Union Members OK Pact with WNY&P

Union members have approved a new contract with the Western New York & Pennsylvania.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said the contract was ratified unanimously.

The pact, which is effective through 2025, provides wage increases of about 25 percent over the life of the contract and includes an immediate $2 per hour increase in pay and general wage increases effective Jan. 1 each year through Jan. 1, 2025.

Terms also call for for additional pay for each tour of duty on remote control assignments.

Personal time off also was approved and discipline and investigation rules were modified to provide for limited electronic communication with a fall-back provision that if communication is not accomplished within 24 hours, the documents will be mailed via U.S. Mail.

The WNYP’s mainline ruins for 190 miles from Hornell, New York, to Meadville, Pennsylvania, with a 90-mile branch from Machias, New York, to North Driftwood, Pennsylvania.

Union Reaches Pact with WNY&P

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have reached a tentative contract agreement with the Western New York & Pennsylvania.

The pact covers pay rates, benefits and work rules for about a dozen WNY&P employees.

Ratification ballots have been mailed to active members employed by the WNYP and are due by June 15.

WYNP membership is part of Division 16 and represented by the BLET’s short line department.

The short line railroad extends from Hornell, New York, to Meadville, Pennsylvania, with a 90-mile branch from Machias, New York, to North Driftwood, Pennsylvania.

Alcos Still Operating on WNY&P

Although the first GE diesel locomotive has entered revenue service on the Western New York & Pennsylvania, the road’s venerable Alco units will continue running for now.

Trains magazine reported this week that AC46CH No. 6002 became the first alternating current GE to enter revenue service on the WNY&P on Sept. 24.

For now No. 6002 will be used in captive service on the “Sling Shot” between Olean and Salamanca in New York.

Plans are to eventually assign No. 6002 to other assignments on the railroad.

The WNY&P has two other GE’s slated to work on its system. No. 6001 is en route via Norfolk Southern while No. 6005 is being painted on the on the Arkansas & Missouri in Springdale, Arkansas.

No. 6005 is expected to be sent eastward in the coming weeks.

Trains said it has learned from sources at the railroad that none of the Alcos built by Montreal Locomotive Works and currently on the active roster of the WNY&P have yet been retired.

The MLW units are expected to continue operating through the end of the year.

WNY&P Opens New Transloading Facility

A new transloading facility has opened on the Western New York & Pennsylvania in Turtle Point, Pennsylvania, that will be used to serve the facking industry with sand deliveries.

With the opening of the facility, frac sand transloading operations have moved from Emporium, Pennsylvania.

The WNY&P is eyeing creating a transloading sit in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

The opening of the Turtle Point site means that operation of trains south of there are now about three or four trains a week, primarily the Driftwood turn. Fewer trains are operating over Keating Summit as well.

AC Units En Route to WNY&P

Two AC46CW locomotives are en route to the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad as the short line begins the process of replacing its last remaining Montreal Locomotive Works units.

Nos. 6006 and 6007 were being sent from the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad.

Upon arriving at the WNY&P, the units will be used for parts. They are painted in a CSX livery with WNY&P markings.

Trains magazine reported on its website that operation of the MLW locomotives is likely to continue through the summer and possibly into the fall.

The six-axle  MLW units are assigned out of Olean, New York, on a Salamanca turn that operates four days a week.

The first operable AC unit is expected to be sent to the WNY&P in mid- to-late July with an expected August arrival.

MLW Units Still Running on WNY&P

Locomotives built by Montreal Locomotive Works featuring Alco designs are still operating on short line Western New York & Pennsylvania.

Officials expect the six-axle units to operate through the end of summer before being replaced by GE-built wide cab locomotives.

The six-unit operable fleet of C636s and one C630 operate on former Pennsylvania Railroad tracks between Machias, New York, and Driftwood, Pennsylvania.

On occasion, the units will head west on former Erie Railroad track to Salamanca, New York, or Meadville, Pennsylvania.

A report posted on the Trains magazine website said the best opportunity to see the MLW units in action is to wait on a public road (Constitution Avenue) for the Driftwood turn, which operates as needed but as many as three times a week from Olean, New York.

A Fairfield Inn is located next to the tracks a short distance away.

Westbound trains go to either Salamanca or Falconer, New York, to meet the Meadville turn.

The Trains author recommended being there by 7 a.m. He also noted that the WNY&P is not as railfan friendly as it once was so be aware and respectful.

The GE units are expected to arrive on the WNY&P this month, but the MLW units will be stored serviceable even after the GEs have taken over assignments now held by MLW locomotives.

Chasing Erie Ghosts, Alcos in Meadville

This Alco S2 was an unexpected find during our time in Meadville. It is within sight of the former Erie mainline.

A while back after the conclusion of a chase of a train on the former Bessemer & Lake Erie, my friend Adam and I drove over to Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Our intent was to find Alco locomotives on the Western New York & Pennsylvania, which we did, but I also found myself chasing ghosts of the Erie Railroad.

Meadville was a big Erie town and some passenger trains would set out and drop off cars here, including sleepers, lounges and diners. This practice continued into the Erie Lackawanna era.

The Erie also had a major yard in Meadville, which is used today by the WNY&P. The yard is not hard to find and neither were the Alcos.

We were there on a Saturday of a long holiday weekend, so the Alcos were probably spending the weekend waiting until being recalled for service on Tuesday.

There didn’t seem to be any activity in the WNY&P yard. We got our photos and left.

I then spotted what turned out to be a museum display devoted to the Erie and EL.

The display is maintained by the French Creek Valley Railroad Historical Society and features an Alco S2, a caboose in EL markings and a boxcar, among other artifacts.

The S2 was in the process of being restored to its Erie livery and it turned out that it used to be owned by the Cleveland Illuminating Company and also spent time on the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson.

I may have seen No. 518 reposing on the AC&Y and maybe photographed it when it was still in its CEI markings.

So, it turned out, we found more Alcos than we expected in Meadville.

We then turned our attention to our other reason for venturing to Meadville, which was to check out the Voodoo Brewery and Brew Pub, which was quite good.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Keeping alive the heritage of the Erie Lackawanna in Meadville.

The Erie diamond etched in concrete was saved from the coaling tower in Meadville when it was being razed.

The former Erie mainline in Meadville just east of the yard is now operated by the WNY&P.

Looking eastward on the former Erie mainline at Osgood, Pennsylvania. Norfolk Southern owns the tracks here.

WNY&P No. 427, an Alco C425, was sitting idle at the east end of the former Erie yard in Meadville.

WNY&P C424 No. 435 was one of the Alcos that we came looking for in Meadville.

 

WNY&P Gets Another Alco Locomotive

The Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad plans to place another Alco diesel locomotive into service by the end of the month.

Trains magazine reported that former Tioga Central No. 406, an Alco RS34M, will begin serving the WNY&P, which is known for its Alco motive power fleet.

No. 406 has been renovated, including receiving LED lighting, a camera, alerter system, turbo replacement, new federally-mandated window glazing, and new paint, among other improvements. It has a 12-cylinder Alco 251 prime mover.

New York Railroad Seeks Grant for Track Work

A western New York short line that operates over former Erie Railroad track stands to benefit from a $1.9 million matching grant being sought by the owner of the tracks from the state.

The Southern Tier West Extension Railroad Authority is seeking the grant from the New York Department of Transportation for track rehabilitation between Salamanca and Olean, N.Y.

The track is used by the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, which would contribute $495,000 toward the $2.4 million project.

Lucas Brewer, assistant chief engineer for the railroad, said the work would involve replacing of 10,000 cross ties between Salamanca and Olean and 11 switches in the Olean yard, which serves as the hub of WNY&P operations.

In addition, three grade crossings will be upgraded during the work that would get underway in 2015 and be completed the following year.

The project comes at a time when the WNY&P is looking to increase its freight business to offset the loss two years ago of Norfolk Southern coal trains.

WNY&P said it moved 6,785 carloads in 2013, up from 6,473 in 2012. The breakdown includes 4,578 carloads on the Southern Tier Extension line and 2,207 on the railroad’s Buffalo line in 2013, as compared to 4,320 on the Southern Tier Extension line and 2,153 on the Buffalo line in 2012.

Brewer said the WNY&P expects “a significant increase” in traffic this year by carrying more steel pipe and fracking sand to Pennsylvania oil shale areas.

NS coal trains boosted rail traffic on the Southern Tier Extension line to more than 54,000 carloads for several years. But the coal traffic ended when a Central New York coal-fired plant closed and NS ceased operating its overhead coal trains across the Southern Tier.

The WNY&P is best known to railfans for using Alco locomotives to pull its trains.