California – Arizona Trip Report
February 7-8, 2013
Part “D”, Section 5 (of 1-9)
Two-Tracking in the …
Niland, CA Area
A discussion ensued with the white hatted gentleman … a lengthy discussion after he realized I wasn’t out to get his company, but was only a friendly railfan with a camera that was on his side and not an enemy. He started volunteering all kinds of juicy information!
He pointed out that the seemingly out of sequence grading taking place just east of English Road …
… was for a relocation of the far background CP . So, if K.P. understood him correctly, there should be CP signals right in the vicinity of English Rd. sometime in the future, or perhaps on each side of it.
In the last of the three photos above, note the different alignments of the culvert railings to the left and to the right just below photo center.
He said their contract work would be finish at the end of February, possibly early March of this year (2013).
The gentlemen also volunteer that, while it is not generally public knowledge at this time, another 10 miles of grading would be out for bid in a month or two! Asked if that meant from the Iris siding eastward, he said that he thought so.
So, interesting things two-tracking-wise are brewing …
Continued in Section 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 6 (of 1-9)
Along Highway 111
California’s Salton Sea Area
The culvert-work is complete in this section not far from Salton Sea. This view is of M.P. 659.18.
Even water regularly is present through some culverts, as above and below.
As seen better in the just above photo, that the track-paralleling old ties under the track is still holding the ballast in place is strange! The new main will be laid on the north, far side.
A lesser sized culvert:
Continued in Section 7
Part “D”, Section 7 (of 1-9)
Highway 111 passes the Border Patrol stop near Frink Rd., and also Hot Mineral Spa Rd., though the railroad grade crossing box is placarded Hot Springs Rd. Neither grade crossing has had the crossing gates relocated for a second main.
We finally reach the CP SP648 BERTRAM (M.P. 648.2) area, where the new second track westward was put in service. Note the background mast signal on the right compared to the cantilever signal bridge near it.
The west side eastbound siding (left) and Main 2 (right) signals on the cantilever structure WEST of Range Rd.
The west side eastbound Main 1 mast signal EAST of Range Rd. At photo time, it was in red over flashing yellow mode, as a bunch of eastbound trains were following one after another.
Continued in Section 8
Part “D”, Section 8 (of 1-9)
As Section 7’s third photo of a red over flashing yellow signal implied, an eastbound on the new Main 1 soon came along.
The eastbound crosses over and heads east on single-track:
The new second main has “UPPR MAIN TRK 1” stenciled on it. A turbulent wind-swept Salton Sea is in the background.
Continued in Section 9
Part “D”, Section 9 (of 1-9)
The lonely west signal by itself makes the view uneven … sort of, anyway.
Looking east at the crossovers of CP SP648 BERTRAM. The train in the background is going away from the camera.
A westbound view:
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Continued in Part E, to be posted Wednesday, February 27, 2013 by 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, but likely much earlier.
Replies:
eolesen (1-25):
You reported the lack of progress. Do you think that was because two-tracking crews were on their scheduled time off?
BNSF6400 (1-30):
Those new rails offloaded between Sierra and South Fontana … Rails seem to be the first items to show up on a project, sometimes months in advance. So, it is not surprising nothing otherwise is happening. Do you know, BNSF6400, if the offloaded rails go all the way between CP’s, or only part way as if a stub track will be put in?
billio (1-31):
Personally, I wish there was more information on the Blair Sub two-tracking in the Nebraska-Iowa area. It seems like it was mentioned before, but the Blair Sub and in the Tucson area are similar. In both cases I envision a dramatic shift in biases, with (1) Nebraska-Wyoming and (2) west of Tucson-Estrella going from a right running bias to a left running one.
mvs (2-9):
An Amtrak train between Indio and Los Angeles may be a big hit. But, I seriously doubt UP would allow it, unless the State will fund triple-tracking Beaumont Hill. I don’t think those in that effort has any idea what kind of operating hill they are dealing with.
john_edwards (2-10 / 18):
The concrete-work for the Colton Flyover is a great study in itself. What is more, the area is rather active seismic-wise. They probably planned well for a magnitude 10 or higher earthquake.
About that diagram for the future tracks in the Ontario-Montclair area, the placement locations of No. 15, No. 20, and No 24 switches makes a study in itself. Somehow there may be more to all this than what the diagram presently show.
John Kluender (2-21):
No, I did not stop by the Rillito area west of Tucson, AZ this trip.
A previous May 19, 2012 visit and the resultant photos seem to indicate both the Naviska and Rillito south side sidings will remain because of being re-boxed and re-signaled with color lights.
Above is at the east switch Rillito …
mvs (2-23):
The about 11 miles of two-tracks between CP SP819 STANWIX (M.P. 818.3) and CP SP831 SENTINEL (M.P. 831.2) with the new CP SP826 LESOSA (M.P. 825.5) between them is an interesting situation. Both ends of two-tracks has 40 M.P.H. turnouts, whereas the new center CP uses 50 M.P.H. ones. It has to be wondered, then, if 5 miles on each side of the stretch will be two-tracked soon, so that the CP’s will be about 10 miles apart.
Take care all,
K.P.
Part “E”, Section 1 (of 1-8)
141 pounds per yard rail stenciling and movable point frog signs! The now turbulent Salton Sea is again in the background. At one point, K.P. could hardly get out of his car the wind was so bad!
The fenced Bertram staging area is basically all cleaned out, except for a few odds and ends.
Nevertheless, just west of the CP are floodlights and much equipment. Mains 1 and 2 and the siding’s signals are visible.
The mast signal almost hidden is red over flashing yellow.
Stash away a mental note of the high floodlights above (there were two poles of them on site) …
Continued in Section 2
Part “E”, Section 2 (of 1-8)
Eastbound trains just kept coming and coming …
… and crossing over on the background right.
Between the west and east ends of the Bertram siding are a bunch of used ties still.
Continued in Section 3
Part “E”, Section 3 (of 1-8)
At the west end of the Bertram siding, at CP SP646 BERTRAM (M.P. 646.1), all the signals there are functional now. Main 1’s mast on the far right has intermediate number plated signals on it
The CP SP646 BERTRAM box, an absolute Main 2 signal (left) and the both directions Main 1 intermediates (right).
Continued in Section 4
Part “E”, Section 4 (of 1-8)
As K.P. approached the intermediate signals east of Ferrum, the high bridge came into view and an eastbound too – on Main 1, the far side new track!
There is probably 100 feet that separates the tracks from Highway 111, and it is kind of hilly by that high bridge.
In the last photo above, note the small yellow flags just below the photo’s center. It is unknown why such new markers would be present.
So that those unfamiliar with the area can better understand the terrain, an October 7, 2012 view is reshown of the high bridge with the signals mentioned in this post on the far upper right.
Continued in Section 5
Part “E”, Section 5 (of 1-8)
The last intermediates west before CP SP537 SALTON: Note the left mast signal is between the old Ferrum siding and Main 2.
The left mast also has the lower single-bulb head turned aside.
A broad view of the area where the west switch of the Ferrum siding was … and the three headed signal.
For comparison, November 24, 2012 views:
Part “E”, Section 6 (of 1-8)
Finally, we arrive at CP SP537 SALTON (M.P. 637.1), the present new end of two-tracks. The west eastbound single-track signal to two-tracks:
The east westbound signals at Salton:
Above, the left lower three-bulb head is turned aside. Two-tracking west of here may or may not be way in the future. This area west is like the immediate Yuma, AZ area, hilly and a number of cuts would be needed for a second-track.
Campers at Salton Sea’s Corvina Beach get a nice view of CP SP537 SALTON.
At certain times of the month … A moonlit night and the peaceful sound of crashing waves: Tranquility at its best! Add a train … well, paradise!
Part “E”, Section 7 (of 1-8)
As at CP SP648 BERTRAM, floodlights were also present here at CP SP637 SALTON, as well as vehicles, including a bus, and equipment.
To the west, there has been one intermediate mast with heads facing in both directions. It remains in service, untypical of two-tracking.
With the advent of CP SP637 SALTON, the lower head on the left was added to the intermediate. The stem is shinier.
Part “E”, Section 8 (of 1-8)
The view of the west switch of the Mortmar siding (CP SP633 MORTMAR, M.P. 632.9) has the Positive Train Control antenna present now.
But, a closer view shows unconnected cable hanging.
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This will conclude the series. It is hoped you found something new to add to your railroader or railfan experience.
I was poking around last nite and noticed that Google has updated their maps.
At these coordinates 31.90391, -106.74094 Google Maps now show the construction at Santa Theresa.
The other way to find the site is to look up Dona Ana County at Santa Teresa Airport and the yard is just to the west.
At first it did not sink in the construction activity there as all it looks like is grading.
Rgds IGN
Again a great job documenting the double tracking KP. Keep up the good work. I noted that OSHA has struck UP. Pictures of the concrete culvert shows a guard fence along the edges of the culvert. The new cantilever signal has a safety cage around the ladder. Wonder how many culverts and signal towers are awaiting safety rails/cages. My engineer friend, who I meet at the local coffee shop frequently, said that UP does not have safety walkways on their bridges (atleast not in Texas). Just wonder when OHSA will require the retrofitting of the bridges.
Keep up your contact with the "white hat" Sounds like you have a friend here who will give you good updates.
K.P.,
Thanks once again for recording and posting your lastest foray along the Sunset Route. We are all in your debt.
A comment and a question.
First, the Blair Sub double tracking in Iowa and Nebraska is intended to rectify a band-aid solution to the question of double tracking the Overland Route/Central Corridor past/through Omaha and Council Bluffs. If UP hadn't bought SP, this work would have been completed ten years ago, as it offers significant time (and therefore operating cost) savings for eastbound traffic, but UP has postponed the project for a decade because of more pressing uses for its capital elsewhere around the property. One conjectures that the Blair Sub work has reportedly halted because the government has declared war on coal burning, and the volume of coal traffic from the Powder River Basin has decreased. Double tracking the Sunset Route is entirely geared not toward cost savings but toward greater capacity and more revenue; the sooner the line is double tracked (and the terminals completed/upgraded), the faster UP can increase traincounts over the line. I'm guessing that the Santa Teresa (got it right this time!) Terminal work has such high priority (we recently read of a track laying gang being moved from the Tucson area to Santa Teresa) because Phase I of that new terminal, the fueling facility, will enable UP to transfer its El Paso main line refueling to the new yard and open up the main line through the El Paso trainway, which now must constitute the largest bottleneck on the Sunset Route (following the Toyota Industrial Engineering philosophy, which UP adopted when its network seized up several years ago, you clear out your most significant bottlenecks first. One presumes the Colton Crossing, which is well underway, also ranks extremely high on this list). In short, I'd bet that UP can't finish Phase I fast enough. But to much bloviating...
A question for scorekeepers: I'm having difficulty keeping track (pun intended) of double tracking between Yuma and Thermal, the point where double tracking east from West Colton ends. I know of one stretch fairly close to Yuma, and the one (or two? I can't tell) that KP has recorded along the Salton Sea, but where is it/where are they? Thanks in advance.
And cheers!
billioA question for scorekeepers: I'm having difficulty keeping track (pun intended) of double tracking between Yuma and Thermal, the point where double tracking east from West Colton ends.
On another site I came across someone else's map of the Blair sub upgrades. Even though it hasn't been updated in a while, anyone can check the Satellite View periodically for new evidence.
Today UP's double tracking philosophy seems to be to a) defer upgrading some ~20 mile single track segments, and b) upgrade the longest single track or other bottleneck segments. The current work-in-progress near Tucson and on the Yuma sub should last about two years, but those long stretches either side of Stanwix-Sentinel are due.
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! ***
K.P.:
In part E, showing signals east of Ferrum near the Salton Sea, there is a mast with two arms supporting thin loops for a receiver and/or transmitter. If I am not mistaken, these structures may have been identified in a previous post as components for PTC, "Positive Train Control" (or, "Precision Train Control" as it may be called on UP). Is that the speculation at this site, or am I just over-thinking a regular train-dispatcher radio system?
If so, how widely spaced are they? They seem to appear somewhat infrequently in your posts.
--John
Wash., DC
John, I've seen those towers (approx 35' tall with two antenna loops) going up at just about every wayside box in my area.
A couple weeks ago, someone asked if the searchlights were being preserved at Rillito and Kino...
New masts are already up at the west end of Rillito, and I don't get down to the east end or to Kino enough to say for certain. Every other intermediate and absolute signal has been replaced, so my guess is no.
Overpasses-Orama
In Ontario, CA, just to the south of the Sunset Route, and also just to the north of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake (LA&SL), i.e. right between the two routes, is Ontario International Airport or ONT in aviation abbreviated form.
On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 necessity brought K.P. to ONT, and afterwards was all free time. 231 photos were taken between Montclair-Ontario and Colton, with an emphasis of or on overpasses, specifically the Mountain Ave overpass in Ontario, and the Rancho Ave. overpass in Colton, plus seeing how the Milliken Ave Flyover (an overpass) in Ontario was coming along.
You may recall MikeF90 very recently posted a nice series of photos for us shot from overpasses in the Ontario-Pomona area. K.P.’s effort from only the Mountain Ave. overpass is intended to supplement and add to Mike’s effort. And, of course, the new Rancho Ave. photos will reveal dramatic progress on the Colton Flyover.
It will take a few days to organize a posts presentation. Look for some posts maybe Monday, March 4, 2013, if not sooner. In the meantime, a tidbit …
Sunset Route Buses … and Cajon Pass
In the California-Arizona post series just completed this week, in the parts about the Salton Sea area, erected-floodlights photos were presented that included UP buses in the views.
While traversing Cajon Pass on the return from the Ontario-Colton area, it was seen that a similar situation existed at the north switch Canyon on the Palmdale Cutoff*, at CP SP469 CANYON (M.P. 469.3), though there was not as extensive of equipment there.
As with the bus scenes by Salton Sea, the Canyon group of equipment had no one around either. (For those interested, the BNSF signals can be seen in the distance, between heads of the left foreground signal.)
In is not clear to K.P. exactly what is transpiring, but some at the forum have suggested Positive Train Control (PTC) may be what that is all about. It may be, especially in light that UP has budget-allocated a whopping amount of money for PTC.
* The Palmdale Cutoff (a shorter route that avoids Los Angeles) in the M.P. 492 area wyes into the Sunset Route in the M.P. 537-538 area in the Colton vicinity.
K.P. and others:
I have access to the engineering drawings for the double tracking project on the Yuma Sub. Although I cannot share them, I can tell you the relevant information. Hopefully you guys can visit these specific locations in the future to look for new switches and signals.
This is the long-term future arrangement from west to east when construction is complete. As such it does not reflect current reality. Lots of work to be done. New or reconfigured control points in blue. Eliminated control points in red.
Thermal SP620 eliminated
Mecca siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP624 and SP626 eliminated
New control point at MP 625.9, universal crossovers
Mortmar siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP633 and SP635 eliminated
New control point in service at Salton at MP 637.0, partially done. Will have universal crossovers in the future.
Ferrum siding removed, control points SP639 and SP641 eliminated (done)
Bertram siding preserved off the No. 2 track. Control point SP646 preserved. Reconfigured control point at SP648 to include universal crossovers and turnout to end of siding. (done)
Rogoza siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP654 and SP656 eliminated
New control point at MP 658.0, universal crossovers.
Wister siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP660 and SP662 eliminated
Niland WE SP665 will be reconfigured with new universal crossovers at MP 665.4 and a turnout to the south siding at its current location.
Niland north siding converted to No. 1 track
Niland south siding preserved off the No. 2 track
Niland Crossovers SP 667 preserved. Controls access to west leg of wye and south siding.
Niland EE SP669 reconfigured with a single crossover at MP 668.0 to allow movements from the No.1 to the No. 2 to the east leg of the wye and vice-versa.
Iris siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP674 and SP676 eliminated
New control point at MP 676.1, universal crossovers.
Regina siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP681 and SP683 eliminated
New control point at MP 687.3, universal crossovers.
New 9100 foot controlled siding built off the No. 2 track between MP 687.3 and MP 689.2
New control point at MP 689.2 on the No. 2 track to control movement to/from the siding.
Acolita siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP689 and SP691 eliminated
Mesquite SP697 reconfigured with new universal crossovers at MP 696.8 and turnouts to the landfill spur and south siding.
Mesquite/Glamis siding preserved off No. 2 track.
Glamis SP699 possibly preserved off No. 2 track. (unclear at this point)
Clyde siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP705 and SP707 eliminated
New control point at MP 706.9, universal crossovers.
Cactus siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP712 and SP714 eliminated (done)
(although control points SP712 and SP714 are gone, siding track remains, currently unconnected)
Cactus (new) SP715 universal crossovers at MP 715.0 (done)
Dunes siding converted to No. 1 track, control points SP720 and SP722 eliminated (done)
Araz (new) SP724 universal crossovers at MP 723.7 (done)
Araz Jct SP725 eliminated
I too am baffled by the new siding planned between MP 687 and MP 689. This may be a staging track for trash trains if there are problems at the landfill or on the spur.
Clyde
MikeF90 -- Thanks so much for supplying the links. Makes scorekeeping much easier. Cheers!
Welcome to trains.com, "clyde". Together with K.P.'s on-site observations, your data confirms my Google map based speculation (just updated). Thanks much for the detailed post!
I'm puzzled by the Glamis siding status. I would not expect UP to preserve the only nearby siding that has a very busy public grade crossing (SR-78); this is a recipe for a PR disaster and a 'first responder' problem. Hopefully the new 'set out' siding just RR west is meant to replace it. I also noticed that there is no bridge just east of CP Mesquite with room for three tracks - perhaps in the future?
Glamis siding is listed as being converted to hand throw switches for "non-revenue service". They also show the siding severed at the grade-crossing with 246 feet of track removed.
That's fine except that UP already upgraded the signal software at Mesquite SP697 to include the not yet built crossovers and two main tracks. The south siding with its power turnout was incorporated into the signal design. Whether this was done because the power turnout is still being used, or because UP intends to preserve it as a controlled siding remains to be seen.
Severing the siding at the grade crossing leaves 5800' of siding accessible from the west end only, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense in my opinion, even for non-revenue purposes. I also don't think UP would allow a hand-throw turnout to be inside the OS at SP697.
New culverts are indicated between Mesquite and Glamis to accomodate three tracks.
My bad, I didn't see your hotlink.
The landfill spur was built with taxpayer funds, that's why it has a separate culvert and UP will need to build their own.
MikeF90 ....Today UP's double tracking philosophy seems to be to a) defer upgrading some ~20 mile single track segments, and b) upgrade the longest single track or other bottleneck segments. The current work-in-progress near Tucson and on the Yuma sub should last about two years, but those long stretches either side of Stanwix-Sentinel are due.
....Today UP's double tracking philosophy seems to be to a) defer upgrading some ~20 mile single track segments, and b) upgrade the longest single track or other bottleneck segments. The current work-in-progress near Tucson and on the Yuma sub should last about two years, but those long stretches either side of Stanwix-Sentinel are due.
MikeF90, you got me thinking about how best to proceed with the rest of the Sunset Route double tracking and associated terminal construction. If this were my railroad, here's the priority I'd assign each piece of work (including parts already under construction), together with what passes for rationale. Disclaimer: I don't work, and have never worked, for UP and I don't know anyone who works there anymore. What follows is merely the reasoning of one informed by earlier posts herein and occasional tidbits of information released by UP, which seems to have been keeping its plans like closely held cards.
1. Strauss/Santa Teresa terminal (under construction). Completion of Phase I enables removal of biggest bottleneck on the whole Sunset Corridor (here defined as LA-El Paso).
2. El Paso. Transfer mainline fueling, inspection and crew change to Strauss.
3. Colton Crossing (under construction). Completion removes what probably is second worst bottleneck on the Corridor.
4. Pomona-West Colton double track (22 Miles. Thanks again, MikeF90 for the reference ). Completion renders line from West Colton hub to Southern California Basin more fluid, keeps opposing switch moves, haulers, through trains and harbor traffic alike moving and not having to get out of each others' way.
5. Double track Marana-Stockham (Tucson -- 18 miles. Construction planned for this year). Completion will give UP double track from El Paso clear to Estrella, AZ, and precludes Gile Sub trains having to tie up waiting to get into Tucson.
6. Double track Yuma-Fortuna (5 miles). Completion removes the closest single track stretch east of Yuma, enabling Gila Sub westbounds to fetch Yuma terminal without being held out.
7. Double track Eastrella- Gila Bend (16 miles). Why here? To overcome a grade at Shawmut, where eastbounds slow down. UP could get away with double tracking from Eastrella to maybe half way to Gila Bend, but double tracking the hill would keep westbounds at Estrella from being hung up, waiting for an eastbound struggling uphill to clear.
8. New Yard, Pichacho, AZ. Gittin' 'er done (along with the yard at Strauss) will allow UP to rewrite its operating plan for the entire Sunset Route, shifting switching now performed at West Colton and thus exercising a transformative effect on operations along the entire Corridor. Thus far, blowhard Arizona politicians and bureaucrats have gone out of their way to delay, obfuscate, NIMBY-ize and otherwise frustrate this project, and although I read that someone decided it's a good project, I'm not holding my breath. UP so far has exercised the same sort of patience waiting for authorization to proceed that China exercised in waiting for the century-long lease on Hong Kong to expire.
:
[From here to the completion -- or near completion -- of the Sunset Route double tracking project, the remaining stretches to be double tracked can be done in the order and timing UP adopts. Most of these are the easy -- and inexpensive -- segments to double track, which means UP can buy more miles of second track for the minimum bucks. As MikeF90 sagely points out, UP seem to have adopted a policy of double tracking ten- to twenty-mile segments in the middle of lengthy single track stretches, and presumably, with that done, they'll start connecting up the remaining ten to fifteen line stretches with double track. This applies to stretches in California and Arizona. And at this point, we come down to the the end of the Sunset Corridor double tracking--and the most expensive segments to complete.]
;
Third to last project. Double track Mohawk area (3 miles), and Sentinel area (3 miles). The order doesn't seem to make much difference, but adding a second track to both segments would appear to entail a considerable amount to excavation and earth moving, as opposed to simply grading and laying track along a flat, straight stretch. By the time UP addresses these segments, all of the terminal work and most of the double tracking will be done -- or almost done, so the line will be ready to handle all the traffic UP can throw onto it.
Next to last project. Double track Blaisdell-Dome (6 miles). Much earth moving plus probable realignment means big bucks per mile, hence defer this to just about the end of the project.
The Absolute Last. Colorado River Bridge -- add second span/track. Why last? First, yard-for-yard, by far the most expensive stretch of line to doubletrack. Moreover, reportedly, the land on west end of the bridge is an Indian reservation, and the owners are likely to demand a hefty fee from UP to acquire the land and secure assent to proceed with construction, such as extracting a royalty for every ton that crosses the brifge plus send every tribe child to a private university for the next 200 years, or something. From the foregoing, it is conceivable that this stretch may not get built for another 50-60 years, if it gets built at all, or long after billio has become a forgotten memory. Precedent for leaving a single track bridge on heavily travelled main line can be seen in BNSF's Pecos River and Missouri River bridges that carry 80-100 trains per day across the aforementionned streams.
And that's all she wrote...or he wrote, anyway.
Anyone with other ideas or who knows more from the inside and can correct or update this suggested work plan, I'd love to hear it.
Cheers!!
ONE QUESTION BILLIO,
YOU ARE ASSUMING THAT THE EXISTITING RIGHT OF WATY ON THE CALIFORNIA SIDE OF THE COLORADO RIVER IS INSUFFICIENT TO ACCOMPLISH DOUBLE TRACKING, WHY?
THE ROW IS SURELY 100 FEET WIDE AND PERHAPS MORE. THEY MAY NEED A TEMPORARY EASEMENT DURING CONSTRUCTION, BUT UNLESS MORE INFO IS DISCLOSED IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE EXISTING ROW IS SUFFICIENT, AS IT IT IN OTHER LOCATIONS.
@clyde acolita, thanks for your prompt response to my Glamis question. Truncating the siding at the crossing is good, but the location makes little sense. Storing any equipment there is begging for it to be tagged or vandalized; smells like the work of a country boy engineer from Oma-ha-ha.
@billio, I'm mostly in agreement with you. I now avoid posting long speculations since I've learned that (invariably) they will have to be retracted. . Some reactions:
- Pomona to Colton double tracking is a minefield, mainly due to an ongoing pipeline 'protection' lawsuit with Kinder Morgan. SP foolishly let the predecessor pipeline company Not hug the property line during construction. Still, the Montclair yard area construction should let them replace two short sidings with six miles of 2MT. Colton flyover completion at y/e 2013 makes this work urgent.
- I'm surprised the Shawmut grade hasn't been fixed sooner, we'll see. A new CP with the expected spacing would drop in midway between Estrella and east Gila Bend (link).
- The Mohawk pass isn't an issue IMO because they've built a siding there already. Ask the DS which way to build (east from Wellton or west from Stanwix).
- A new Colorado River bridge is indeed last priority complicated by local politics / severe HUA on both sides of the river.
Note that the ~10 miles of grading west of Mesquite/Glamis was completed before the Niland area - contract glitch or next track laying?
how much of the Sunset Route is complete?
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