La Crosse, Wi area railroads shut down??

[WCL]

AMTRAK will **NOT** be on CN tracks....It is being put on BNSF tracks

[Noah Hofrichter]

Makes sense. The BNSF is usually the first option for Amtrak detours, and it sounds like they are expecting to be open again by the end of the day.

Noah

[Anonymous]

I picked a great weekend to go to La Crosse!!!!

 Saturday was pretty action packed besides it was soggy.  I cought two trains on the Adams line (actually the Wyeville Sub) on Sunday on my way home.

 Here are the pictures if anyone is interested!!!

http://steve.rrpicturearchives.net/archiveThumbs.aspx?id=24919

 Steve

If anyone knows more about any trains detoruing on an entirely CN routing to or from Chicago please let me know.  I can manage to get over to Oshkosh this week but thats about it. 

[WCL]

Steve I dont think the CP will go that way....Only will go to JO and then SOUTH to NL and back on home rails...

[nordique72]

Atmo,

 Here's a suggestion- instead of flipping out and getting all upset about the detours not going through Altoona- instead of going to Altoona- why don't you just go up to Chippewa Falls on the CN and watch the CP detours there? It's probably just as far to the CN at Chippewa Falls from where you are as it is to the UP yard at Altoona - so my advice is calm down, stop ranting and raving and head north to the CN!!

[WCL]

Atmo,

 Here's a suggestion- instead of flipping out and getting all upset about the detours not going through Altoona- instead of going to Altoona- why don't you just go up to Chippewa Falls on the CN and watch the CP detours there? It's probably just as far to the CN at Chippewa Falls from where you are as it is to the UP yard at Altoona - so my advice is calm down, stop ranting and raving and head north to the CN!!

  Nicely Said...I didnt wanna say anything but at least some one did

[Lord Atmo]

asctually Altoona is within biking distance. about 3 or 4 miles from my house. chippy is way up north at least 20 minutes from here by car. i cant possibly make that bike voyage. and my parents dont let me drive anywhere for fun. they need the cars for work. so i'm stuck with biking to a rather dead mainline.

i'm sorry, noah, i cant see anything fortunate about my area. everything comes at night and my mom is overprotective. so i cant go out there at 2:00 AM. there have been drunk driver incidents on another part of town and my mom fears they will also be present in altoona. i keep telling her i'm 19 and can handle problems myself, but you know how parents can get... 

believe me, it's not that i dont want to go up to the CN, i can't! 

[Anonymous]

i keep telling her i'm 19 and can handle problems myself, but you know how parents can get...

 With all respect, why don;t you move out then?

[EJE818]

I am hoping they can get the line running by August 29th because that when CP 2816 is going to be heading through there on it way to Chicago. I know CN doesn't really like steam too much so I don't think they would let it run down the WC.

[Lord Atmo]

i keep telling her i'm 19 and can handle problems myself, but you know how parents can get...

 With all respect, why don;t you move out then?

i cant afford to live on my own. i know how, but i lack money. and i dont like being alone. it's nice to be around my family. i dont put trains before them, but even SOME trains would be nice to see

[CShaveRR]

 chippy is way up north at least 20 minutes from here by car. i cant possibly make that bike voyage. 

I'm sorry--you lost my sympathy there.  I'm guessing that Chippewa Falls is no more than about 15 miles from you.  That should be able to be tackled on a bike in about an hour and a half each way.  I don't know what kind of shoulders or whatever you have on the roads up there, but I suspect you could don a helmet and just do it if you put your mind to it.  I was biking at least that far between Lombard and LaGrange (and this is urban biking, no bike trails in this instance) frequently until a couple of years ago, racking up anywhere from 40 to 50 miles on a round trip.  You might have some hills, but they are part of the challenge, and it can't be all uphill in both directions!

[Lord Atmo]

i really should look into the small stretch where there's no trail and nothing but busy dangerous highway. if there's a backroad or something, i will take it and go. and the CP trains are rerouting through that chippy line?

[Gluefinger]

Sigh, why does every single thread turn into an Atmo whinefest?

[Lord Atmo]

because everything about my railfanning life goes against my favor

well i guess derailing this thread like a CSX train isnt doing anyone any good. i'll figure something out. it's time i went to determine solutions for my problems instead of protesting them 

[WCL]

Well I guess this post can go down south seeing that its ....The detour I guess now might soon be over with according to some people

[lhtalbot]

I waited for the AMTRAK this afternoon in Wauwatosa, but no show by 45 min after sched time for the westbound. There was a long auto rack/container freight on track 1 during that period.

I didn't have my scanner so I don't know any details abt cancel or delay.

Larry in Wauwatosa

[solzrules]

 

 

Sighted at 8:15 PM at Duplainville, WI.

3 BNSF Gevo units leading a trailor train eastbound towards Milwaukee.  A majority of the trailors were UPS.

Sorry for the bad upload, but it was very misty out and I didn't have a tripod for the camera so I had to shoot off the tailgate of my truck. 

I guess this means that BNSF is re-routing their hot trains over CP. 

There was a ton of activity on the old WC main to Fon du Lac.  After this train went through, I saw 3 CN trains (two manifests and the rock train) along with UP's coal train heading south to reload.  All in all, five trains is pretty good for about a half hour. 

[TimChgo9]

Is it possible that some of the reroutes could have come up the old SF line, through Joliet? I was at Union Station tonight, and there was a freight train every 10-12 minutes, with everything going through the station at a good clip. Two gentlemen that I see there from time to time were both commenting that tonight was busiest they have seen in a long time.  I know that that line is busy, I was there two hours and saw at least a dozen trains, not counting Amtraks, or Metra. It was constant activity. Northbound (or is it eastbound) traffic was a bit heavier than Southbound (westbound?) traffic.

[Lord Atmo]

sounds like a hot fanning spot. i'll have to remember that one

[CNW 6000]

Neat shot solz.  Sometimes the 'blur' shots can come out decent and your isn't too bad!  Mine never do anyway...grumble...LOL!

[Lord Atmo]

if you're after good blur shots, a tripod is key. check this one out:

 

got lucky on that one 

[nanaimo73]

The latest from the ICErail List-

I was told last night at work that it's looking like upwards of THREE weeks before the CP gets the mainline back in-service.

As Matt also reported, ICE is out and in pretty rough shape below LaCrescent.

DME is totally FUBAR-ed on the east end. No estimate on when or IF they will repair it.

The CP is detouring over BNSF, CN / WC, and UP if / when pilots are available. No word officially on a detour route for ICE's M-KCSP and M-SPKC. Personal speculation would be the UP Spine to Manly, IANR to Nora Springs, back onto the ICE over to Marquette and points south.

[Noah Hofrichter]

Interesting. If the CP main is going to be shut down for three weeks, that begs the question about where the CP 2816 will head down (though three weeks would mean it could be fixed by the time they do the turns out of MSP to La Crescent in mid September). My guess would be a move down the BNSF, turn on the wye at La Crescent, and then continue on the CP. But would the BNSF even allow the steamer, being from the CP? Would they use a diesel on the point? It leaves a lot of questions...

Noah

[jjtrains]

If the CP mainline is closed north of LaCrosse and the BNSF is blocked
south of LaCrosse, would it make sense to set up directional running on
the UP (ex-CN&W) and the CP (ex-Milw) between Tunnel City and
Milwaukee?    I think the relatively short stretch of
single track between Tunnel City and LaCrosse is CTC.   When
I've ridden the Empire Builder, the UP line at Tunnel City appears to
be in fairly good condition although I don't know the current track
class.

[jgreen]

It appears that the CP's biggest problem is in Minnesota City, where a bridge has been washed out.  Between LSE and Red Wing, the line often runs just feet from the Mississippi.  While the Mississippi did NOT flood, the land is very soggy, and a lot of flooded streams flow into it.  The DME lost a bridge near Stockton, at least one house is now sitting astride its tracks.  In other places, the tracks are gone.  CP will need a couple of weeks, at least. DME may choose to abandon the line, according to local media, only one train a day.  The damage is extensive, and it is in valleys that are difficult to access.  Some parts of southeastern Minnesota received 17 inches of rain over the weekend.  Six people are dead, one missing.

jgreen 

 

[t.winx]

Does anybody know how long the BNSF will be closed? I was planning on taking a little biking trip south of La Crosse along the river on Thursday, and with no BNSF trains the ride will be half as fun.

Anybody know the conditions of 35? I heard it was closed a few days ago.

Thanks

Tyler

[CNW 6000]

My local source (cousin) had his phone service knocked out so I can't give you any current info.  Before he lost service, we were on the phone and I asked about biking out there in the rain (he and I both do that) and he said the trails were pretty soggy.  Try calling the chamber of commerce out in LaX.  Unless you mean motorcycling...then I have no idea!

[t.winx]

I was planning on just biking along the side of highway 35. I have a road bike, so trails really arent an option, especially if thier soggy. I didn't even know there were trails along the river..

If my understanding is correct, BNSF is open north of lacrosse, but CP isn't, and CP trains are detouring over BN, while only a few regular BNSF trains are running. Is this correct? I'm just wondering if a stay at the Inn On the River in Trempeleau would be worth it.

Thanks for the help,

Tyler

[Andy Cummings]

I've heard others speculate on the abandonment of the east end of the DM&E, but color me a skeptic.

Firstly, DM&E isn't saying much, even about the extent of the damage, let alone their future plans for the line. Anything out and about now is pure speculation. That doesn't make it incorrect, but take it for what it's worth.

Secondly, a lot of DM&E customers, even after the IC&E merger, have continued to route trains to the CP and UP interchanges at MC Jct. and Winona, respectively. Yes, it's true that the majority of DM&E's traffic goes south at Owatonna and down onto the IC&E, but there are still healthy trains running this route. They're correct in saying one per day (east one day, west the next is the typical schedule), but that's still a lot of revenue.

Thirdly, this line will play squarely at the center of the Powder River Basin project. It offers DM&E direct access to key power plants in Wisconsin, including key big plants at Weston and Columbia (Portage). Both those plants are served by CP (Weston is also served by CN), and with DM&E having a shorter route than UP or BNSF, they'd have a good shot at underbidding.

I've been wrong before, and I'm a little biased because this is one of my favorite sections of the DM&E — very scenic — but I just don't see it in the cards. Only time will tell, however...

A right bloody mess indeed for CP. As reported on the news wire, in addition to Garvin Brook, the Whitewater River bridge at Weaver, while still intact, has had its approaches washed away. Those are two key bridges of respectable size that will keep the Golden Rodent down for a while. I bet now they're wishing they had a transfer track in the northeast quadrant of Grand Crossing at La Crosse. I'd imagine CP's ID crews will get sick of the run-around move in a big hurry...

Andy Cummings
Associate Editor
Trains Magazine
Waukesha, Wis.

[Soo 6604]

Has the BNSF cleared up their mess south of LAX yet, and what exactly is all wrong with the BNSF line. Is there washouts other than the one that derailed the Z-Train?

Paul