I enjoyed watching the trains, albeit a bit at a distance, in April.
I was back at the dealership today for my 2-year/20k mile service.
This time I was prepared. Though we had had some snow earlier, the weather cooperated. I walked way down (like 2-miles) to the top of the yard itself.
Well you can see the pictures. Not much actions. LOTS of engines — over a dozen. But, they were not doing anything productive! I see that a LOT up here. SMILE.
Click to ENLARGE. The CSX yard relative to where I took these pictures.
It would appear that railroad cargo activity in Southern Maine has increased quite a bit of late. I did a quick Google & found that this is indeed the case & that ‘CSX’, who are now the operators of ‘Central Maine Railroad‘, has kicked operations up quite a bit.
I often bemoan that living in New Hampshire I don’t get to see too many trains. That is a fact. But yesterday, in Southern Maine, south of Portland, I, to my surprise & DELIGHT, got to see some REAL, long & heavy, freight trains. Wow. Unexpected.
The ‘Volvo’ dealership that I take my (accursed) XC60 is pretty close to the yard.
I take an amble while they do whatever needs to be done to the (bloody) Volvo. I used to amble down Rte 1 but on my last visit & discovered this golf driving range on a pond. It is a RIOT. They drive the golf balls into water. I like that. Gives me a kick. So, yesterday I made a point of ambling to the pond. On the way I heard the UNMISTAKABLE sound of diesel train engines in action. I clamoured down the embankment. It was worth it.
Busy. I was surprised. I have to go back next week. Bloody Volvo. But, they gave me a real fancy LOANER. Even fancier than my XC60 & mine is pretty fancy. So, when I am there next week I am going to go to the yard itself. Wow.
Here are some pictures of the driving range. Check the pictures out. You can see the balls bobbing in the water in one of them. Enjoy.
This happened in the last 24-hours. To avoid blushes I WILL NOT mention (or even allude) to the dealers involved — other than to say that they were BOTH New Hampshire Ford dealerships.
Wife needed a new ‘car’ (actually a van or SUV). She decided that she wanted a Bronco. So, told her to lease one — 3-year lease, 10,500-miles/year. So, she went car shopping, on her own, yesterday.
She went to one dealership — a bit far from us, because she (when she drove by) had only seen trucks at another dealership (closer to home). They had two ‘Broncos‘ on the lot. She liked a ‘Big Bend‘ model. They told her somebody was coming to look at it later that day. She had the salesman call me. He did not sit right with I. He had a ‘take it, or leave it’ attitude. I do NOT like ‘negotiating’ when a salesperson starts off like that. Wife was on the way back … I told the salesman I will call back.
I called up another dealership. I have never bought a new Ford. So, I had no relationships at Ford dealers. As is my wont, I checked the Website & scanned the faces of the sales team. I got a gentleman I knew I would be able to work with. Yes, as an ex-salesman myself, I kind of like to pick salespeople by their appearance. It works for I. In this case I was 100% right. He proved to be marvelous.
He did NOT have any Broncos. So, wife was right that they only had trucks. They were NOT expecting a Bronco delivery for a month or more! But, he said he will check around & see whether he could get us one from their ‘network’ — in exchange for one of their many trucks. Around 7pm he e-mailed me to say he found one & the price was GOOD. $2K cheaper, straight-off-the-bat, than the one wife had seen. This all had to do with the dealer markup ABOVE MSRP that all dealerships now resort to. Plus, their ‘processing & paperwork’ fees (always a racket) was 1/2 that of the other.
This morning BOTH dealerships started calling at 8:30am.
We had 3-hours of somewhat hilarious, high-drama. In the end they were bidding against each other. I have never experienced anything like that! Wow. And there is a new car shortage. But, it is the end of the month. I knew that. I played on that.
By 11:30am, one dealer was $129 LOWER — per month — on the lease price from where we had been 3-hours earlier! The initial payment had also gone down $300! WOW. They basically EXCEEDED the price I had wanted. I had to sign the dotted line.
This worked out for us. Yes, we are trading in her 2015 Nissan Quest. They didn’t even want to see it. eContract already signed.
They are driving to Vermont to get the Bronco. They are exchanging it for a new Ford Dump Truck worth $65,000!
