PSR News

SHAWMUT AND RELATED NEWS

THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED NEWS ITEMS! (Newest items will be found at top of this page.)

November 2007 - Sadly, during the first part of November 2007 the Low Grade tracks began to be torn up in the area from Sligo to Lawsonham and on east towards Brookville.

APRIL 2007 - BPRR has filed to abandon the "low grade" from Sligo to Brookville.

NOVEMBER 2006 - Finker Lakes RR has sold their 1801, former Mountain Laurel 15, to Seaview Transportation in Rhode Island. The unit was interchanged with CSX on Thursday 12/7/06. FGLK 1801 was still in Mountain Laurel colors and lettering, only the number had been changed. UPDATE - April 2007 - Ex MNL 15 renumbered Seaview 1855 and repainted into the sharp looking scheme seen below.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=206503&nseq=1

OCTOBER 2006 UPDATES - the bad news is, of course, about half of the P&S tracks have been removed in the past year. This includes from south of Rayard to at last report Colwell. Some more bad news is that early August 2006 saw the last of the Norfolk Southern Shelocta coal trains run over the PSR and BPRR. A new connecting track has been completed and now NS trains go directly to the Shelocta power plant.

THE GOOD NEWS - as you may know, in July 2005 the coal trains to Homer City (symboled HC1) began running. Uncertain how much this impacts the PSR, but the removal of the Shelocta trains has not been as dramatic as one might think. Coal loading at Clinton on the PSR is quite busy these days and even has been reported to be almost as much as the big plant at Dora at times! On the Laurel Sub of the PSR coal trains continue to be loaded at the Penfield loader by Rose Bud, same owner as the Clinton loader. The BPRR Dubois switcher still switches out the glass plant at Crenshaw as well as some items are loaded at Brockway yard. Engine rebuilds and servicing continues at the Brookville shops. No, its not the same, but the Shawmut isn't gone and appears what is still here will be around for quite some time!

BELOW ARE SOME OF THE OLDER NEWS ITEMS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

An update from Joey Meuleman of Lafayette, LA reports that the Lousiana & Delta units are having names removed. EX MNL 13 is stenciled LDRR 1851, MNL 14 is LDRR 1852, MNL 12 is LDRR 1850 (in G&W Orange), and MNL 16 was sent off property as LRWN 16 going to Raillink's Little Rock & Western Railway. If course MNL 15 is on Finger Lakes and MNL 17 Wyoming or Utah. Still a mystery is what happened to P&S GP7 #10 last heard to go to Evansville Terminal RR.

SAD NEWS - IN MID NOVMBER 2005 SHAWMUT TRACKS STARTED BEING RIPPED UP BETWEEN COULTER AND MAUK. G&W APPLIED FOR ABANDONMENT FROM MP 22 SOUTH OF BROOKVILLE TO MP 62 AT MAHONING ON MAY 17TH 2005.

HERE IS WHAT REMAINS IN OPERATION: FROM MP 0 TO 2 (INCLUDES DELLWOOD TO CRENSHAW) MP 19 TO 24 (BROOKVILLE TO RAYARD) MP 54 T0 88 (COLWELL TO FREEPORT). NOTE: FROM MP 54 TO MP 62 (COLWELL TO MAHONING) WAS INCLUDED IN THE ABANDONMENT, BUT WILL BE LEFT IN PLACE FOR CAR STORAGE AND A POSSIBLE NEW COAL LOADIING FACILITY AROUND COLWELL OR REDDCO.

MOUNTAIN LAUREL #17 LOCATED! - RECEIVED AN EMAIL MAY 7TH FROM THE LOCOMOTIVE MANAGER OF A SWITCHING OPERATION IN SOUTHWEST WYOMING REPORTING MNL 17 IS AT HIS FACILITY STILL IN MNL COLORS, WHICH MAY CHANGE THIS SUMMER.

PSR ABSORBED INTO BPRR - PSR WAS COMPLETELY ABSORBED INTO THE B&P EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2004. PSR OPERATIONS HAD ALREADY BEEN JOINED WITH THE BPRR IN JUNE OF 2001.

SHAWMUT LINE HOPPERS - ESTIMATES ARE LESS THAN TEN COAL HOPPERS WITH THE LARGE WHITE SHAWMUT LINE LETTERS ARE LEFT TODAY. MANY PSR HOPPERS ACQUIRED FROM 1989 TO 1996 ARE STILL IN USE.

BROOKVILLE TO BROCKWAY - THE MAIN LINE BETWEEN BROOKVILLE AND BROCKWAY WAS REMOVED A FEW YEARS AGO AND AT THE END OF 2004 THE LITTLE MILL CREEK VIADUCT (JUST NORTH OF BROOKVILLE) WAS DISMANTLED. THE BPRR DUBOIS LOCAL SWITCHES THE FORMER P&S TRACK FROM DELLWOOD TO BROCKWAY AND THE GLASS PLANT AT CRENSHAW. COAL AND SALT ARE STILL LOADED AT BROCKWAY YARD.

DORA COAL LOADER GONE - IN LATE 2004 THE HUGE COAL PROCESSING PLANT AT DORA, PA WAS REMOVED, IT STOPPED OPERATING IN MARCH 1999.

BROOKVILLE TURNTABLE GONE - THE TURNTABLE AT BROOKVILLE WAS REMOVED IN EARLY 2005. THE BROOKVILLE ENGINE SHOP CONTINUES TO BE QUITE BUSY WITH G&W MAINTENANCE WORK AS WELL AS WORK FROM OTHER RAILROADS. IN ADDITION, THE BROOKVILLE MINING EQUIPMENT COMPANY HAD BUILT A LARGE NEW FACILITY ADJACENT TO THE YARD AND REBUILDS ARE COMMON AT THAT FACILITY AS WELL.

BROOKVILLE TO MAHONING - THE MAINLINE FROM BROOKVILLE TO MAHONING REMAINS OUT OF SERVICE AND HAS NOT SEEN A TRAIN SINCE JANUARY 20, 2000. THE AREA BETWEEEN BROOKVILLE AND KNOXDALE AS WELL AS AROUND MAHONING YARD HAS BEEN USED ALOT FOR CAR STORAGE. (SEE LATEST ON THIS AT TOP OF PAGE.)

COAL LOADER AT CLINTON - A NEW COAL LOADER WENT IN AT CLINTON

(SOUTH OF KITTANNING) AND IS BEING USED REGULARLY BY ROSE BUD MINING.

LADY JANE TIPPLE - THE LADY JANE TIPPLE AT PENFIELD IS LOADING ABOUT ONE TRAIN A WEEK, IT IS ALSO OWNED BY ROSEBUD MINING AND REPORTS ARE THEY PURCHASED THE EQUIPMENT FROM THE DORA SITE TO USE AT THIS LOCATION. ANOTHER COAL MINE IS REPORTED TO BE OPENING LATER IN 2005 IN THE PENFIELD AREA.

COAL TRAINS THRU INDIANA! - THE FIRST HOMER CITY COAL TRAIN RAN 7/23/05 POWERED BY THREE SW1500S A GP38 AND A GP40 AND CONSISTED OF 40 COAL LOADS. THE MINE AT THE POWER PLANT PLAYED OUT AND NECESSITATED BRINGING IN COAL BY RAIL, MUCH TRACK REBULDING TOOK PLACE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS.

NEW TARRTOWN INDUSTRY- THE FORMER AGWAY FACILITY AT TARRTOWN WAS PURCHASED BY THE F.S. GROWMARK CORP. THEY RAN SOME TEST LOADS TO KITTANNING THIS WINTER AND ARE ANTICIPATING REOPENING THE SHORT BRANCH TO THE PLANT VERY SOON. THIS WILL BOOST THE ALREADY BOOMING ACTIVITY ON THE SOUTH END OF THE SHAWMUT. FUNNY HOW TEN YEARS AGO VERY LITTLE WAS DONE IN THE KITTANNING AREA AND NOW THAT IS THE ONLY PART OF THE ORIGINAL SHAWMUT TO HAVE A REGULAR CREW!

UPDATE ON SW9'S - THANKS TO GREG WILTS FOR THE UPDATE BELOW ON THE SHAWMUT SW9'S THAT WENT TO OREGON. (4/15/05)

Out of the four SW9's that went to the WPRR/PNWR, only one still calls that railroad home. Number 1201 is still in PSR red/white/blue paint, with Willamette and Pacific lettering and a W&P logo. The other three switchers are still owned by Genesee and Wyoming Industries, under the RLIX banner. Number 1202 is the only one of the four to get repainted GWI while in Oregon. The other two remaining units, numbers 1203 and 1204, remain in PSR paint.

1201 at PNWR

1202 at RLIX - Exxon Mobil (Baton Rouge, LA)

1203 at RLIX - 3M (Little Rock, AR)

1204 at RLIX - 3M (Little Rock, AR)

TO RETURN TO THE MAIN FEATURES PAGE CLICK HERE

TO RETURN TO THE MAIN SHAWMUT PAGE CLICK HERE