Revisiting Arizona -- Early 2010
Part III, Section A (of A-D)
Maintaining the Railroad
Just east of Highway 347 in Maricopa, in the vicinity of M.P. 898, a staging area is present, where workers apparently gather and are transported to work sites miles away. Some equipment also seems to be at the site.
A week previous to this poster's arrival in Maricopa, it rained cats and dogs. Sort of speaking, anyway. The staging area was still flooded at photo time.
Continued in Section B
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 III, Section B (of A-D)
There appeared to be two areas of operations: (1) From Maricopa to somewhere west of ESTRELLA, and (2) from the Shawmut area (around M.P. 871) westward all the way to beyond the AZTEC siding (in the M.P. 812 area) adjacent I-8 (the Interstate to Yuma, AZ and beyond to San Diego, CA).
In the MOBILE area allot of equipment was on flatcars.
In his post of January 31, 2010, locomatt63 noted that UP "had halted their Track Renewal Project." That might explain what the two photos above were all about: The equipment probably had to be brought back to a home base somewhere. I don't know about the loaded equipment above, but a lot of the equipment parked in the water shown in Section A had Nebraska license plates, where UP is headquartered.
That flatcar on the last photo above had Missouri Pacific (MP) reporting marks. Wow! It has been almost 30 years since the big UP-MP-WP merger. Who would have known back then that MP cars would be loaded with maintenance-of-way equipment on the Sunset Route in 2010.
They were still replacing wood ties with concrete ones around Mobile.
Continued in Section C
Part III, Section C (of A-D)
Some of the equipment involved in the ESTRELLA area:
The following view looks east from just west of the west end of the new [CP] ESTRELLA, and was shot along Highway 238.
West of the CP Main 1 continues westward as the unused old north side ESTRELLA siding. You may remember the below photo shot last year of the WEST end of that siding ... When two-tracking resumes in the unspecified future, that siding track will then resume westward as Main 1.
Somewhere in the ESTRELLA area along Highway 238.
In the last photo above, note the rail passing through the middle of the equipment and lowering on the left.
Continued in Section D
Part III, Section D (of A-D)
There was much activity in the SHAWMUT area too ...
But the real photo location gem was in the BOSQUE area, around M.P. 862.
For at least a quarter of a mile, possibly a third of a mile, machinery was all bunched together and working westward.
----------------
The "Revisiting Arizona - Early 2010" series will finish with Part IV on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
Subtle things are taking place near Colton Crossing, CA, and they will briefly be dealt with tomorrow.
re: cranes; "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt".
A 100 ton crane is not small. To transport that machine would require4-5 trailerloads. Obviously a crane capable of lifting 100 tons has to weigh more than that.
It does not have "tank like traction" . This is a "crawler crane" not a wagon crane. A wagon is mounted on rubber tires. This a "flat pad undercarriage". It is capable of 1 to 11/2 MPH on a prepared surface. An M1A1 tank is capable of 55MPH over unprepared surfaces such as open desert.
BNSFwatcher (2-6):
At the time that the concrete bridging items at Toltec, AZ were photographed, the turned off, offloading crane APPEARED small. The exception you took was correct. It was in actuality no smaller than the average crane transported over the highways. But, what I think fooled me was its low profile appearance (which is probably a deception in itself) and the setting that it was in.
In recent times I've walked up onto the Sierra Ave. overpass in Fontana, CA for photos of the two-tracking (and related things) by West Colton Yard. The last time I was up on the overpass, I could see two towering cranes a few blocks away, across the freeway to the northeast, at the construction site related to Kaiser Hospital and its medical facilities. I've been wanting to document newer operating techniques in getting trains into the yard. If I can come up with and post a photo with both (1) yard operations and (2) towering cranes in the background, that might just make your day ...
mvs (2-6):
The Rillito River bridge construction site was visited on the weekend day of Saturday, thus no construction was observed. The impression received, though, was that it is an ongoing construction.
That roadway bridge alongside the railroad bridge in Yuma, AZ was Penitentiary Ave. Quechan Road and Quechan Drive are two roadways just north of the road bridge. It is not likely the road bridge will ever be replaced, as it seems to be of historic significance.
A north side bridge view. The bridge is only one single lane, and traffic alternates directions controlled by stoplights.
The name Penitentiary Ave. comes from a historic jail type facility southeast of the bridge.
tdmidget (2-7):
I can halfway hold my own around railroading, but cranes are another story ... Thanks for your technical knowledge.
Take care guys,
K.P.
K.P., thanks for the reply. Just to clarify, I was not referring to the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge that connects California and Arizona. I was referring to the bridge in the following photo:
It may have historical significance, too, but I could see this bridge being "updated" should UP not be able to fit a hypothetical second track under there.
mvs (2-7):
Ah, an important clarification for sure!
Aerials seem to indicate there is room for two-tracks, such as with the below link:
http://www.mapquest.com/mq/2-89v3
On the current (at posting time) map PHOTO, if you click on the top left corner and drag it to the bottom right corner, you will see that the line becomes two-tracks and there are two trains side by side. Based on that width, I personally think two tracks will fit under the bridge you spoke of.
We will definitely know for sure when two-tracks are laid through their. But, if the bridge must be replaced, it should cost a song and a dance compared to what the Colorado River bridge crossing will cost!
Sorry, but the Manitowoc web-site describes the '222' as a "wagon crane". The 100-ton lifting describes its lifting capacity, not its weight. Dunno what that is. It is 200'-lattice boom-capable, with additional jibs. The Forum picture shows it with a much shorter stick, ergo two trailerloads (no counterweight) and I really can't see the undercarriage. Yes, it would lose a race with a M1A1/2, or even a M48A5! I'll drive the M48!
Hays
Subtle Changes Near the Colton Crossing
Colton, CA
It is February 2010, and supposedly the Environmental Impact Report about the Colton Crossing is scheduled to be released this month. Subtle changes are actually taking place in Colton, but it is unknown if they are DIRECTLY related to the Colton Crossing matter or not.
The signal department building module has had a new module parked by it, and both have received new gray paint. Workers have been doing work on them. The [CP] AL514 HAMILTON boxes (center) for Pomona are now partially view blocked by the additional module (left).
While the study option of UP (SP) going under the BNSF (AT&SF) might be the least costly (and was photo illustrated previously in this thread), probably the flyover option likely will be chosen. It appears to be the simplest and least disruptive option. Interestingly, the popular business in the old SP depot by I-10 and 9th Street has moved, freeing the build to be to knocked down, which would make a clear path for a flyover.
Both photos above are dated February 4, 2010.
The below previously shown eastward overview photo shot from Rancho Ave. in Colton on August 28, 2009 shows the present crossing, with the BNSF Transcon being the cross tracks. Partially behind the tree on the upper left is a tan building. The Colton depot is out of view behind (and part of the land of) that tan building. The flyover should be very simple to construct north (photo left) of the present old SP alignment.
The Colton Crossing website about the project currently indicates some type of news will be coming soon.
To continue a question about crossing of the Colorado River in Yuma, Az.
I noticed in one picture of the bridge that on the North East side of the bridge a concrete pedestal(I think) .
It looked way to small for a railroad bridge but I started thinking & I have to ask the question.
In this picture from 6 Feb 2010 by K.P.Harrier if you look to the left of the bridge
Also one other comment whilst I was looking at google maps at the bridge, I was flicking back and forth between the sat image and the street map(no image just the map) , since the last time I did this some time ago(forget when) there is a major change on the street map of the railroad crossing.
google maps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=i-8+yuma,+az&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=28.058077,56.513672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Interstate+8,+Yuma,+Arizona&ll=32.727951,-114.615458&spn=0.001814,0.003449&z=18
Two tracks on the street map. Google maps many times have streets on their street maps(as do other services) that don't exist but have been approved for construction.
Could this be a preview of things to come?
Rgds IGN
PS I am trying many new things here today pasting images and google map coordinates. I will not know how successful I will be
A Charles Smiley video about the Sunset Route entitled, "Sunset Salute" indicates in the narrative and historical photo essay that the original Southern Pacific bridge over the Colorado River was approximately 1/2 mile further north than the current bridge, which was built around 1928. By now, that original right of way is no doubt abandoned and in a built up area; but if the UP still owned it that could possibly be an alternative route.
cacoleA Charles Smiley video about the Sunset Route entitled, "Sunset Salute" indicates in the narrative and historical photo essay that the original Southern Pacific bridge over the Colorado River was approximately 1/2 mile further north [actually, east] than the current bridge, which was built around 1928.
This article states that the Ocean To Ocean highway bridge was built on the south shore, then floated to the site and winched or lifted into place. I'm thinking that reversing the process - relocating it to the west, then building an adjacent single track RR bridge - would be cheaper than a new ROW, DT RR bridge and long causeway / freeway flyover to the east. The (much larger) original Carquinez Strait highway bridge was removed intact this way.
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
Bridging in Yuma, AZ
Certainly the posts above this one are thought-provoking.
The unidentified box on the southeast side (of an above post photo's background left cliff) of the railroading bridge over the Colorado River is a mystery to me too.
The railroad bridge, however, has a build date within its structure.
Reference is made to two rather new bridging structures:
(1) In the "Cajon Pass Triple-Tracking Updates" thread, the following California photo was posted early on:
Shot from Highway 138 (near I-15), the view shows westbound (physically southwestward) BNSF track laying heading toward a brand new bridge on the photo right. The old bridge on the left dates from 1913.
(2) The old (unknown date) truss bridge (the below photo's center) in the Pico Rivera, CA area on the LA&SL remains standing after a new single-track structure of a different design was built next to it (right) for the new Main 2.
Other bridges when the line is two-tracked are totally replaced.
So, whatever will develop (and whenever it does) in Yuma, AZ will be interesting to watch (and photo document).
Part IV, Section A (of A-C)
In Gila Bend, AZ, there was no track equipment or workers present. But, the area had been previously gone through with equipment dropping off wooden ties.
Looking east at the siding (left).
View eastward on the south side Main.
Toward the west on the siding. Both the main and siding likewise had replacement ties ready.
Part IV, Section B (of A-C)
In the Sentinel area is a ten or so mile section of two-tracks. Main 1 (the new track) is on the left, and because it is of concrete ties, does not need any tie replacement. Looking east. A mirage effect on the rails is in the background
But the Main 2 side does need tie replacement.
Looking west.
Part IV, Section C (of A-C)
Ties are still laid out all the way west to the approach to the east end of the AZTEC siding.
The east switch's westbound signal. The roadway is a private roadway clearly marked "No Trespassing."
The east switch's eastbound signals. The dark areas on the right are new wood ties awaiting installation.
Laid out ties were observed for only a mile or two further westward, and then no more. CP designations generally correlate to mileposts, as it does here. Remember, the SHAWMUT siding was around M.P. 870. From there to here at AZTEC, a round figure of about 60 miles of wood ties are laid out. Quite an undertaking for the railroad in hard economic times!
The claim has been made that two-tracking has been completed for half the El Paso to Los Angeles Sunset Route. The photos above are part of the other half that isn't two-tracked yet. Exactly why wood ties continue to be install in lieu of concretes ones is unknown to this poster. Wood ties are being replaced with concrete ones in the Mobile area; but still, wood ties persist in the Sentinel area on Main 2 as in Section B.
This will end the "Revisiting Arizona - Early 2010" series.
Tomorrow, as a brief followup: A few signal observations in returning to California.
Initally, I was told that only wooden ties would be used on the existing main resurfacing and tie renewal project. The reason given was that wooden ties hold up well in a dry climate and cost less. Then the crews showed up and started replacing wooden ties with concrete ties in the Maricopa - Shawmut area. But further west in Gila Bend and vicinity, as K.P.'s latest photos show, they are using wooden ties. Count me among the confused.
John Timm
Last year, crews replaced wood ties on both lines between Tucson and New Mexico with more wood ties. No concrete ties used anywhere that I have seen except where double track did not already exist, such as between Dragoon and Willcox, and through Bowie, where concrete ties were used on the new line..
Isn't it true that concrete and wood cannot be intermixed, and if they are going to use concrete they have to replace all the wooden ties?
P. K. : one of your earlier posts, post-deluge, showed, I think, a passenger (dome?) car parked behind the MOW equipment. I can't retrieve it on my clunky dial-up (yes, I live in the boondocks of Montana, but we do have very cheap electricity!). I was wondering if you know any more about this car. Interesting, to me, at least. Tnx.
BNSFwatcher P. K. : one of your earlier posts, post-deluge, showed, I think, a passenger (dome?) car parked behind the MOW equipment. I can't retrieve it on my clunky dial-up (yes, I live in the boondocks of Montana, but we do have very cheap electricity!). I was wondering if you know any more about this car. Interesting, to me, at least. Tnx. Hays
The car is the Silver Horizon and is on display at the Amtrak Maricopa depot. It's been there for a few years. Edited to add: It is a dome car that once belonged to the CB&Q.
silicon212BNSFwatcher P. K. : one of your earlier posts, post-deluge, showed, I think, a passenger (dome?) car parked behind the MOW equipment. I can't retrieve it on my clunky dial-up (yes, I live in the boondocks of Montana, but we do have very cheap electricity!). I was wondering if you know any more about this car. Interesting, to me, at least. Tnx. Hays The car is the Silver Horizon and is on display at the Amtrak Maricopa depot. It's been there for a few years. Edited to add: It is a dome car that once belonged to the CB&Q.
To add to this, the Silver Horizon served as the original Maricopa Amtrak depot. When the UP discontinued the Phoenix Sub as a through route and passenger trains were re-routed to the Gila Sub, the car was brought in. It was intended to be placed on a piece of track alongside the original main. That is the gravel area between two concrete platforms with the fence running down the middle that you see in many of the photos.
The railroad objected to the location out of concerns that it could be struck in the event of a derailment. It was then placed to the rear of the lot where it remains, unused and closed to the public. It sits on a short section of track between two sets of car stops. Later on, a manufactured building was brought in and continues to this day as the depot.
For a while, both Maricopa and Casa Grande were in a tug of war over the car, with both sides arguing over how it somehow represented the railroad heritage of the area, even though the closest the CB&Q (FW&D) ever came to Arizona was two states away in Texas.
Now it just sits and slowly deteriorates. It has suffered some minor vandalism. The drumhead sign on the rear has been broken out and there is rust running down the side. A railroad employee told me that it has a broken frame and cannot be moved. With the current economic situation, it is likely to remain where it is.
There are more pictures of it in the photo section of the Yahoo Tucson Rails discussion group. I took them in 2004, so the car has been around at least that long.
In Returning to California ...
Two observations ...
(1) Much of the remaining Sunset Route single-track has old, traditional signaling, i.e., where blocks meet, a mast target signal is on each side of the track, the south one facing west (for eastbounds) and the north one facing east (for westbounds). Sometime within the last decade a section of that type of intermediate signaling in the Salton Sea area of Southern California was replaced with new tri-light signals. They have two short masts on a single box, with a head(s) facing each way.
Other new intermediate signals have the more traditional arrangement, on a taller mast with no box. The below previously shown photo depicts those boxless single mast signals.
(2) The above lower photo's intermediate signals were photographed in the Thousand Palms area near Indio last year. You may remember that those particular signals acted differently than others on the Sunset Route. They came to be always lit, whether or not a train was in the circuit, and generally they were in a flashing yellow mode, and as such in BOTH directions instead of the traditional one direction in red mode!
In traveling to and from Arizona, this poster noticed that they were dark again, hence, back to their original approach lit arrangement. Presumably, they are also back to one direction on each track being in red mode even though the lamps are not physically lit.
Thanks, all, for the info. I 'Googled' "Silver Horizon" and found out a lot about the CB&Q ex-CZ sleeper/dome/lounge/observation car. Her last (private) owner was listed as Les Kasten. I don't know him and he is not listed on the AAPRCO Membership Roster or on the RPCA site. If I lived near Maricopa or Tucson, I'd have it in my back yard!
Another Piece of the Puzzle
The Diversion
Pomona, CA
PHOTO #1:
A new switch was found to be being assembled just WEST of Hamilton Blvd. in Pomona, CA on Thursday, February 11, 2010. Photo looks west.
PHOTO #2:
It had WOOD ties, NOT concretes ones. The new turnout was closer to the SP tracks than the LA&SL track. The assembling had not progressed yet to the point of having a frog attached.
The two photos above were taken from the west pedestrian sidewalk-way of Hamilton Blvd.
PHOTO #3:
A northeast view shot from First Street: Crossing gates can be observed in the background, showing just how close the new, uninstalled switch is to Hamilton Blvd.
The workers at the site seemed to be from the SP side, and not the LA&SL.
Interpretations:
Since the new turnout has wood ties, it most likely will be for the future Main 2 on the SP side, or, unofficially, Main C on a four-track south to north basis.
The switch is a few blocks east of the LA&SL turnout install around November 7, 2009, the LA&SL switch being in the five-foot alignment shift in the left upper background of Photo #1.
So, the LA&SL switch of Main A likely will connect to a counterpart turnout for LA&SL Main B, with another crossover connecting to Main C, the easternmost turnout of that crossover will likely be the turnout highlighted in this post.
The continuing crossover between Main C and D, then, would have to logically be somewhere EAST of Hamilton Blvd.
The new CP AL514 HAMILTON'S west signaling (for eastbound trains) would thus ALL have to be somewhere WEST of Hamilton Blvd.
In other Diversion matters ...
There did not seem to be any activity west of Temple Ave. There were several pickup trucks on the new grading west of Humane Way, but they appeared to be from a private contracted service unrelated to track laying. East of Humane Way, as with the whole Diversion, the finished grading is still waiting for rails and ties to be brought to the site and laid.
K.P.,
Since this is in single-track territory, it is not unlike the existing GRS signals to which they have temporarily attached a signal head to the opposite side of the mast in order to remove the other mast from the future second main roadbed. For whatever reason, the signals at that point were replaced (age, derailment damage, installation of the defect detector or whatever) so they installed a double-headed signal in anticipation of future need.
K. P. Harrier In Returning to California ... Two observations ... (1) Much of the remaining Sunset Route single-track has old, traditional signaling, i.e., where blocks meet, a mast target signal is on each side of the track, the south one facing west (for eastbounds) and the north one facing east (for westbounds). Sometime within the last decade a section of that type of intermediate signaling in the Salton Sea area of Southern California was replaced with new tri-light signals. They have two short masts on a single box, with a head(s) facing each way. To this poster's knowledge the only other location (at least in California) where anything resembling them is at M.P. 558.0, the first intermediates east of [CP] HINDA in San Timoteo Canyon on Beaumont Hill. That location's signals double as a detector location. Other new intermediate signals have the more traditional arrangement, on a taller mast with no box. The below previously shown photo depicts those boxless single mast signals. (2) The above lower photo's intermediate signals were photographed in the Thousand Palms area near Indio last year. You may remember that those particular signals acted differently than others on the Sunset Route. They came to be always lit, whether or not a train was in the circuit, and generally they were in a flashing yellow mode, and as such in BOTH directions instead of the traditional one direction in red mode! In traveling to and from Arizona, this poster noticed that they were dark again, hence, back to their original approach lit arrangement. Presumably, they are also back to one direction on each track being in red mode even though the lamps are not physically lit.
The answer may be that only a single foundation re-spaced for clearances, small case, and single pole are needed and less expensive to install.
Harvey
desertdogK.P., Since this is in single-track territory, it is not unlike the existing GRS signals to which they have temporarily attached a signal head to the opposite side of the mast in order to remove the other mast from the future second main roadbed. For whatever reason, the signals at that point were replaced (age, derailment damage, installation of the defect detector or whatever) so they installed a double-headed signal in anticipation of future need. John Timm
Timely scouting report, KP!
K. P. HarrierInterpretations: Since the new turnout has wood ties, it most likely will be for the future Main 2 on the SP side, or, unofficially, Main C on a four-track south to north basis.<snipped>
Update as of Saturday, Februar 13, 2010:
The New Turnout's Frog and ...
The new SP switch on the west side of Hamilton Blvd. has had more assembly added to it ... and now we know that it has a spring frog.
Looking west. The assemblers of the turnout are all over it.
The switch motor with part of its innards uncovered.
A visually fascinating technique.
Switches cost exorbitant amounts of money, from purchase to assembly. Just these few photos helps one to discern why.
Report as of Monday, February 15, 2010:
[CP] AL514 HAMILTON, Pomona, CA
Part A (of A-B)
Another Turnout
Another not-put-together switch, packaging, bound wood ties of various lengths, and ballast has been spotted within the long, future CP site.
Continued in Part B
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