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Cartier and Mont Wright. The QNSL connects at Emeril Junction with Tshiuetin Rail Trans- portation, which runs north to Schefferville, and with the Wabush Lake Railway and the Bloom Lake Railway in the vicinity of Labrador City. QNSL forwards ore from Wabush Lake to Sept-Îles, where the associat- ed Arnaud Railway moves the ore to its own ore dock located across the harbor from QNSL’s. Bloom Lake ore moves south for transshipment at the QNSL dock. (Because it operates in two provinces, QNSL is a common carrier; the Arcelor Mittal railroad is not.) If all the new mines were to be developed in


the Labrador Trough that had been projected in the past few years, the two existing railroads would not have enough capacity, and so CN proposed building a new line. Now, interest in the Trough’s ore deposits appears to be on the wane and capacity should not be an issue.


Maine Eastern


PASSENGER SERVICE TO BE HALVED: Maine Eastern says it is likely to reduce its Rockland-Brunswick, Maine, passenger schedule from two round trips a day to one, due to disappointing ridership in conjunction with Amtrak’s Downeaster Service between Brunswick, Portland, and Boston. The Am- trak schedule is not conducive to making con- venient connections in either direction, with its single morning and evening departures and early afternoon and late evening arrivals. In order to connect at Brunswick with Am- trak’s 7:05 a.m. departure for Portland and Boston, Maine Eastern would have to leave Rockland at 4:30 in the morning, but ME’s first train of the day leaves at 7:50, with a 9:45 arrival at Brunswick. In the other direc- tion, Amtrak’s first daily departure from Boston arrives Brunswick at 12:30 p.m., while ME leaves for Rockland two and a half hours earlier. Amtrak would need to increase service to Brunswick from the current morn- ing and evening round trips in order to pro- vide useful connections to Maine Eastern, which is contingent upon the construction of a servicing and layover facility in Brunswick.


In Indiana, It’s Really Easy Being Green


RESPONDEK RAIL HAS A TRIO OF OLD GEEPS freshly decked out in its eye-catching Illinois Terminal-inspired green and yellow paint scheme, complete with IT logos on the long hoods and Respondek logos on the cabs. After being painted late last year, on February 19, 2013, all three were gathered for a first run and photos together on the Squaw Creek Southern near Rolling Acres, Ind. All GP7s, No. 4139 is ex-Chicago & North Western No. 4139, ex-Precision National 4464, née-Rock Island 1297; No. 1001 is ex-Peabody Coal 1001, née St. Louis-San Francisco 594, and No. 415 is ex-Peabody 415, née SLSF 629.


Metro-North Railroad


PENN STATION ACCESS IS SOUGHT: New York’s Metro-North Railroad wants to route some of its New Haven Line trains over Amtrak’s Hell Gate Bridge into Penn Station; MNR trains into New York currently use Grand Central Terminal exclusively. The rail- road is also exploring the possibility of running some Hudson Line trains down Amtrak’s West Side Line along the Hudson River south of Spuyten Duyvil and into Penn Station.


The New Haven Line uses electric multiple


unit equipment that draws d.c. power from a third rail between GCT and Woodlawn and uses a.c. catenary power from there to New Haven; Amtrak’s Hell Gate line also uses a.c. catenary. Hudson Line trains between Croton- Harmon and GCT use third rail power, while trains running north to Poughkeepsie use dual-mode units that can operate as diesel- electrics or from third rail. Amtrak also uses dual-mode locomotives which switch to third rail for the final stretch into Penn Station. MNR would have to extend its third rail south of Spuyten Duyvil or use dual mode equipment in order to use the Amtrak route; much of Penn Station itself has third rail, used by the Long Island Rail Road. MNR would add stations along the Hell Gate route at Morris Park, Parkchester, and Hunts Point, while Amtrak’s West Side line could gain MNR stations at 125th and 59th Streets. Penn Station currently operates near capacity, but the East Side Access Project, now under construction to divert some LIRR trains to a new, eight-track station beneath Grand Cen- tral, would open up slots at Penn which could accommodate MNR Hudson and New Haven Line trains.


Big New Power Arrives for Seattle Commuters


THREE NEW MP40PH-3C’S have been delivered via Union Pacific to Sound Transit from Mo- tivePower, Inc. Nos. 921 and 922 (above) were spotted at the engine terminal in Seattle, Wash., on February 15.; No. 923 arrived on March 1. Starting on February 26, No. 922 was tested between Tukwila and Willis using a 7-car train. The testing focused on air brakes and spotting (the MP40s are ten feet longer than the F59s) Braking and acceleration tests were done between Tukwila and Kent, while emergency brake testing was done on the steeply-graded Lakeview line.


Norfolk Southern


ROANOKE HUMP YARD IS CLOSED: On February 25, 2013, Norfolk Southern shut down classification operations at its Roanoke, Va., hump yard. Roanoke Yard will continue to serve local customers and as a hub for through train operations. Since 2006 the hump has


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DAN SIMMERING


MARK MAUTNER


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