has to put himself near the roadway. That's dangerous.
Dan You're going a little overboard aren't you??? The train is there to service the customers that use the rail. The track isn't in that bad a shape. It SAFELY supports the speeds shown in the vid. And railroad tracks are PRIVATE property. Anyone killed there is their own fault. But I doubt the speed they are going that they could even drag anyone even half a carlength if they tried.
I to was a trainman. (Chicago and northwestern) Flagging a crossing won't ensure that anyone will stop. Flagging a crossing only alerts those concerned of the traffic obstruction. The driver or pedestrian has to decide for themselves whether to go or stop. Sadly some decide to go. I have flagged crossings and folks just fly by and try to beat us. Also have watched folks hit the gas when they see the mechanical crossing activated. Unfortunately, there are some out there that just see activated crossing protection as a green light at a drag strip. Take off as soon as the crossing is activated and try to beat the train.
Yessir. Dead on. I've dodged many a car while flagging crossings where the roadway is high speed. (Usually not much of an issue on roads like this). Threw a fusee at a couple of drunks one night...and immediately wished I had not done so. Need to leave drunks alone. It worked out ok but myself and my mother were called lots of names first.
Dan With how slow these trains go, I don't see a car getting dragged farther than 100 ft.