RR trenches?

[Boyd]

I thought there was a trench through Vegas but my google search shows one in Reno. What cities have RR trenches going through them that are not actually tunnels? 

[DSchmitt]

Duplicate Post

[DSchmitt]

The 10 mile long Mid-corridor trench portion of the 20 mile long Alamedia Corridor parallel to Alamedia Street from near downtown Los angeles to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.  Tripple track, 33' deep, 50'wide.  corridor is mostly on former SP allignment.   Used by  BNSF and UP  

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Melbourne Australia  

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Fresno,  California     2 miles long trench  for high speed rail - in construction

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San Gabriel, California   San Gabriel Trench   2.2 miles, UP Railroad   Construction started 2012 expected completion end 2017

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Baltimore Maryland  http://prr4ever.blogspot.com/2016/09/16-04-30-photos-baltimore-trenches.html

 

[tree68]

The former IC line through Paxton, IL is well below grade all through town - noise notwithstanding, trains can pass un-noticed.   It's not lined by concrete, but still must have been quite the dig...

[Paul of Covington]

  There is a trench through part of downtown El Paso.   There are a couple of buildings built over it, but I don't know if that would be considered a tunnel or buildings-built-over-a-trench.

31° 45' 33" N,  106° 29' 28" W

[mudchicken]

Littleton Depression - Denver (aka "Littleton Hole") BNSF+UP+RTD

Alameda East/SanGabriel Trench (UP) - Just going into service

[Firelock76]

It may be a stretch, but in a way you could call the New York Central's Park Avenue tunnel to Grand Central Terminal a trench, it was built using a "cut and cover" technique, that is a trench was cut down Park Avenue and then covered over.

It's still in use today by New York's Metro-North commuter system.

Some parts of the NYC subway system were done the same way, depending on location.

[RME]

Firelock76

It may be a stretch, but in a way you could call the New York Central's Park Avenue tunnel to Grand Central Terminal a trench,

Perhaps more to the point, it WAS a trench until electrification; the problems with operation 'down in the hole' contributing to the legislation that mandated passenger electrification, and the 'decking-over' only enabled by the subsequent work.

[dubch87]

I don't know that these qualify as "trenches" like the others, but Gastonia and High Point in North Carolina come to mind.

[MikeF90]

Trenches have been a critical design feature of Los Angeles county's re-emerging light rail system; it is a useful grade separation alternative in built up areas. 

The northeast segment of the Gold Line has short trenches dating from its AT&SF heritage. The Expo Line has a cut-and-cover built trench adjacent to USC.  The Crenshaw-LAX line under construction has both tunnel and trench segments along Crenshaw and Florence Blvds, as well as the well photographed one next to the LAX airport.

BART has made extensive use of trenches in the Warm Springs extension, which mainly follows an ex-WP ROW.

[MidlandMike]

Further up ex-NYC's Harlem Division in the Bronx, the line runs thru a trench.  And further up still in Pleasantville, NY.

Years ago, the Rutland RR was trenched thru Middlebury, VT.

[chutton01]

The NYC should get another mention, as the part of it's West Side Line between the 60th St. Yard and 34th St. yard (now used for the souther part of the Empire Corridor "Empire Connection") was in a trench crossed by all the streets between 36th to 61st or so.  As can be imagined after 80 years most of the trench has been covered over for development (in the manner of the West Side Yards, but on a smaller piece-meal scale), but a few sections remain open to the air...for now.

[rdamon]

Here is some of that line in the process of getting covered up .. 

 

 

[MarknLisa]

The Metra Electric lines in Chicago south of Monroe St. It was a trench almost to Randolph St.until they deck the north few blocks over for Millenium Park

[SD70M-2Dude]

Again not a trench but CP's mainline through downtown Calgary is almost entirely grade-separated, which has the same effect as a trench.

[rcdrye]

MidlandMike

Years ago, the Rutland RR was trenched thru Middlebury, VT.

The State of Vermont, which owns the ex-Rutland through Middlebury, is trying to enhance the trench to allow both faster operation for extension of the Ethan Allen to Burlington and to increase vertical clearance.  Lots of local pushback.  Most of the project involves replacing the bridges that cross the trench, most if not all of which date back to Rutland days.

[Atlantic and Hibernia]

 

Becaue London's first subway was steam powered, the earliest lines were a combination of trenches and tunnels.  More of the line was in trenches as opposed to tunnels.  First time riders were often surprized by how little of the route was actually underground.

Kevin

 

 

[samuelpc]

N J transit's former lackawana passenger line thru newark N,J. is grade seperated in trench

[Redore]

Some of the Milwaukee line parallel to Lake Street in Minneapolis was in a trench.  It's a bike/walking trail now.

[MidlandMike]

GT ran in a trench as it neared the downtown Detroit terminal.  It is now an urban linear park.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

MarknLisa

The Metra Electric lines in Chicago south of Monroe St. It was a trench almost to Randolph St.until they deck the north few blocks over for Millenium Park

 

Not so much a trench as the fact that the tracks are at the natural grade while everything around them was built up.  Everything east of the tracks is built on fill, originally with debris from the Chicago Fire.  Everything west of the tracks was raised beginning in the 1860's so sewers under the streets would be above lake level.

[ed375]

Compiled from JG-TC (newspaper) 100 years ago today

In 1913, the Illinois Central Railroad received permission from the city council to dig a cut or subway, for the company's north and south main lines through the heart of Mattoon, Illinois, at a cost of $1,000,000 (one million dollars). The subway was to be 75 feet wide, at the surface, with a maximum depth of 26 feet.

This would eliminate all, but one, grade crossings, replace a 26 foot ascent/decent, through town, with about 1.25 miles of level track and remove a crossing with the Big Four Railroad (The Big Four RR laid their track first, by only hours). "The MX crossing was established in June, 1854. The MX crossing was begun about one month after the town of Mattoon was plotted."

Starting in Spring of 1914, one steam shovel dug north from Marshal Avenue to the Big Four tracks (about one half mile). A second steam shovel dug south from 1400 feet north of Piatt Avenue to the Big Four tracks (about three quarters of a mile). Over 400,000 cubic yards of dirt, 30,000 car loads were removed, including about 3,500 cubic yards, removed by hand shovel and wheelbarrow from under the Big Four RR tracks.

On July 20, 1914, a temporary northbound track was completed through town and the first northbound freight passed through the subway, at 7:00 am.
On November 14, 1914, both the northbound and southbound permanent main lines, through the subway, were completed.

During the dig, five, temporary, wooden bridges were constructed for vehicle traffic. These were removed and rebuilt as the steam shovels passed. The I.C. RR replaced these with re-inforced concrete bridges after the subway was complete. Those five bridges have been replaced, with additional vertical clearance, since 1990, with two of the five bridges widened.

Both railroads built seperate stations. The I.C. RR station is three floors ( track level, an intermediate level and street level). It was restored, updated and expanded slightly in 2009/2010 at a cost of about $6,000,000. It is a stop for Amtrack, and owned by the city. The two floor station built by the Big Four RR is no more.

Big Four RR to New York Central to Penn Central to Conrail (which tore up the tracks) The former conrail right of way is home for a 128 thousand volt power line. The former shops and yard area are home for a sports complex.

Mattoon, Illinois is just west of Interstate 57 at exit 190.

http://jg-tc.com/

http://jg-tc.com/search/?f=html&q=glancing+back+100+years+ago+today&s=start_time&sd=desc&l=25&t=article%2Ccollection&nsa=eedition

The listings are in Reverse chronoligical order - Most recent date, appears first.

[mudchicken]

(1) Cincinnati's never completed subway had several grade separated trenches.

(2) Paxton IL had a similar trench to Mattoon for IC

(3) The MBTA Old Colony Line has one new trench that was a major undertaking.

Dropping the Amtrak depot at Reno into the trench was an adventure. Anytime a railroad gets "dropped in the basement", its a major undertaking. What is about to happen in central Denver along I-70 is going to have consequences even though most of the trench is highway.  Baltimore and DC have some major efforts going.

[diningcar]

mc, Littleton, Co is a smaller example in which I had minor participation.

[mudchicken]

diningcar

mc, Littleton, Co is a smaller example in which I had minor participation.

 

As have I for two different employers (It would have to land in a school section! State Land Board got involved in the end (like 2008) over who exactly had rights to what)

[Electroliner 1935]

ed375

The former conrail right of way is home for a 128 thousand volt power line.

This may be nit picking but the voltage is 138,000 volt (138kV). 

[tree68]

mudchicken

(2) Paxton IL had a similar trench to Mattoon for IC

Still does.  I remember driving through Paxton on US45 and noticing that the railroad had disappeared from sight.

[ed375]

Electroliner 1935

ed375

The former conrail right of way is home for a 128 thousand volt power line.

 

 

This may be nit picking but the voltage is 138,000 volt (138kV). 

 

I asked a power company lineman after the line was completed. He said 128KV. That was a few years ago. They may have increased the voltage since then. The power companies are running the line voltages very close to the limits of the insulators.

 

 

 

[blue streak 1]

Electroliner 1935

 

This may be nit picking but the voltage is 138,000 volt (138kV). 

 

 

Electroliner is absolutely correct about the nominal voltage.  When PRR first went to the 25 hZ AC system the CAT was 11 kV and the transmission line voltage was 132 kV.   In late 1940s PRR boosted CAT to 11.5 kV by bosting transmission lines to 135 kV.  Amtrak boosted CAT to 12 kV by upping transmission lines to 138 kV. 

 

There is a factor that has to be considered.  All the voltages listed are nominal voltages. Although most nominal voltages have less variation the Amtrak voltages are +/- 10 % so CAT voltages for instance can be from 10.8 kV to 13.2 kV.   So transmission line voltages can be from 124.2 kV to 151.8 kV.  All equipment operating under the CAT have to operate thru those voltage variations.

 

The rise to the high voltage limit can usually come from regeneration raising voltage in the CAT.  All loco / EMU regeneration software will switch from regeneration to dynamic to prevent voltage going higher once reaching the upper limit.  If any problem reduces CAT voltage to below the lower limit either CAT is shut off or trains ordered to stop drawing power by the CETE dispatch.

 

Have no information if all equipment also covers the 10% under 12.5 kV and 25 kV 60 hZ.