Florida’s SunRail Commuter Line Shows Off New Power, Cars
THE FIRST OF SIX MP32PH-Q DIESELS from MotivePower, Inc., was introduced to the public on October 10, 2013 at Orlando, Fla., when SunRail No. 100 and two Bombardier bilevel coaches were put on display at Church Street Station. The locomotives were rebuilt from former MARC GP39PH-2s that were traded in on new MP36PH-3C’s in 2009. In addition to receiving a complete mechanical overhaul and 3200-h.p. EMD 12-710 engines, the units had their F45-style cabs and noses lopped off and replaced with new, streamlined MPXpress-style
cabs, which meet current FRA crashworthiness standards. SunRail is scheduled to begin commuter service on 31 miles of former CSX track- age serving a dozen station between DeBary, Orlando, and Sand Lake Road in South Orlando next spring. Crews have been busy since May 2012 adding a second main track and new signals while building sta- tions, a maintenance facility, and a dispatching office. The second phase of the project will add 29 miles of track serving five stations and extend service north to DeLand and south to Poinciana in 2016.
Montréal, Maine & Atlantic
SALE IS IN THE WORKS: Eight companies are reportedly interested in acquiring the as- sets of bankrupt Montréal, Maine & Atlantic, and a sale could be completed by December. An auction will be held on Friday, December 13 and the property will change hands the fol- lowing Monday after approval by U.S. and Canadian courts. The Canadian Transporta- tion Agency has also extended the railroad’s license to operate in Canada through Febru- ary 1, 2014. The CTA had revoked the license following the July 6 MMA oil train derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Québec, citing insufficient insurance coverage, but later re- lented. The railroad says it may be able to re- sume service through Lac-Mégantic by late November. As the investigation into the July 6 run-
CSX Quits Former Chesapeake & Ohio Branch in Ontario
CSX MADE ITS LAST RUN on October 2, 2013 from Chatham to Wallaceburg, Ontario, on the isolated Sarnia Subdivision to pick up 12 cars of grain at the South West AG facility. With GP38-2 No. 2574 leading and Operation Redblock caboose 900074 carrying the marker, the last train approached the Wallaceburg swing bridge. The white building housed the line’s rail traffic controller (dispatcher) and bridge tender. This branch once ran from Chatham, on the former Pere Marquette main line, north to Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Mich. The Region of Chatham-Kent purchased the 26-mile line on October 4 but has yet to find a new operator to serve the three remaining customers. CSX continues to operate over the northern end between Sarnia and Sombra with three daily yard assignments, connecting to the CSX network at Port Huron using trackage rights over CN.
26 NOVEMBER 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM
away oil train continues, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has announced that a broken piston caused the engine fire that broke out on MMA C30-7 No. 5017 after the engineer went off duty and just before the train ran away. No. 5017 had been left run- ning in order to keep the trainline charged so that the relief crew would not need to make an initial terminal brake test. The Nantes Fire Department shut the locomotive down as it extinguished the fire; that action is considered to have had some bearing on the evening’s events, although the TSB has not yet released its report.
STEPHEN C. HOST
SUNRAIL
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