Update as of Friday, September 7, 2012
The Colton Flyover
Colton, CA
Part “D” (of A-J)
Looking west from Rancho Ave. one sees a newly graded area in the vicinity of CP SP937 EAST WYE BYPASS.
With the Pepper Ave. Bridge in the background, the OLD Main 2 track (third from the bottom) ends, with its new alignment replacement just above it. On that new Main 2 replacement, the very long crossover between Mains 1 and 2 is seen rising. The future CP should start at that left switch and come all the way to beyond (behind) the overpass where the camera is on.
Continued in Part E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
Part “E” (of A-J)
Looking the other way again, east, an overview is shown. Note the thin, possibly rebar stacked up on the lower left by the yellow grader and barely visible blue portable restroom facility.
Closer views:
It is unknown for what purpose those miniature rebar stacks are for, but it may have something to do with the large piping that is buried in the area.
Continued in Part F
Part “F” (of A-J)
At this point in time K.P. returned to his auto and headed home. However, after going over Rancho Ave. and getting on the eastbound lanes of I-10, Colton Crossing could easily be seen, and also the flyover’s early stage of construction just east of the diamonds. What a spectacular view of the early stage of construction could be had from the freeway! Unfortunately, one cannot take photos and drive too! So, off the freeway K.P. went and over to Valley Blvd. and the BNSF.
The early stages of flyover construction could actually be seen now taking place from ground level between La Cadena Dr. and the BNSF.
Continued in Part G
Part “G” (of A-J)
While right off Valley Blvd in the diamonds area, K.P. looked that whole area over.
Looking westbound (south) on the BNSF Transcon to where the Sunset Route crosses it: West Colton Yard and Los Angeles are to the right.
In the above photo, note the makeshift, no crossing gates dirt road grade crossing just this side of the cross Sunset Route. Concrete grade crossing panels are present. Also, the two color light signal masts are visible in the background. What is NOT present anymore is the old, late 1950’s / early 1960’s signal bridge, as seen in the below previously shown May 23, 2012 photo.
An overview from Valley Blvd. that looks southward towards Interstate 10 and the Colton Crossing:
Continued in Part H
Part “H” (of A-J)
In the above overview, the center piers are visible, a close-up of which are shown below.
The center piers (left) and the west structuring (right): The above bridging is I-10.
The east structuring:
Continued in Part I
Part “I” (of A-J)
The 9th Street freeway ramps was now gone to, where a nice gentleman had his water truck taking on water.
It did not look like much progress had been made, but a more jagged (if that can be said) appearance presented itself.
What looked like a bunch of corrugated piping was now present.
Continued in Part J
Part “J” (of A-J)
Some area loose ends …
(1) The Colton Signal Dept. was driven by, but there was nothing that popped out as newsworthy.
(2) Finally, the Waterman Ave. overpass and the Hunts Lane grade crossing were traversed by also …
… but, as previously shown in the above photo, the cantilever horizontal cross section on the west side of CP SP542 LOMA LINDA still has not been attached to the vertical part, nor has it even been brought to the site.
Congratulations on bringing this very illustrious and informative thread to over 3000 posts (over 200 pages!).
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
ACE and the Sunset Route
The Summer issue of “The ACE Report,” an official news document of the Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority in Southern California, has publically been circulated. Therein, in the second paragraph of the main letter, it mentions ACE anticipating issuing “design and engineering” contracts for three grade separations, (1) LA&SL Fullerton Rd.(City of Industry), (2) LA&SL and SP Hamilton Blvd. (Pomona), and LA&SL Durfee Ave. in Pico Rivera. A fourth, the curved SP flyover at Fairway Drive (City of Industry), is merely waiting for UP’s “concurrence.”
Link: ACE Summer 2012 issue of “The ACE Report”
cacole (9-5):
cacole K.P., A couple of weeks ago you asked if the Union Pacific had removed all the rail from the former line that ran over and under I-10 between Marsh Station Road and Empirita Road west of Benson, Arizona. The rail, ties, and ballast have been removed from the old, low bridge near what used to be the Marsh Station Road I-10 exit on the west end of the project site, so the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) can have the old bridge removed, but the rest of the line is intact. ADOT has made no announcement of when they plan to remove the old bridge. The UP has reinstalled a switch at the east end of the rerouted track near the Empirita Road exit and is using the old line to store a long string of excess grain hoppers. With the prolonged drought in the midwest that has destroyed this year's corn and soybean crops, all of the major railroads probably have many hundreds of surplus grain hoppers to put into storage until next spring's winter wheat harvest.
K.P.,
A couple of weeks ago you asked if the Union Pacific had removed all the rail from the former line that ran over and under I-10 between Marsh Station Road and Empirita Road west of Benson, Arizona.
The rail, ties, and ballast have been removed from the old, low bridge near what used to be the Marsh Station Road I-10 exit on the west end of the project site, so the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) can have the old bridge removed, but the rest of the line is intact. ADOT has made no announcement of when they plan to remove the old bridge.
The UP has reinstalled a switch at the east end of the rerouted track near the Empirita Road exit and is using the old line to store a long string of excess grain hoppers.
With the prolonged drought in the midwest that has destroyed this year's corn and soybean crops, all of the major railroads probably have many hundreds of surplus grain hoppers to put into storage until next spring's winter wheat harvest.
A November 5, 2011 view of the track in question (far background):
Since UP is reusing the old ex-Main 2 trackage by storing grain cars on it, one has to wonder if they still have legal title to that trackage! If they do, it would seem Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) would have to pay the costs to extend the I-10 tunnel-way near Empirita Rd. for any additional freeway lanes that may be added. On the other hand, if ADOT owns the trackage now, maybe UP has a short term lease agreement while the trackage in question is in a limbo state before the line is torn up by a contractor. It would be interesting to find out the legal technical issues involved, which I’m sure is public, but is probably buried in a huge pile of legal mumble-jumble.
Best,
K.P.
The attached notice from the Surface Transportation Board should be of at least tangential interest to those following the upgrading of the Sunset Route.
Essentially, the UP wants to re-acquire the former EP&SW / SP / UP branch line from Benson, AZ to Naco, AZ, for reasons unknown. The line, largely abandoned, connected with the Mexican railway system at Naco, Sonora which adjoins Naco, AZ at the U.S. - Mexican border.
http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ba7f93537688b8e5852573210004b318/6216b4edd8c7883385257a6f007ae44f/$FILE/232919.pdf
K.P. posted a photo of the connection at Benson on 9/1/12. The only remaining segment of the line runs to a chemical plant a few miles south of Benson and is operated by the San Pedro Operating Company, the same short line that serves the Casa Grande industrial park.
John Timm
One minor correction to Desertdog's message, above: Naco is south of Bisbee, not Douglas. Douglas is another 20 miles east of Bisbee.
I think UP's ultimate goal is to reconnect with the Mexican rail system at Naco. There used to be a border crossing there many years ago, with a rail yard on the U.S. side of the border. The San Pedro & Southwestern LLC still owns the right-of-way from Benson to Naco.
The plant at Curtiss is currently called Apache Nitrogen Products, and was previously known as Apache Powder. They made gunpowder and dynamite during WW2 and perhaps as late as the 1950's. Today, I think they produce only dry agricultural nitrogen fertilizer that is shipped out in covered hoppers, though they do receive and ship out quite a few tank cars.
Cacole,
Thank you for pointing out the error. In some subsequent browsing, I came upon another reference to the re-acquisition:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-09-07/pdf/2012-22005.pdf
Surprisingly enough, you will note that the UP seems to be saying that they are not interested in connecting with the Mexican rail system. So what, really, are they up to? Renewed mining activity in the area, perhaps? Or, is this just a preliminary step in re-establishing a connection at some later date?
Bisbee, incidentally, is a great place to visit, with a very colorful history and some colorful current residents, as well.
I have heard that re-connecting to the Mexican rail system is an ultimate goal. The driving factor is moving Powder River Basin coal to a Mexican port for export.
That would allow UP to get that business going without the legal fighting and delays starting to take shape in initiatives to ship PRB coal out of Pacific northwest ports. Of course UP could always ship that coal via Long Beach or LA, if the coal handling facilities are still there and can handle the volume of traffic.
Otherwise, I think this may be a pretty slick decision to get the jump on moving PRB coal to export markets while avoiding the roadblocks that BNSF and the Canadian lines are going to have to deal with.
What a long route this would be - perhaps via BNSF to Stratford, TX , then via Golden Gate route to El Paso, then Sunset route to Benson and then to Naco and to ???. Or their transcon to Ogden, then LA & SL to Colton, then Sunset to Benson. Think about the turn around time for each train set just to get to Naco. Then the Mexican system is not known for expeditous movement. The old joke about the slowest thing in Mexico. " A funeral procession with only one set of jumper cables".
ok route speculation ---- joint line denver - trinidad ; over Raton by take over of line that BNSF is not using ; then to French NM ; then re lay rail on old SP ( DAW -- Dawson railway ) ; then to Tucumcari then on the UP. Not likely but ---- what the heck ??
Why not just stay on the BNSF to Las Cruces?...
You are not up to speed on current operations.
BNSF does not operate any freight trains south from Trinidad to Belen. In fact the State of NM owns the track between Lamy and Belen. The BNSF coal loads go to Pueblo, then east to Las Animas Jct, then to Amarillo through Stratford where they intersect the UP Golden State route. BNSF emptys go from Amarillo to Trinidad and then north through Pueblo.
eolesen Why not just stay on the BNSF to Las Cruces?...
do you mean Deming ? Las Cruces is not a junction ? would be good but what would UP have to trade to BNSF?
K.P.’s Assessment of the Curtiss Branch STB Filing
In reviewing the filed agreement between the parties involved, it was noted in Section 8 of the filing that the laws of Arizona would govern. So, perceiving an International or a multi-state aspect to the situation is probably reading more into the matter than is warranted. UP seems to want, not trackage rights, but haulage rights over what is now owned by a short line operator, with UP having THE ABILITY TO ASSIGN the haulage rights to whomever it chose, and whoever was chosen would also operate some or all of the now unused route to Naco by the Mexico border.
So, for some reason, UP sees some shipper or shippers being able to make money adjacent to the old SP branch, and wants to be able to accommodate that shipper or those shippers, with THEM hauling whatever is shipped to the UP connection to the Sunset Route at Benson, AZ.
Please remember that this is only K.P.’s ‘assessment’ of the situation as it is perceived and conjectured with sketchy and limited facts.
As far as theorizing about long distance coal haulage possibilities, which is probably totally unrelated to the STB filing mentioned above, UP does have a long distance haul operation from either the Powder River Basin or from Colorado that currently goes through Las Vegas, NV on the LA&SL, over haulage rights on the BNSF to Mojave, CA, and up the Lone Pine Branch. In SP days, that coal went west from Utah, over Donner Pass in Northern California, down the Central Valley, up and over Tehachapi to the current end point on the Lone Pine Branch. It would seem UP, after the SP-UP merger and rerouting the coal away from Donner, has made out like a bandit on that business!
Whatever is going on in Arizona, surely UP will get a piece of the money profit pie …
Update as of Thursday, September 13, 2012
Part I (of I-VI)
The Milliken Ave. Flyover
Ontario, CA
Unexpected person business brought K.P. through both Ontario and Colton with a little spare time to photograph the current scenes. The Ontario visit was very successful!
Since the last visit the future Main 1 flyover on the east side had dramatic construction progress, going from just flat ground to rising concrete-work.
On the west side, much less progress had been made.
Continued in Part II
Part II (of I-VI)
Apparently some night work needs to be done.
While K.P. was on site, this makeshift, awkward-looking sign was put in place.
Continued in Part III
Part III (of I-VI)
A south side eastward view: The decorative column tops still had not been raised to their final high positions.
A westward, south side view: Shadowing gives the illusion the pathway was altered to have different levels. Also, compaction of the telephoto gives the illusion of a strange fencing (left), but it is only a common chain link fence.
Continued in Part IV
Part IV (of I-VI)
By the Santa Ana River Crossing
The new cantilever signal bridge on the west side of CP SP542 LOMA LINDA still has not had the horizontal bridging attached, nor has such even been brought to the site yet.
While the Ontario visit was very successful in update documenting of the construction progress, the Colton Flyover and the new signaling east of it was a photographic disaster and a bewildering, totally frustrating nightmare experience! Thus, while hardly the best, at least the forum has some photographic views of hard to explain update happenings … Another cantilever structure is being put in (left) at what appears to be one or two hundred feet EAST of CP SP541 ICE DESK. All the tracks are below greenery level.
That cantilever structure MAY (“may”) be only for the Ice Deck sidings, which sidings are at a slightly different elevation and alignment by that CP.
The different alignment of the Ice Deck siding is so photographically severe that the new cantilever structure (far right) has an illusion appearance that it is NOT beyond (east of) the present old signal bridge (upper left).
Railfans usually (“usually”) rejoice at seeing many trains. But, such was a photographic curse this date, as so many important new things were visually blocked by passing trains … especially troublesome when one is fighting the clock!
For rolling stock fans, note the white refrigerator cars just behind the power.
Continued in Part V
Part V (of I-VI)
The train in the last photo of Part IV goes by the eastern end of the Colton Flyover, which is ever progressing on its construction.
A westward view of the Colton Flyover from the Mt. Vernon Ave. area:
From the same spot, a wider angle view. The Colton Flyover construction is on the right. On the left is a train on the Colton Crossing’s southeast quadrant track waiting for a signal at CP SP540 MT VERNO..
Continued in Part VI
Part VI (of I-VI)
That waiting train soon got a non-green signal to go … and more visual frustration …especially when the train gets another red signal and visually blocks the key photo items, the vertical part of the new cantilever signal on the east side of the Santa Ana River. That cantilever structure is so far away from the two-track Sunset Route mains that the old signal bridge can’t even be seen!
Near the EAST signal of CP SP540 MT VERNON, a WEST facing eastbound, presently headless, two stem signal mast was seen to have been also erected!
At this point in time, K.P. has no explanation for that. It is possible the CP with the new cantilever structure on the east side of the Santa Ana River crossing will extend all the way to the west side, thus signal-protecting trains going over the entire Santa Ana River.
This obviously will all make sense when finished, but for now, it is a mysterious, evolving “Twilight Zone” type development, where one doesn’t see new things all at once, but throughout a visit. Also kind of new for K.P., well … a day he didn’t want to see trains … because they always seemed to block views of important things to see.
The Great Future CP ILLUSION
Last Friday evening an update concerning the Santa Ana River crossing in Colton, CA springing from a Thursday, September 13, 2012 visit to the area was multi-posted above, with many mysterious and weird circumstances found and shared with the forum. K.P. returned to that area Sunday, September 16, 2012 and pretty much was able to figure out what is going on.
The Santa Ana River crossing is perhaps one of the most visually deceptive areas K.P. has ever encountered, with illusions everywhere! That is why the only for fun CP ILLUSION was concocted, to kind of convey the situation.
As an example, the above new photo, with a newly erect eastbound signal mast (left) by the westbound Main 2 signal at CP SP540 MT VERNON (right). It simply is NOT what it appears to be!
K.P. got home a few hours ago from that investigative visit. It will take a few days to organize everything for posting. So, watch for it and the surprises it brings!
Also, the Milliken Ave. Flyover in Ontario was checked out too. The eastern end’s north side new walling is very, very different from the in place south side walling. And, K.P. actually saw the Main 2 aligned ‘Entrance’ signal on the east slope used by a switching crew. Because of the signal’s shade covering one could not see the lamp color, but one knew what was happening. The Milliken Ave. Flyover too will be posted about in a few days.
Update as of Sunday, September 16, 2012
Part A (of A-K)
When first arrived at the Milliken Ave. Flyover’s northeast side, an eastbound (leftward) train was going over the flyover. Plenty of track was stacked up now by the flyover’s east end.
Apparently, workers started the Main 1 flyover next to the east end of the completed and operational Main 2 flyover, and are working westward.
Construction has already gone past (rightward) the Main 2 flyover “entrance signal” (upper right).
Continued in Part B
Part B (of A-K)
The north walling, unlike the south plain Jane walling counterpart, has decorativeness about it.
The new, darker Main 1 walling construction presently ends about mid-photo.
A view of where the westward construction presently ends:
No actual flyover work was seen on the west end.
Continued in Part C
Part C (of A-K)
Switching Drama at the Milliken Ave. Flyover
A set of three switch engines approaches from the industrial track on the south.
The derail on the flyover is dealt with, which lights the entrance signal.
Note the new, darker Main 1 walling on the bottom of the just above photos.
Continued in Part D
Part D (of A-K)
The switch to the mainline is opened, which turns the entrance signal to yellow from red since there is no conflicting movements.
The train comes out, and the switch is returned to normal.
The train then backs up to a spur to the east, does the same thing there to pick up the rest of its train, and heads over the flyover to western parts.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.