General Discussion

Thanks for the updates!

desertdog wrote:

From Maricopa east for several miles, crews have put down what appears to be finely crushed rock on top of the graded embankment for the second main.  No ballast, rail or ties are evident yet.  There are lengths of new rail lying on either side of the present main but they may be there to replace the existing rail.  I don't know this for sure; it's just conjecture on my part. The embankment in largely in place from Maricopa to Casa Grande and all the culverts appear to be complete, including safety railings.  From Casa Grande east, there is some rough grading in progress as far as Eloy and some culverts and new bridges are complete.  East of there to Tucson, there are no signs of any new embankment and the culverts are in various stages of completion. John Timm

I was in Maricopa yesterday and drove on that road that parallels the railroad for several miles.  I also noticed the graded area north of the existing track.  Also, east of the Amtrak depot, in a lot adjacent to the line, are a LOT of railroad ties, so they might be getting ready to lay the rail.  There is also a copious amount of concrete railroad grade crossing planks.

all the new rail that's laying there is for the new main.  the wooden ties at maricopa are for parts of re-tieing on the existing main with the exception of some concrete ones that are for the set-out tracks.  all the ties for the new main are sitting in tucson yard at the concrete tie facility.   when they do start laying new rail it will begin at estrella.

I drove from Tucson to Casa Grande Monday, July 7th, along the old highway that parallels the track.  From Tucson to Marana there is no sign of any activity save some utility lines being moved away from the UP right of way.

Bridges and culverts are being built or modified from Marana westward.  From Eloy to Casa Grande new bridges have been completed, fill dirt is being brought in and the roadbed is being graded.

A large staging area on the south edge of Picacho is a beehive of activity with pre-formed concrete bridge parts, steel beams, and other materials being trucked in and stockpiled.

If the UP intends to bring the new track elevation up to the same level as the existing track, thousands of hopper loads of fill dirt are going to be needed between Casa Grande and Tucson because the roadbed is elevated 3 or 4 feet above the surrounding terrain the entire distance.

cacole wrote:

If the UP intends to bring the new track elevation up to the same level as the existing track, thousands of hopper loads of fill dirt are going to be needed between Casa Grande and Tucson because the roadbed is elevated 3 or 4 feet above the surrounding terrain the entire distance.

I know what you mean.  However, if you go west from Casa Grande towards Bon and Maricopa where the fill for the roadbed is complete, you will see that much of the difference in elevation will be made up when they apply ballast.  There's not quite as much dirt involved as it might seem.

John Timm 

 

 

Many thanks for the details of this. I noticed last year that UP was doing massive project on sunset. Maybe sooner or later Amtraks Sunset  will start running on time.

       Couple of other comments 1. saw in the Trains article someone was throwing up a lot of flak over Red Rock Yard.

2. Who put up the billboard about no trains ? (you can see it from e/b I-10) . Was it the same guy who sued the Army Claimed the Army's helicopters scared his ostriches to death?

 

Rgds IGN

IGN,

A news item in Trains Magazine last year indicated that 50 or so residents of a trailer park somewhere in the Picacho area were the ones who put up the billboard opposing the Red Rock yard.

The billboard proclaims, "Save Our Peak!  No Rail Yard!" as if they think the UP is going to grind up Picacho Peak, which is a state park on the opposite side of I-10 from the railroad, to use as ballast.  They have even gone to the expense of hiring a lobbyist to file complaints with the Arizona Legislature and push through several bills aimed at stopping the UP.  The Governor has so far wisely vetoed every one of those bills as being an encroachment into STB and FRA regulatory authority, and pointing out that the UP owns the land and can build whatever they want on it.

Rooster Cockburn's Ostrich Farm has been on the verge of bankruptcy for several years, and his lawsuit against the military sounds like nothing more than an attempt to avoid the inevitable.

As of Monday, July 21, 2008:

At West Colton Yard, Bloomington, CA:

The last signal for the east end of the new Cedar Ave. interlocking plant has been erected.  (Background left)

A switch was being completely replaced in the Arrival Yard.  All the tracks, except the main (on right), were red flagged.

After a new switch was dropped into place, activity intensified

 

the track laying has begun at estrella.  two new signals (non-operating right now) have been put up west of the west switch estrella.  basically our approach clear sixty and fifty signals.  the new crossover is halfway built and will most likely be cut in next week.  the new track section will go to maricopa.  when that is done maricopa will no longer be a siding rather the east end of double track.

Documenting the Sunset Route Two-Tracking

Part ONE of Five:  East of RED ROCK to ELOY, AZ

(All photos below were taken Tuesday, August 5, 2008)

This odyssey begins in the east at the grade crossing at M.P. 953.60 adjacent a public service utility.  Looking westbound:  This appears to be the eastern limits of present activity (though between here and Tucson the line was not physically checked for activity)

This odd item may be more Union Pacific than one first realizes ... and actually reoccurs two more times in this five-part series ...

At the west end of RED ROCK, a westbound waits in the hole for a meet.  Drainage excavation is evident on the right background.  This view looks east from Park Link Road, M.P. 950.2

Odd quirks occur.  Yellow warning tape in the vicinity of M.P. 948 alerts graders to watch out for longtime hanging signal wires

Various bridge parts are now in a staging area west of CP SP945 WYMOLA

Looking east from the east switches of the PICACHO sidings.  Grading is clearly evident now.  Picacho Peak is in far background

Looking west:  In background far right is another staging area.  At the other end of these sidings, the line to Phoenix branches off towards the right.

Workers take down the railroad's old lineside wires

Somewhere west of PICACHO, the new track grading changes from the south side to the north.  Picacho Peak is in the background

Looking west in ELOY (from the M.P. 933.31 "Main Street" grade crossing).  A high pole with an antenna on it stands in the way of the alignment for the coming second track.  Grading is in the far right background

Tuscan? This goes all the way to Italy?

East of Red Rock the signs of progress are very subtle: things like utilities and signal boxes being moved.  I will be down that way the week after next and will take notes. 

Meanwhile, various hearings are being held regarding what to do with grade crossings, especially in Maricopa and Casa Grande where the population has swelled in the last five years.

From the Maricopa Monitor (August 1):

"High gas prices have more distributors moving toward trains, which can haul the load of 300 semi-trucks, to transport products, said Zoe Gisela-Richmond, director of corporate relations for Union Pacific.

However the railroad company will have to get approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission before moving ahead with the double tracking project.

The ACC hosted a public hearing in Maricopa July 31.

"There is going to be a significant increase in train traffic and we want to make sure crossings are as safe as can be," said Kristin Mayes, corporation commissioner. "Union Pacific is required to make sure these crossings are safe."

Union Pacific estimates 40 trains cut through Maricopa every day. That number is expected to double, at least, once double tracking is completed.

The commission is looking at four crossings in Maricopa, located at Porter Road, White and Parker Road, Hartman Road and Arizona 347.

"The 347 is one of the busiest crossings in Arizona without an underpass or overpass," Mayes said.

Commissioner Gary Pierce said he worries about the amount of congestion and frustration that could be caused by adding another track, but not an overpass.

The Arizona Department of Transportation estimates grade separation construction would be completed in five years.

Both commissioners agreed five years would simply be too long.

"With train traffic increasing, a backup two or three lights long is not something you want to see," Pierce said. "That's going to create a lot of tension and the potential for danger."

A $60 to $112 million grade separation project would require a funding solution between city, state and Union Pacific officials, said Gisela-Richmond.

Gisela-Richmond said Union Pacific typically pays five percent of construction costs. A $35 million chunk of construction would be funded by the state transportation initiative if voters vote for the one cent sales tax increase in November.

Another option for the 347 crossing would be to add a bypass route that would relieve traffic backups.

The commission will host an evidentiary hearing Aug. 19 at the commission's Phoenix office, 1200 West Washington. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. "

 

John Timm 

 

desertdog wrote:

East of Red Rock the signs of progress are very subtle: things like utilities and signal boxes being moved.  I will be down that way the week after next and will take notes.  Meanwhile, various hearings are being held regarding what to do with grade crossings, especially in Maricopa and Casa Grande where the population has swelled in the last five years. From the Maricopa Monitor (August 1): "High gas prices have more distributors moving toward trains, which can haul the load of 300 semi-trucks, to transport products, said Zoe Gisela-Richmond, director of corporate relations for Union Pacific. However the railroad company will have to get approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission before moving ahead with the double tracking project. The ACC hosted a public hearing in Maricopa July 31. "There is going to be a significant increase in train traffic and we want to make sure crossings are as safe as can be," said Kristin Mayes, corporation commissioner. "Union Pacific is required to make sure these crossings are safe." Union Pacific estimates 40 trains cut through Maricopa every day. That number is expected to double, at least, once double tracking is completed. The commission is looking at four crossings in Maricopa, located at Porter Road, White and Parker Road, Hartman Road and Arizona 347. "The 347 is one of the busiest crossings in Arizona without an underpass or overpass," Mayes said. Commissioner Gary Pierce said he worries about the amount of congestion and frustration that could be caused by adding another track, but not an overpass. The Arizona Department of Transportation estimates grade separation construction would be completed in five years. Both commissioners agreed five years would simply be too long. "With train traffic increasing, a backup two or three lights long is not something you want to see," Pierce said. "That's going to create a lot of tension and the potential for danger." A $60 to $112 million grade separation project would require a funding solution between city, state and Union Pacific officials, said Gisela-Richmond. Gisela-Richmond said Union Pacific typically pays five percent of construction costs. A $35 million chunk of construction would be funded by the state transportation initiative if voters vote for the one cent sales tax increase in November. Another option for the 347 crossing would be to add a bypass route that would relieve traffic backups. The commission will host an evidentiary hearing Aug. 19 at the commission's Phoenix office, 1200 West Washington. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. "  ------------------------------------ All this procedural bumpf could add two years to UP's timetable for completing work on the Sunset Route.  UP can mitigate some of it by working on stretches where no towns exist (east and west of Yuma, for example), but there will be no way to expedite the administrative process, and one suspects that the pols and 'crats, few of whom seem UP-friendly, will do all in their power to drag out the process. My two bits worth.   --billio

tdmidget wrote:

Tuscan? This goes all the way to Italy?

Whoops.  Tucson ...

K.P.

Documenting the Sunset Route Two-Tracking:

Part TWO of Five:  From ELOY, AZ to MONTGOMERY ROAD

(All photos below were taken Tuesday, August 5, 2008)

A tractor works west of Battaglia Road grade crossing at M.P. 931.35.

Allot of activity was transpiring east of the Houser Road grade crossing at M.P. 930.28.

This is an interesting alignment and drainage situation.   View looks east from the Toltec Road grade crossing at M.P. 928.6.  Some maintenance roads alongside the tracks go over wide drainage culverts (as in this case).  Others don't.

A heavy roller hardens the flattened ground.

Looking WEST:  Somewhere in the vicinity of Interstate 10 the new track shifts from the north side (as in this view) to the south side.  Note the higher clearance of the bridge where the present single-track goes underneath

Looking EAST at the above I-10 overpass, this time from Cox Road, M.P. 923.6

View looking WEST from Cox Road clearly shows new second main will have shifted to the south side

From Interstate 10, as the south side second main grading heads westward and approaches Casa Grande, AZ, it stops.  West of Casa Grande, it resumes

View from Ethington Road, looking east, around M.P. 915:  Grading resumption is still on the south side (right).

However, looking westward, the grading shifts to the north side, apparently through the grade crossing.  (Note the consistent grade width in far background compared to the foreground)

Looking west from Montgomery Road, the new track will still be on the north side (right)

Looking east ...

The several minutes approaching blinding light was as if it was from another dimension of space and time!  But, in reality, it was only a UP freight that the sun super-glaringly reflected off its windshield as the train kept approaching ... On the photo left, between the highway and the track, the project's grading is well along