On November 15, Pan Am Railways executive staff, including President David Fink, Jr. and owner Timothy Mellon, set out for a full Connecticut River Line inspection, originating in Plainville, Connecticut and terminating in White River Junction, Vermont. The trip would traverse four separate owner's lines, including Pan Am's own from Plainville to Berlin, CT; Amtrak Springfield Line from Berlin to Springfield, MA; PAS Conn River Line from Springfield to East Northfield, MA; New England Central's Palmer and Roxbury Subdivisions from East Northfield, MA to White River Junction, VT; and Vermont Rail System's Washington County RR Lyndonville Subdivision at White River Junction. Additionally, the NECR mainline passes through a portion of New Hampshire, making the 5.5-hour trip a 4-state venture on Thursday. The train was led by MEC GP40s 350 and 352, with the FP9As getting a rest from typical duties as the Amtrak portion of the trip required cab signal and ACSES equipment that the 350/352 were operably equipped. This also marked the beginning of the new PAR 4-car OCS train era, with the recent acquisition of the CSXT 994008 "Mississippi" sleeper car, which will head to Waterville for paint following this series of trips. OCS-15 is crossing the Second Level Canal off the Connecticut River at Holyoke, Massachusetts, with the old Holyoke depot and part of the old warehouse district visible in the distance.
