| Rule book |
Rules of the Cape Ann Rail System
For the government of the Operating Department
Effective April 22 2020
These rules shall apply to Cape Ann Rail System as well as other roads having trackage rights on the system (Rockland Line, Seacoast Line, Amtrak).
Descriptions and Definitions
- Location designators: Industries and locations (details) on the system are denoted by these three letter abbreviations:
BOL Bolton Railcar Maintenance Facility CAS Cape Ann Passenger Station COM Commissary CPR Chronicle Printing, Marias CPS Cascade Passenger Shelter CSH Cascade Section House DAS Davis Passenger Station DAV Davis Classification Yard EEE EEE Feed and Supply, Marias FRT Freight House and Team Track GCF Glen Cove Fuels, Glen Cove GCM Glen Cove Maintenance Yard KEL Kenton Electric Fabricators, Kenton KEN Kenton Yard KES Kenton Passenger Station KFF Kenton Freight Forwarders LMS Leslie Marine Services, Marias MMT Marias Machining & Tool, Marias NPO North Portal Interchange PAM Pamola siding PSH Pamola Section House PTC Precision Tooling Corporation, Marias QUI Quinn Intermodal Yard SPO South Portal Interchange- Towers: Manned towers (details) on the system are denoted by two letter abbreviations. All towers except Marias are manned 24 hours.
DT Davis Tower GT Glen Cove Tower KT Kenton Tower MT Marias Tower (daytime only) PT Pamola Tower QT Quinn Tower ST South Tower- Davis Yard tracks:
1 Arrival and departure 2 Empties 3 Runaround 4 Locomotive servicing 5 Local delivery 6 South interchange 7 North interchange 8 QUI (Quinn Intermodal) 9 DAS (Davis Passenger Station)- Davis Yard limit: The Davis Yard limit is the pedestrian overpass at Kimball's Campground.
- Kenton Yard limit: The Kenton Yard limits are the grade crossing at Glen Cove at the north end, and Tower ST at the south end.
- Kenton Yard tracks: Kenton Yard tracks are not designated for specific purposes. They may be used at the tower or conductor's discretion. Note there is an industry (KEL) at the end of one yard track, any cars spotted there must be replaced after switching.
- Train numbering: Even numbered trains are southbound. Odd numbered trains are northbound.
- Locomotive numbering: Even numbered locomotives are powered. Odd numbered locomotives are unpowered (dummies or slugs). Codes are written on the bottom to indicate the configuration of the locomotive:
# pickup wheels/# driven wheels, example: 4/8 C can motor equipped D directional lighting equipped F flywheel equipped L LED lighting equipped P pancake motor equipped S slug W weighted to NMRA recommendation- Car numbering: Railcars are numbered according to this table.
From To Type Comment 1 99 passenger, non-revenue Cape Ann business use 100 199 passenger, revenue 200 299 locomotive, switcher or FM yard or pusher service 300 599 locomotive, F series passenger service 600 799 locomotive, GP-18 freight service 800 899 locomotive, GP-20 and later freight service 900 999 general non-revenue caboose, maintenance of way, utility, and stationary 1000 1999 flatcar, well car 2000 2999 gondola 3000 3999 tank 4000 4999 box 5000 5999 refrigerator, perishables, livestock 6000 6999 hopper, open 7000 7999 hopper, covered 8000 9999 reserved for future use - Pool caboose: Any caboose painted red and having the "P" symbol is a Pool caboose for Cape Ann, Rockland, and Seacoast Line; and shall have free run of those systems.
- Slugs: A slug is an unpowered locomotive which has its electrical pickups wired to an adjacent powered unit, to improve performance of the pair.
- Superiority of trains:
- Passenger trains are superior to freight trains.
- Cape Ann passenger trains are superior to all other trains, passenger or freight.
- Revenue trains (passenger or freight) are superior to non-revenue trains (for example, Maintenance of Way, light engine moves)
- Trackage rights:
- Seacoast Line, Rockland Line, Bangor and Aroostook, and Maine Central have trackage rights from NPO (North Portal) to Pamola, including all of PAM (Pamola siding).
- Conrail and Boston and Maine have trackage rights from SPO (South Portal) to Kenton, including all of KEN (Kenton Yard).
- Amtrak has trackage rights between NPO (North Portal) and SPO (South Portal).
- These trains may use other trackage at the discretion of the tower operator for that district.
- Fouling points: The fouling point of turnouts is indicated by a red post.
- Per Diem Cars: Free-running per diem cars (e.g., Railbox) are considered home road cars.
Operations
- Pre-operation check: The Pre-Operation check list will be completed prior to beginning operations.
- Car Cards / waybills: A Car Card/Waybill which is set vertically (standing UP) indicates the car is ready to be picked UP. A Car Card/Waybill set horizontally indicates the car is at its destination and remains there. Car Cards/Waybills are only advanced between sessions.
- Passenger station timers: All stops at passenger stations require a one-minute timer (mini-hourglass) to operate to force passage of time before proceeding.
- Caboose requirements: A caboose is required on all freight trains. Exception: local freights between Davis and Kenton are exempt in order to facilitate switching work.
- Hazardous/flammable loads: Hazardous or flammable loads (generally, tank cars) shall not be coupled next to the locomotive or caboose, except within yard limits.
- Block signal aspects: Block signals are located at each block boundary.
- A green aspect indicates the upcoming block is set to the same cab as the current block, proceed.
- A red aspect indicates the upcoming block is not set to the same cab, stop.
- Expected green, but shows red: Red is the default aspect. If your train is moving very slowly, and you expect a green aspect but it shows red, there may not be adequate voltage on the rail to activate the signal relay. Jazz the throttle momentarily to activate it. If it does not change to green, proceed slowly past the signal. If the upcoming block is not, in fact, connected to your cab, your train will stop.
- Train orders: Train order signals are located at the two interchange portals: Towers PT (Pamola Tower) and ST (South Tower). Train order aspects are set during the Pre-operation check. Trains approaching PT or ST shall check for orders by observing the signal aspect. Refer to Issuing Train Orders
- A yellow aspect indicates no orders, proceed.
- A red aspect indicates stop for orders.
- Empties: Empties shall be obtained in this order of preference:
- Confiscate a foreign road empty, if the load will to move it toward its home system.
- Obtain a Cape Ann / per diem empty from Davis Yard track 2
- Obtain a Cape Ann / per diem empty from the storage rack
- Post-operation check: The Post-operation check list will be completed at conclusion of one full schedule.
Rules for Specific Locations
- Flag stops: Flag stops are located at CPS (Cascade Passenger Shelter) and PSH (Pamola Section House). Passenger trains shall be alert for signals from passengers.
- Cascade grade requirement: The grade from Glen Cove to Cascade is 3%. One powered loco may be used for 1 or 2 cars. Two powered locos shall be used for 3-10 cars. 10 cars is the maximum. In the event a train cannot make the grade, pushers shall be added.
- Block 16 trespasser check: There is a known hobo encampment in block 16. If any portion of a freight train comes to a stop at any point in block 16, crew shall check for trespassers aboard the train before proceeding. This may be done by either walking the train, or a slow rollby. A one-minute timer (mini-hourglass) shall be used to force passage of time before proceeding.
- Quinn grade crossing: Do not block the grade crossing at QUI (Quinn Intermodal). When using this track as a yard lead for switching DAV, pull completely past the grade crossing, stop, and allow any traffic to pass before pushing back into DAV.
- Interchange for intermodal containers: When an intermodal (well) car exits to the interchange, do not re-rack it. Leave the railcar on the rails, and swap out the container for the next inbound freight.