have them donated to several museums including the Heritage Discovery Center in Buffalo and the Lakeshore Railway Historical Society in North East, Pa.
Grand River Railway
The Great Lake Port Corporation, doing business as Grand River Railway (GRR), a noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption to permit it to acquire and operate approximately 2.56 miles of CSX track between Painesville and Grand River, in Lake County, Ohio. According to GRR, it will soon enter
an agreement to purchase the line from CSX, and GRR intends to rehabilitate the line and commence service to Morton Salt, located at the end of the line, and any other shipper that requests service. GRR will interchange traffic with CSX, the only railroad connection.
Maine Puts Rockland Expansion to Bid
The former Maine Central tracks be- tween Brunswick and Rockland are cur- rently operated by the Maine Eastern Railroad, which provides freight as well as seasonal passenger service on the line. Connections are made with Amtrak’s Downeaster in Brunswick. The contract expired in 2013, but the railroad and the state reached an agreement to continue operation in the near-term. Accoridng to a June 19 report in the Bangor Daily News, the state of Maine has announced it is seeking “competitive proposals” for the continued operation of the line that would also include in- creased passenger service. This segment
currently operates without subsidy, but the state’s director of rail programs re- alizes that an expanded operation would require some form of compensation. By putting the contract out to bid, they can then determine the level of subsidy that might be needed. According to railroad officials, Maine Eastern will be submitting a bid. All pro- posals are due by August 13.
R.J. Corman Allentown Lines
On April 30, R.J. Corman Railroad Com- pany/Allentown Lines, Inc. (RJC) filed a petition to abandon approximately 3.5 miles of track between Allentown and Whitehall, Pa. One shipper was located along this segment, and its traffic was successfully converted to a transload op- eration by the beginning of June. Once the abandonment is approved by
the Surface Transportation Board, RJC intends to salvage the rails and then convey the right-of-way to Trestle Rede- velopment Partners. Trestle plans to use that portion of the corridor in connection with a multi-faceted riverfront redevel- opment project.
Georges Creek Railway
Operating under Georges Creek Rail- way, Eighteen Thirty Group, LLC, a Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption to acquire from CSX approximately 5.4 miles of rail line in Allegany County, Md., consisting of ap- proximately 4.8 miles of CSX’s Georges Creek Subdivision between Barton and Westernport, and approximately 0.60 miles of CSX’s Thomas Subdivision,
namely the two tracks running parallel to the Thomas mainline track. Reported- ly the company will lease Belt Railway of Chicago MP15DC 533 for this operation.
Lake States Railway
LSRC purchased a pair of GP40/road slug sets from Metro East Industries. The first set was delivered in April and included GP40 4303/slug 303, a set that was orig- inally LSRC 1178 and 371. Another set was en route to the railroad in May, GP40 4304/slug 304, which was LSRC 1177 and 2003. No. 4303 and its mate began ser- vice on the railroad mid-May.
Reading & Northern Fights No-Bid Contract
Reading, Blue Mountain & North- ern Railroad Co. (RBMN) officials an- nounced on May 29 that they will con- tinue to pressure the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) to put its rail operations up for bid. The announcement follows PNR- RA’s recent renewal of its contract with Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad, the au- thority’s current operator. Originally set to expire in late August, the authority’s contract with Delaware-Lackawanna was renewed without offering any par- ty an opportunity to bid, RBMN officials said in a press release. PNRRA rejected RBMN’s request to bid 18 months ago, and the railroad then filed a lawsuit against PNRRA, asserting violations of state law. According to the press release, RBMN earlier in May notified the state authority of its intent to continue to challenge these decisions.
Union Pacifi c Special Tours CSX Intermodal
Operating as CSX Train P940, Union Pacifi c ES44AC No. 8154 shoves an offi ce car special under the vintage C&O-style cantilever signal bridge at the west end of the B&O Center Siding in Fostoria, Ohio, on June 29, 2015. The train ran east across CSX from Chicago to Fostoria where it was wyed to head back towards North Baltimore, Ohio, so that visiting excecutives could tour the Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal.
PHOTO BY BRANDON TOWNLEY
14 AUGUST 2015 •
RAILFAN.COM
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