Up Joliet to Bloomington il line

[chicagorails]

Are Amtrak trains running 100 mph yet on this ex Alton line yet?

[chicagorails]

No where in il do trains run that fast anymore. Last ones were steam pass trains on cb&q  in 40s

[Overmod]

chicagorails

Are Amtrak trains running 100 mph yet on this ex Alton line yet?

It was my understanding that the whole of Joliet-Alton was physically upgraded to 110mph including signal and crossing circuits by several years ago.  Dwight to Pontiac, square in the middle of the stretch you mentioned, was the first 'test' section built out for high speed, as I recall about 2012.  There are a number of YouTube videos purporting to show "110mph" operation of Lincoln Service equipment, which someone interested in forensics could probably use to prove or disprove that the high prospective speed is in fact being reached.

It has been argued here by people better 'in the know' about this area that the relatively many grade crossings, which can't be inexpensively closed or bridged, are an incentive to keep actual top speed moderated, and that at present there is no great time saving to be recognized from piecemeal use of 110mph speed if it cannot be both sustained and combined with least-time running north of Joliet.

[charlie hebdo]

The only time I ever cross that line is on IL 47 at Dwight.  The level crossing seemed very well protected. Once,  a Lincoln Service train went through while I was stopped. It was moving very fast,  but I don't know if it was 110 mph. 

[BaltACD]

With track and signals having been upgraded for 110 MPH operations - does the signal system permit track speed operations with less than 7 cars as is required on other sections of UP?

[Overmod]

BaltACD

does the signal system permit track speed operations with less than 7 cars as is required on other sections of UP?

To my knowledge the signal system does not depend on the relay sensing that is the 'problem' with a couple of legacy lines.  But I find what I thought had been done is very different what seems to actually be current.  As of the end of 2018 there were ongoing problems with UP's implementation of PTC that were actually said to hold speed to under 80 on much of the route, although how much of that directly affected the Alton-to-Joliet high-speed part of the corridor I 'm still not sure.

The Dwight to Pontiac section was built out as a demo, although it was only long enough for about 4 minutes at actual 110 within limits.  IDOT then expected to extend south to Alton by 2015 and north to Joliet by 2017; north of Joliet the line runs on CN and there aren't any politically-beneficial stops in Illinois south of Alton... so don't look for high-speed there.  In late October 2012 a UTU source indicated that the follow-on high-speed signaling would duplicate ITCS practice on the Michigan Line, and indeed the IDOT car specs called for GETS-GS Ultracab II ... but Alstom says nothing about any further development.

Here is a discussion of crossing gates, with some of the tie-ins to the signal system:

https://railtec.web.illinois.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/09B4-GLXS2014-1123-VERCRUYSSE.pdf

See perhaps here... somewhere.

https://www.idothsr.org/pdf/feis_vol_1/section_03.pdf

https://www.idothsr.org/info_center/

but anyone who knows exactly what the buildout plans actually involve at present should comment now.

[Gramp]

Have ridden the route and driven paralleling I55. The larger pieces are in place. The crossings are quad gated; ROW is fenced through towns. Ride is smooth. Only real missing piece is 21st Century marketing. Tri-state and I270 park and ride stations as gateways to the endpoint metropolitan areas. Meld rail travel with car culture.  Build toward 85mph avg. speed between park and rides with Bloom., Springfld., and maybe a couple additional stops. 

[charlie hebdo]

Good ideas!  Intermediate station stops need to be limited to make good time, with I 270, Springfield,  Bloomington, Joliet and I 294 at most. 

[CMStPnP]

Gramp

Have ridden the route and driven paralleling I55. The larger pieces are in place. The crossings are quad gated; ROW is fenced through towns. Ride is smooth. Only real missing piece is 21st Century marketing. Tri-state and I270 park and ride stations as gateways to the endpoint metropolitan areas. Meld rail travel with car culture.  Build toward 85mph avg. speed between park and rides with Bloom., Springfld., and maybe a couple additional stops. 

I ride this stretch of track as well via Texas Eagle.   Amtrak is currently not hitting the 110 mph limit on this stretch but test trains have several times (youtube videos).     From what I understand they are waiting for the Siemens equipment since it is 120-125 mph capable prior to bumping up the speed for the corridor passenger trains to 110 mph.     The signaling is all new and setup for 110 mph running from what I have observed.    The test trains P42 bounced around a bit at 110 mph through turnouts maybe the Chargers will ride smoother? 

Texas Eagle is limited to 80 mph.

[CMStPnP]

BaltACD

With track and signals having been upgraded for 110 MPH operations - does the signal system permit track speed operations with less than 7 cars as is required on other sections of UP?

The 110 mph test trains were 5 cars with a P42 locomotive at each end so I suspect the answer is yes.    I believe your referring to the UP through the state of MO which I believe is pretty old signaling.

[JPS1]

CMStPnP

 Texas Eagle is limited to 80 mph. 

I wonder why the Eagle is limited to 80 mph between Dwight and Pontiac, at least?  The Superliner I and II cars are authorized for 100 mph; the P42DC locomotive is OK for 110 mph.

[Overmod]

Eagle's engine pool possibly not equipped with compatible ITCS?

[CMStPnP]

JPS1

I wonder why the Eagle is limited to 80 mph between Dwight and Pontiac, at least?  The Superliner I and II cars are authorized for 100 mph; the P42DC locomotive is OK for 110 mph.

The other item of course is they tested the 110 mph with a mixture of Horizon cars and Amfleet.    Now I think the Amfleet is OK for 110 mph but is the same true of the Horizon fleet?    I only just found out recently that the comet car design was Pullmans last coach design which would make the Bombardier Horizon Cars........Pullman designs?     Or is that going too far.

I believe in 1968 or 1969, Union Pacific had some Comet Cars.   I remember seeing them in UP Gray and Yellow on an old streamliner picture.    Wonder what happened to those and why UP did not retain them for their business car fleet.