OLD ABANDONED TRACKS

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Related to my earlier posting about abandoned tracks, the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin suspended passenger operations in July 1957, gave up freight operations in June 1959, but was not formally abandoned until August 1961. The abandonment procedure may move a little faster now than 45 years ago, but out of service is not synonymous with abandoned.

[Anonymous]

[8D]Well I finaly found some #'s the old SLUG Is SSW 1605
there Is Also a S-2 switcher also SSW on th other side of a creek the main track leads to an old abandoned coal shaft trains would pull under them and
load up the power plant down the road is another old track still useable there is a bridge on the main line that washed out back in 85 SSW owns the track
it leads to the east side of the power plant now UP & KCS use the west & north tracks KCS west UP north the east bound was closed off due to coal shortage
here more to come.

[Anonymous]

UHH I thought this was concerning abandonded track
besides do you think id give out my real address im at a library theres 50
computers here and i can dissapeer very fast







but reading the last reply I get what your saying but relax I havent done that in a long time not on a main track maybe a spur just for fun

[AntonioFP45]

Hello. To the guys that stated that you activated crossing gate signals. I understand the desire and "thrill" of playing pranks, but fellas, these actions make it so hard for ALL RAILFANS!! With the terrorism threat still real, we should be encouraging railfans to help protect our railroads as "lookouts" while enjoying our hobby. Think about this: It stands to reason that railroad professionals and law enforcement officers that happen to be railfans are reading your threads. Please think carefully before you write. Imagine if some horrific train related mishap with injuries & loss of life occurs in your area and after officials investigate, found that the mishap occured due to the methods described on these threads. With the software snoop technology they could find out who wrote these threads and come knocking on your door, with handcuffs and the news media not far behind! Please enjoy our wonderful hobby, safely! Take Care, God Bless!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Alaskaman

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Let me know if in one of the cars you find a skeleton of a guy who forgot to get off at his stop!

LOL Good one, Kevin. Don't forget to turn in what you find to a Railroad museim![:D]

Tracks near my house used to be abandoned, and when the RR was getting the tracks ready for train traffic, they used some MOW equipment. But they left one piece of equipment on an abandoned branchline. That thing (not sure of its use) has been there for 2 years collecting snow and rainwater. Its just interesting if they forgot about it or if there is a purpose for it all.

[8D]You know after 6 months in some states exept texas any thing left is considered abandoned (60 days in texas) maybe you should name it slic or
something like that remember they left it ...[8D] they probaly had to many problems or maybe it needs (MORE POWER) and they ditched it for that reason

[starwardude]

There's alot of traces and sections of track along the Waterbury line .There's plenty of old spurs (one I'm sure is used by the Housatonic RR , that leads to a factory, and another @ Ansonia station [which had some tank cars] which I'm fairly certain is used by CSX) and many bridges that were obviously meant to be used with 2 tracks.One just after Shelton / Derby station , you can easily see the area where a second track would go. There's also a bunch of old switch posts and signals.[8D] There are also plenty of old spurs on the NY-NH-BSTN mainline.[:D] There's also the Stratford spur that leads to an ExxonMobil place that CSX transports plastic to, but it is still in use. One unused spur starts behind the town's Home Depot (across from an old wire [?] place and ends just a bit from Stratford's MTA train station ( just across the Housatonic from the northbound interchange to the Waterbury branch mentioned above). THAT was the LLLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGGEEEEESSSSSTTTTT[:0] post I've ever written.[:)][:D][8D][:I][:p][;)][^]

[Anonymous]

Hey Dan, whats the story behind Ed's Mirror?

[jeffhergert]

Concerning the Crandic trackage south of Cedar Rapids.
The Crandic held onto that because they thought it would be needed to access a new industrial developement. Instead, they extended one of their other spurs. However, the UP wanted to double track the Cedar River bridge for years. This was formerely a gantlet until the late 70s'/early 80s' when it was single tracked after a derailment.
The railroad bridge over the UP held it up. The Crandic held out for more than the UP wanted to pay. A year or so ago they finally came to terms, the rr overpass was removed and the Cedar river was double tracked. The FRA stepped in with other concerns that were overcome, but that's another story.
Some say the UP is supposed to replace the rr overpass, but the roadbed was cut about a 1/2 mile north of there years ago for some non-railroad project. The ex-RI tracks still extend under US 30 but are so overgrown you can't see them anymore.

[Anonymous]

ESPEEFOAMER - Theres Another Stunt I Know Me And My Dad Did This
Years Ago Put The Jumper Cables On One Rail On The Main And The Other On A Spur When A Train Gets Near Then Hide And If Its The Right Train Find The Beer Car Budwiser Had Some Old Cars The Doors Had Been Hit By A Fork Lift
From Inside And You Could Cut The Shrink Wrap And Snag A Case Or Ten
If You Were Strong Enough To Pull The Bottom One Out First.
But We Used Speaker Wire Cause Its Hard To See. Now I Just Call A Friend
Whos A Cop Incase We Find Minors In Possesion And Reason With Them
Scare Them Shitless. And My Friend Gives Them THE OPTIONS Give Me The
Beer And Recieve There 1 (GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD) Or 2 Be Arrested
And Car Impounded Parents Called Go To Court Pay Fines Do Community
Service And 3 Everybody Would Know Cause A Lot Of People Have Scanners
They Usually Go For #1 Or I Could Lower My Standard And Have Sex With A Girl Whos Father Owns A Beer Store Trust Me Her Face Belongs On A Milk Carton
But She Would Take Up The Whole Carton (Inside & Out).

[Anonymous]

Sometimes even the truly abandoned lines that are still owned by a railroad are
off-limits. The former Rock Island Cedar Rapids-Iowa City trackage on the south
side of Cedar Rapids is (last I heard) owned by the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City RR
(a.k.a. "CRANDIC"). The ROCK passes over the former CNW main (now UP) down
by the power plant north of Hwy. 30. I wrote a nice letter to the CRANDIC asking if
it'd be OK for me to explore that ROW, and even though there's little trackage left on
that line south of the CNW/UP overpass which sees no activity at all, the CRANDIC
left me a polite but unwavering voice-mail response saying they'd rather I not
because of the safety concerns (obviously not for getting hit by a train but for the
billion other kinds of injuries that can occur from walking along even a scrapped
ROW).

[espeefoamer]

Many years ago,when we were young and foolish,some friends and I tried the jumper cables across the rails stunt.It worked.The nearby signals turned red,and it set off the crossing gates.NOTE!This is illegal and dangerous .Dont try this at home.The railroad we did this on is now part of The Yellow Borg.[}:)]

[Anonymous]

[8D]Well We FinAlly Made It Past The Bridge My Brother Leaned Over The Side
And Fell Into A Lake [:D][:D]It Was Funny Till He Got Hurt Then It Was Even Funnier[:D][:D]
When He Came up After His Belly Flop He Realized His Cigarettes Were In HIs Pocket This Is The Same Guy Who Pissed On A Hot Wire Fence Cause He Didnt Belive Me When I told Him It Would Shock Him [:0][:0](hes A beliver now)
It Was Only A 5 Foot Fall There Was No Cables On The Walkway The
Bridge Was Maybe 50 Feet Long But Know One Was Seriouly Injured
But Theres A way I Know How To Activate RR xing Signals I learned It when I was younger take a piece of speaker wire 6-7 feet long And lay It Across
the track put A flat rock on each end but you have to be within 50 feet of the crossing this will not effect block signals just activates lights and cossin gates if you want to back up traffic for a while i did this aroun 5 am one morning on a set of one way roads gates faceing each other on the same side of the track
on both roads the light came on and gates went down the track is used 2 times
A month For A scrap yd and feed mill Traffic was backed up for hours UPRR
couldnt figure it out [:D][:D] that was years ago but no one got hurt
but back to my trip we found two old mills and A pulp wood plant there was evidence of old structures that used box or flat cars or both the track Is A storage track for UP & KCS there was Alot of KCS Twincar auto racks
(two cars Three sets of wheels) we found them empty and open and sat down and rested then walked the entire lenght of the train if the lead car was 2 feet back we coul have hit the switch but we found a crossing and put the truck
back on the rails when we found an abandoned coal tower we remembered a girl who fell off one and was killed so we didnt mess around and kept going till we hit an old SP spur that went From Mt Pleasent Texas To FT Worth Down to Waco tx And then east to corsicana or south to sanantonio.

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SLIC

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Let me know if in one of the cars you find a skeleton of a guy who forgot to get off at his stop!

I Didnt find the remains of elvis or aliens i think maybe a cat

Or Ed's mirror.......[:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Let me know if in one of the cars you find a skeleton of a guy who forgot to get off at his stop!

I Didnt find the remains of elvis or aliens i think maybe a cat

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kevinstheRRman

Let me know if in one of the cars you find a skeleton of a guy who forgot to get off at his stop!

LOL Good one, Kevin. Don't forget to turn in what you find to a Railroad museim![:D]

Tracks near my house used to be abandoned, and when the RR was getting the tracks ready for train traffic, they used some MOW equipment. But they left one piece of equipment on an abandoned branchline. That thing (not sure of its use) has been there for 2 years collecting snow and rainwater. Its just interesting if they forgot about it or if there is a purpose for it all.

[Anonymous]

Let me know if in one of the cars you find a skeleton of a guy who forgot to get off at his stop!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JoeKoh

Carl
I have been along the abandoned tracks of the Cincinnati Northern(part of the NYC) but to find railcars and a slug wow>Let us know if anything is still in the railcars.
stay safe
Joe

empty beers and a dead deer killed buy a drunk carny (it was either him or a skunk)

[Anonymous]

TRAIN GUY 3- what BNSF dont know wont hurt em
besides if they were watching theyed have to fire all of there employees to find the one but hes got offerings from UP to go on if they knew where half of there vehichles were they flip i see some at the beer store or at the mcdonalds after hours they dont work 24-7 unless theres a major derailment (like amtrak)
but thanks for your reply i think they should at least trim back the trees on there low maintinence lines it helps avoid scratches on the BNSF orange

[AltonFan]

In some cases an abandoned line will be pulled up to keep a competitor from acquiring it.

[csxengineer98]

they also pull them up becouse of the taxes they have to pay... the railroads have to pay a tax on evey rail mile they have, used or not...

[BaltACD]

When class I's abandon lines today....the generally pull up all the rail and ties if for no other reason than the get the scrap value from the rail.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The line is probably embargoed but not abandoned. Some lines are left in place with minimal maintenance for legal reasons or for possible future traffic.

[Train Guy 3]

Does BNSF enjoy your friend "joyriding" in thier truck, haha. Sounds like a lot of fun to go exploring down old tracks thought. I admire your courage going down tracks if you wern't sure if they were truely abandoned or not. I've tried venturing down some old tracks in the city but I want some friends to go with me.... I don't trust walking in some of those neighborhoods.

[louisnash]

My grandmother has a video that has a group that travels around with the old hi-rail speedsters and it shows them going through the same kind of areas (growth and all).I think most of it may be filmed in Canada(I think). But one part shows them having to get out their chainsaws and cutting their way through. Another showing where the rails had been blacktopped over and they having to get out and pu***hem across.

Would be a grand thing to do.

Brian (KY)

[Modelcar]

....Carl, that really sounds like fun. I would especially like to explore "old" lines such as you are describing or even abandoned ROW's...but it does sound dangerous running where it is so grown up and uncertain of the bridges, etc...20 miles of line with rail still in place and trees growing up is pretty unique. If it is abandoned I wonder why someone didn't pick up the rails. If tree growth fills in too heavily it would sure be difficult to pull up rails...and expensive.

[mudchicken]

You very well may be on a line that is embargoed and not abandoned (big difference). The south is full of those. Your railroad bud is playing by the rules?

Above all else, be extremely careful where you tread. Explaining how a hi-rail fell through an out-of-service bridge on somebody else's railroad gets people fired....is it really worth it?

[JoeKoh]

Carl
I have been along the abandoned tracks of the Cincinnati Northern(part of the NYC) but to find railcars and a slug wow>Let us know if anything is still in the railcars.
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

MY HOME IS NEAR A LOT OF OLD TRACKS THAT LEAD TO A MAIN LINE OWNED BY UP THESE RAILS ARE STILL INTACT A FREIND OF MINE WORKS FOR BNSF WE TOOK HIS WORK TRUCK W/HIRAILS WHEELS AND TOOK OFF THE LINE WENT ALMOST 20 MILES AND INTERCHANGED WITH KCS
WE FOUND A LOT OF RAIL SPURS THAT WENT IN TO THE WOODS
SO WE WENT DOWN THE ONES WE COULD MOST OF THEM WERE TO OVER GROWN WITH TREES SO THIS WEEKEND WELL GO BACK WITH SAWS AND FIND WERE THEY GO AND GET BACK TO YOU THERE WERE A LOT OF ABANDONED RAIL CARS 16 TO BE EXACT AND ONE SLUG LOOK LIKE SP OR SSW THE CARS HAD FRICTION BEARINGS THAT WERE
SO RUSTED THE OIL WAS GONE ONE OF THE CARS WAS AN OLD T&P CABOOSE WE BEARLY NOTICED THE LETTERS SOME CARS WERE GN NP
NW AND WP SOME WERE TO FAR GONE TO TELL ONE WAS AN OLD WLO
WHICH IS NOW IC WLO (WATERLOO) WAS A SMALL LINE IN WATERLOO MISSISSIPPI NEAR MY HOME TOWN OF MOSSPOINT WELL ILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT I FIND