Both Snail-Paced and Big Time Activities …
… With a Few Surprises Too!
Photos Taken Monday, February 17, 2014
Pomona to Niland, CA
Part “D”, Section 2 (of 1-9)
The road is definitely closed!
On the future west eastbound absolute signals, the south mast (left, future Main 2) has a lower head with FOUR positions.
So, not only does that lower head have the typical green, yellow, and red, it also has a lunar, for yellow over lunar.
At this point in time it is unclear what the mainline universal crossover speed will be.
An interesting, ‘jacked-up’ piece of equipment:
Continued in Section 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 “D”, Section 3 (of 1-9)
Just east of English road ties and ballast are present.
Exactly why the culvert-work (left) is wider by English Rd. than by the mainline (upper right) is not clear at this time.
The future, new CP box (left) and the current three head target signal.
Continued in Section 4
Part “D”, Section 4 (of 1-9)
Across now (on the south side) from the west switches of the Niland sidings. Note the hard to see pot signal on the left.
There are three burial bases for the future east side westbound signals.
Presently, there are two boxes by the west eastbound three-head signal. The center box is unlabeled, so is questionable if it is CTC related.
Continued in Section 5
Part “D”, Section 5 (of 1-9)
Poles follow the tracks all the way to the junction with the Calexico Sub and the signal bridges there (right).
Moving towards those signal bridges now, a Canadian National unit was parked. It is unknown if the unit was set out, or used for local switching.
From the Main St. grade crossing on the east side of town, a westward view of the junction signaling in setting sun sunlight.
Note that the Calexico Sub track on the far left goes under the signal bridge. The signals are from left to right, the Calexico Sub and Main 1. The north siding (right) does NOT have a signal on the two signal bridges in the view.
Continued in Section 6
Part “D”, Section 6 (of 1-9)
The Calexico Sub wyes into the Yuma Sub: The reflecting lower sunlight glistens off the rails.
The eastward, slow progression of erecting new signals had stopped by English Road, and has not reached this east side of town, so it is difficult to even hazard a guess what the track arrangement and signaling will be.
An eastward view from Main St.:
An eastward heavy telephoto of the future second-track’s cleared strip that goes into the distance.
Continued in Section 7
Part “D”, Section 7 (of 1-9)
There is a spring frog now just east of Main St.
A final westward view from the east side of Niland:
Above, the north siding, which will be the new second main alignment, has a cleared strip of land adjacent to it. That will only be for vehicle access.
Continued in Section 8
Part “D”, Section 8 (of 1-9)
A couple of miles east of Niland is the dirt Cuff Rd. grade crossing. It too has a road closure sign.
The grade crossing already has a strip of track for the second main, so it is unclear exactly what the grade crossing closure is all about.
Looking west, and the last intermediate before Niland:
In theory, it would seem this dirt road grade crossing would see intermediate signals erected by it. But, we will have to wait and see what happens.
Continued in Section 9
Part “D”, Section 9 (of 1-9)
From Cuff Rd., looking eastbound:
A final view of the Cuff Rd. grade crossing …
… in the nick of time as the sunlight was about to fail.
This will conclude the series.
Update as of Saturday, February 22, 2014
Riverside-Colton-Ontario, CA Areas
Part IX (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
K.P. took care of some personal business in Redlands, had some chow, and headed to Ontario to inspect and get a good look at the OWLS diamond at LA&SL CP C038 ONTARIO (M.P. 38.1).
A light westbound power move running in reverse came by with the conductor looking out for what was ahead.
K.P. doesn’t recall any diamond noise when the light engine move passed.
Continued in Part X
Part X (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
The OWLS diamond and some very close-ups:
Then, K.P. went over the Mountain Ave. overpass to take care of a dispatcher arranged assignment
Continued in Part XI
Part XI (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
Afterward, the Ontario Milliken Ave Flyover was revisited.
Buried pipelines are clearly marked now.
A north side westward view:
Flowers and brickwork now block the access road on the flyover’s west south side.
Hard to see on the left, a sign says ‘No Parking’ and ‘No Trespassing.’
Continued in Part XII
Part XII (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
So, how is the Milliken Ave Flyover accessed by railroaders at Milliken Ave? The answer is in the food establishment’s parking lot.
Note the “No Parking” striping on the photo bottom.
Continued in Part XIII
Part XIII (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
From the south side of the Milliken Ave. Flyover, looking east:
Just above, note the industrial track’s “Entrance Signal” in the distance’s photo center.
The pathway back is clearly marked ‘No Parking’ and ‘No Trespassing.’
Continued in Part XIV
Part XIV (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
On the east side, the I-15 Freeway, and another “Entrance Signal”:
That industrial track with an entrance signal on the other side of the freeway goes over a two-track wide bridge over an underpass. So, that industrial track will undoubtedly become Main 2 sometime in the future.
Main 1 still has not been laid over the Milliken Ave. Flyover.
A Sunset Route westbound just happened to come by.
Continued in XV
Part XV (of IX-XV, Overall I-XV)
Up and over it goes on the Main 2 alignment
The last well cars say good-bye …
… and it is time for this series to end.
"K.P. doesn’t recall any diamond noise when the light engine move passed."
That's the benefit the neighbors get. Mainline moves are quieter but moves on the low speed route, hopefully less frequent, will still be noisy due to wheels jumping the wide gap.
Norm
Take a look at Progress Rail's "Lift frog" turnout, the mainline rails have no joints or breaks.
"jacked-up" backhoe = tire change.
A10
One of K.P.’s Boys and Scrambling
With the many things in K.P.’s life now under relative control again, a final preparation for posting Parts A and B (below) was started. A few minutes later K.P.’s boy asked K.P. when he wanted to leave for Ontario. K.P. had forgotten about that! But, it meant a whole bunch of free time to check out the Sunset Route! Ontario, Pomona, Workman Mill Rd. (by the Puente Hills Intermodal Facility), and the San Gabriel Trench construction was went to. A report will be posted sometime within a week.
Back in Ontario at 9.00 P.M. after checking much out, K.P. had an hour before his boy had to be picked up, so he re-climbed up on the Mountain Ave. overpass in Ontario, with the hope an eastbound would come on Main 2 and the signal for it at CP AL519 NORTH MONTCLAIR (physically in Ontario) could be photographed. Sure enough, a Main 2 eastbound train came!
The west side eastbound Main 2 signal displayed yellow over green, proving beyond all doubt that the next CP to the east, CP AL521 NORTH ONTARIO, has a 50 M.P.H. switch!
A Brief Update and a Follow-Up
Part “A” (of A-B)
On Tuesday, February 25, 2014 K.P. checked out very briefly the Hunts Lane overpass construction and the situation concerning Track 112 near Rancho Ave., both in the Colton, CA area.
The Hunts Lane overpass (west of CP SP542 LOMA LINDA) is now quickly taking shape.
Between Rancho Ave. and Colton Crossing, as seen from South 3rd Street, the new Track 112 (bottom track) is well ballasted now, and just needs a little more manicuring.
Above, a westbound short local was stopped on Main 2 on the west slope of the Colton Flyover.
Continued in Part B
Part “B” (of A-B)
Followers of this thread are quite familiar with UP’s spring frogs, and recently became aware of OWLS diamonds. While K.P. was up on the new Iowa Ave. overpass in the Riverside-Highgrove area over the BNSF Transcon (the LA&SL alternate Sunset Route) on Saturday, February 22, 2014, he noticed a very strange frog on a switch to a side industrial siding.
Followers of this thread may remember the below September 26, 2012 photo of a BNSF GP60M running around its train passing through that short industrial siding before the Iowa Ave. overpass was even started.
Just after that view was shot, the power was completing a run around of its train. The below photo has never been shown before to the forum.
None of K.P.’s file photos of that day show the frog clearly, but K.P. was able to highly blow up a few views, and the evidence points towards the switch frog had been there for a while.
K.P. thought the above info might be of interest to the many followers of this thread.
So, UP Sunset Route trains on the alternate route traversing BNSF Main 1 by Iowa Ave. have a smooth ride. UP spring frogs and moveable point switches now also have at least one BNSF smooth riding frog too!
Frogs of a similar design have been in use on transit systems (both street and L/Subway) for decades. The idea is the same as the OWLS diamonds, favoring the "normal" route heavily.
rcdrye Frogs of a similar design have been in use on transit systems (both street and L/Subway) for decades. The idea is the same as the OWLS diamonds, favoring the "normal" route heavily.
These frogs have been in use for a few years now. On the UP they are called "jump frogs" and have signs identifying their locations.
Jeff
Update as of Saturday, March 1, 2014
Ontario West to Nearly Los Angeles, CA
Part I (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
Forum viewers may recall last week a sign flashing that the Vineyard Ave. grade crossing in Ontario, CA would be closed starting February 28, 2014 for underpass construction. On K.P.’s passing the site Saturday, March 1, 2014, Vineyard Ave. was still open, with a flashing sign advising the closure would now start Tuesday, March 4 instead. K.P. did NOT stop for photos. The sign was dim, and looked like the battery was on its last leg.
The first spot of real interest on this outing was State St. and San Antonio Ave., (Ontario) where some (“some”) few years old, laying down color light signals could be seen.
The above photos were shot just south of the LA&SL, looking northish. The SP Alhambra Sub of the Sunset Route can be seen behind the collection of signal masts.
Those laying down signals may be the newer ones that were in Ontario that had a very different diode light pattern, as the below reshown June 2, 2011 Ontario photo.
(Just as a teaser, the upcoming Amtrak trip and Santa Teresa, NM facilities photo series has a photo by Kevin Gray of a signal with that large pattern of diode lights.)
Continued in Part II
Part II (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
From atop the Mountain Ave. overpass in Ontario, two views looking east. From left to right, the old Main, now Main 1, the new Main 2, the new facility track with auto-rack cars on it. The LA&SL tracks are on the far right.
A heavy telephoto:
Continued in Part III
Part III (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
Looking west from the Mountain Ave. overpass, and the auto-rack cars
Looking back east again, the right lit signal, lower head, seems to be a freakish abnormality. It appears to have a red incandescent bulb while the top head has a diode light.
Continued in Part IV
Part IV (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
The newly placed switches on the LA&SL side seem to be transplanted ones, with wooden ties of different widths, and NOT the typical uniform width. Both switches in this view are in reverse.
Though the frog has characteristics of a movable points frog switch, it is just a UP non-standard frog.
The orange cone and burial base between the Montclair siding and a side track …
… may (“may”) be a holdover from the old signal arrangement, as in the previously shown October 15, 2011 east end photo of the Montclair siding left handed short mast signal (lower left).
In the top photo above, the track jogs alignment in the background. K.P. gets the distinct impression the great master plan may be (“may be”) to two-track this LA&SL section, and top and bottom track will go straight without a jog.
Continued in Part V
Part V (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
Finally, from the Mountain Ave. overpass looking east, a stack of old track.
That track is old, as the ties are uneven, and might be bordering on ancient as to railroad standards. Decades ago the railroads started to use longer railroad ties, and the above have a mix of old and very old ties.
It is unknown if the above stack is destined for discarding, but such cutup panel track-like track by Salton Sea, at the old Rogoza (Frink) siding had a similar treatment, as in the below recently shown photos:
Continued in Part VI
Part VI (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
An interesting cause and effect situation was taking place in Pomona, at the closed and barricaded Polaris St. dual LA&SL and SP grade crossing, as seen from the south side looking north.
As above, a large yellow hose had water gushing from it, and went under both LA&SL and SP tracks.
Both an orange hose (left, by green portable pump) and yellow one (right) were involved.
From the north side now, looking south:
Continued in Part VII
Part VII (of I-VII, Overall I-XIV)
A closer look at the routed yellow hosing:
A few close-ups of the north side action with a diesel pump:
Exactly what was transpiring and why is not clear, but the railroad contracted for this work to keep water off its tracks..
Continued in Parts VIII-XIV … Which parts should be posted by at least 11:30 P.M. Thursday, March 6, 2014 Pacific Time, but likely much earlier.
Part VIII (of VIII-XIVI, Overall I-XIV)
By the PRESENT west side eastbound signals of CP AL514 HAMILTON, the two-bulb heads still have not been converted to three-bulb ones (in conjunction with the new two-tracking Pomona to Ontario). The highest level display was red over flashing yellow, seen below while the yellow was in the alternating flash dark mode.
The crossing over train (within CP AL514 HAMILTON) went east on Main 2, which was newly laid east of San Antonio Ave. (Pomona).
Continued in Part IX
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