The Final Year of Pan Am Railways / Guilford Rail System 2022

In March of 2022, I spent an entire week chasing trains on the Pan Am Railways / Pan Am Southern. From District 1 to District 4, the major road freight trains are featured in this video. We will also chase the Sappi job, which runs daily on the Hinckley Branch, and EDSP on the Conn River Line.

Sit back, relax, and watch Pan Am Railways / Guilford Rail System at the end of the journey, just before the CSX purchase on June 1st, 2022. Pan Am Railways was the largest regional railroad in the United States at the time. A collection of GE and EMD power is seen ranging from NS equipment to ex-CSX power to Guilford and Pan Am painted locomotives.

-16R (NS 6971, NS 9620, MEC 7875) chasing the train from XO Tower in Mechanicville, New York to East Deerfield Yard, in Deerfield, Massachusetts. We will also see the train passing the old tower in Johnsonville, NY, the station in Eagle Bridge, NY and exiting the Hoosac Tunnel in Florida, MA.

-23K (NS 6965, NS 9487, NS 7540) Passing 16R in District 1, this is the major container train from Ayer to Rotterdam Junction.

-EDSP (MEC 5946, MEC 5948) Departing the East Deerfield Yard, the train heads south onto the Conn River Line as the sunset falls.

-AY-2 (MEC 7595) is seen putting together the next AYPO train. On this particular day, the daily AYPO train was annulled and didn’t run.

-POAY (MEC 7605 and MEC 7585) was found at track speed in North Andover, NH.

-WAPO (MEC 7518, MEC 512, MEC 509, MEC 504, MEC 604, MEC 600, MEC 606) are seen splitting the city of Portland in half. This was the funeral train for the last three EMD engines on the consist. These engines went to Larry's Truck and Electric, in Lordstown, Ohio. The power from WAPO would later be used for POAY.

-POAY (MEC 7518, MEC 7541) pull the train west after it leaves the Rigby Yard, leaving the units for LTEX. It seemed to be common that power from Waterville would run west to Ayer, and then return the following day on the next daily road freight.

-AYPO (MEC 7489, MEC 7609, MEC 5968, MEC 5933) meets POAY at the siding in Wells, Maine.

-POWA (MEC 7489, MEC 7609, MEC 5968, MEC 5933) continue to train from Portland up to Waterville. Here, the cars will be broken down into the yard, before cars are sent on Sappi-4 and also WANM.

-SAPPI-3 (MEC 313, MEC 506) sporting two EMDs painted in Pan Am colors, these units pull the cars from SAPPI North America on the Hinckley Branch, at 10 mph speeds. The train connects in Fairfield onto the mainline in the backyard of a residence.

-WA Local (MEC 315, MEC 307) During the morning, trains were broken down by a yard job, which also delivered cars in the afternoon around Waterville, Maine.

-WANM (MEC 345, MEC 517, MEC 515) will have all painted Pan Am locomotives. East of Waterville Yard, tracks are 10 mph speed limits. The train will take all afternoon to travel from Waterville, Maine to Northern Maine Junction, in Hermon, Maine.
-PO Local (MEC 306) and another EMD 4-axle switch cars on the west end of the Rigby Yard.

-POAY (MEC 7518, MEC 7541) lead a train west on the old Boston and Maine mainline. It will meet AYPO at Wells, Maine, along with an Amtrak Downeaster.

-AYPO (MEC 7609, MEC 7489, and QGRY 3537) running hot through North Berwick, Maine. This train was delivering a Genesee and Wyoming unit to Canada, and was in newly painted G&W colors.

-EDPO (MEC 7523, MEC 7594, MEC 7542, MEC 7528, MEC 7552) is seen passing through Shirley, MA and then at the MBTA station in Ayer, MA. This train originally woke me up as the train pounded east through Gardner, MA. For a railfan, the Super 8 in Gardner, MA is a great place to see the train from your hotel. Make sure to request a room on the south side of the building!

-AYPO (MEC 7541, MEC 7518) is departing Ayer, MA and passing a section of track on the mainline not labeled as CPF but as B.

-22K (NS 6959, NS 9583, NS 9772) while preparing to leave town, I almost missed the eastbound Pan Am Southern train pull into town. The crew has to reverse the train into the yard, and thus pulls east through town, to reverse onto the wye into the Ayer Yard.

Copyright 2022 Brad Noyes Photo 39 Fire and Rail Photography.