A Brief Colton Review
Colton, CA
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Part I (of I-IV)
The last visit to the Colton Signal Dept. fenced yard (Colton, CA) a noticeable thinning in the amount of wire cable spool was noticed. However, this visit it appeared more cable spools had been brought to the site, as they were seemingly everywhere!
Photos of the amount of electrical boxes onsite were compared with past photos of the recent past, and NO new boxes seem to have been added, but there is quite a collect there now.
Continued in Part II
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 II (of I-IV)
Up on the Rancho Ave. overpass on the west side of Colton, that severely bent up fence (from trucks hitting it) is still bent up, and has not been fixed. Those large chain link holes that presently are on site make for relatively easy photography.
An eastward view:
Westward:
Continued in Part III
Part III (of I-IV)
The one side only flyover’s west slope fencing (lower right) is very effective for blocking train headlights from eastbound freeway motorists.
A head-on eastward view: A future track can be laid on the left.
The west box (there is an east box too, but out of sight) of CP SP538 RANCHO amongst complicated track work:
Above, Pepper Ave. is seen in the background, the public road being a favor haunt of railbuffs.
Continued in Part IV
Part IV (of I-IV)
The three east side signals of CP SP538 RANCHO. Since the railroad has done away with yellow over lunar in advance of going into dark territory (such as at Pepper Ave.) these signals don’t have a lower lunar (common with four-light heads), but use the new yellow over flashing red instead (hence, only lower three light heads).
The grade is actually mild, and not as steep as it looks.
Above, note that one side only left fencing that blocks the train headlights of westbound trains from blinding eastbound motorist on the I-10 Freeway.
Hundreds of kids from Colton High School walk this sidewalk daily, making right turning trucks onto a super narrow freeway ramp super dangerous!
After two years since the Colton Flyover has been completed, there are still odds and ends here at there to be finished, such as the agreed upon removal of the north-south street running track down 9th Street. What the hang up on that is unknown.
This will conclude of the Colton (CA) review.
I'd wager that the Rancho overpasses will see some work though it will be years away. The line of sight for traffic exiting EB I-10 is marginal at best, the student foot traffic mentioned, and future traffic increases will make a wider replacement over both the RR and freeway a necessity.
Having traveled east on the 10 at night the locomotive headlights are never pointed at the freeway, rather the EB 10 curves under Rancho and those headlights are pointed at the RR.
A10
KP, thanks for your long trip into the Arizona desert to investigate and share goings-on (or more accurately, non-goings-on) on the Sunset Route. Your efforts are always greatly appreciated.
Update as of Saturday, October 24, 2015
The PHIMF Track and Workman Mill Road
City of Industry, CA
The above mentioned grade crossing was gone past on the above date, but nothing new was seen. It was hoped the PHIMF track through CP C014 WORKMAN would be in by now, but it was not.
A Visual about a Forum Discussion …
… that Took Place a Few Moons Ago
Concerning a thought about Slover Mountain in Colton, CA, on Thursday, July 23, 2015 this partial quoting was posted:
SP657E44 As viewed from Pepper avenue Slover mountin is now even with the top of the power line poles, saw a loader working on a small screening plant up there. A1
As viewed from Pepper avenue Slover mountin is now even with the top of the power line poles, saw a loader working on a small screening plant up there.
A1
On July 25, 2015:
Super Hunky I wonder if one day Slover Mountain will become Slover Pit ?
I wonder if one day Slover Mountain will become Slover Pit ?
Also that day:
John Simpkins-Camp All: How cool to have Slover Mountain back on the forum! Pics? John
All:
How cool to have Slover Mountain back on the forum! Pics?
John
Well, above gentlemen, when K.P. went up on the Rancho Ave. overpass in Colton (CA) early last week, on Tuesday, October 20, he thought of you guys, and couldn’t resist taking a photo of the mountain especially for you all.
I saw that mountain sixty years ago as a kid, about twice as high, and they are still chiseling away at it.
Besides PHIMF (Top Part of This Post) …
… on Saturday, October 24, 2015 …
…. A visit to Tehachapi Pass was made beforehand. The east slope had severe rain washouts occur, with not only UP’s line over the pass severed, Highway 58 was severed as well! And for days!
West Colton Yard (Colton, CA) on the Sunset Route had humped freight cars backed up. Some train crews were trapped on the wrong side of the washouts for five days!
K.P. hopes to put together a group of photos for the “Tehachapi Two-Tracking Updates” thread, but will post a few here too because so many UP trains over Tehachapi visit West Colton Yard on the Sunset Route.
Outside of a K.P. dispatch along the Perris Valley Line next week, K.P. has nothing on his lineup. So, at this point, things may be a little slow post-wise for a few weeks. He desires to focus on some replies soon.
Take care all,
K.P.
Latest view of Issac Slover's mountain "Tahualtapa" the top is well below the top of the power line poles when viewed from Pepper. The pit on the east side is slowly being refilled as cement mining operations have ceased. The top of said mountain was much higher by almost three times what is visible in KP's picture, it also extended southward to where the structures are now (and not for long). Marble was also mined from Slover way back in the early days.
Five years from now you'll see the transformation nearing completion from mine to industrial use with the whole works to be wrapped up in seven years. A corporation has expressed it's desire to purchase the property at that time.
The Federal Government issued $500 million worth of TIGER grants today and one grant of $15 million was to Mariposa, Arizona to construct a overpass and a new passenger train station. Good to see more public improvements to the Sunset Route.
BNSF6400 The Federal Government issued $500 million worth of TIGER grants today and one grant of $15 million was to Mariposa, Arizona to construct a overpass and a new passenger train station. Good to see more public improvements to the Sunset Route.
Here's the story, with aerial photo, from InMaricopa.com. The current depot is at the right and the previous depot (CB&Q Silver Horizon) sits rusting behind it. The new depot will be about a mile west of this point. I'm not certain I agree with the part about "double-tracking" as that is already in place. However, the dedicated siding has always been part of the plan.
http://www.inmaricopa.com/maricopa-lands-15-million-grant-for-overpass/
Obviously, the lion's share of the $15m will go for the much needed overpass. I can't imagine it would directly replace the present grade crossing as there are several businesses that would be cut off from street access. They also have to figure a way to re-do the junction with the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway that ties into SR 347 right alongside the UP ROW at the current depot site.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.0565328,-112.0479273,19.49z
In any event, it strikes me as rather clever that the overpass and depot projects were tied into the same funding request. There has to be great support for the former, not so much for the latter or it would have happened long ago.
John Timm
Update as of Thursday, October 29, 2015
LA&SL Bridges in Riverside, CA
Part “A” (of A-F)
The Clay Street Grade Separation
On the above date, from the south side looking north, there was a steady stream of dump trucks hauling dirt away.
To where? To just behind the camera of the above photo!
The walling on the sides seemed complete (south side).
But, as seen just above, the north side lacked such walling (behind the bridge).
The incompleteness is easily seen (lower left) in the below view.
Also, that vertical wall design horizontal curving under the railroad bridge (above photo) is incomplete.
Continued in Part B
Part “B” (of A-F)
As K.P. was driving circuitously to the north side of the bridge, he noted the east side westbound signal at CP C050 LIMONITE was red over green. A westbound Metrolink must be coming.
Finally at the north side, looking south, the train came for that red over green, and it was NOT a Metrolink but a UP freight!
Above, the implication is that UP turned out at the beginning of two-tracks and went by the Metrolink platforms! Just a mile to the west of those platforms is a 40 M.P.H. single crossover, which K.P. thought that UP would take, avoiding any waiting Metrolink customers on the platform, but the DS routed the train close to any waiting Metrolink customers!
The bridging for another track has not even been started yet.
Above, the track is so close to the bridge’s edge a plywood parapet has been erected to keep workers from falling.
The vertical walling (lower right) has not even been completed for some distance to the present track (photo center).
Continued in Part C
Part “C” (of A-F)
The forms are leaning against the walling that has been completed.
The northeast walling presently has a place where workers can be at.
Above, that same train in the earlier shown view was going by when the above photo was taken.
Also, the gap in the lower far left will be dirt-filled when the walling is up.
There is also temporary bracing.
Continued in Part D
Part “D” (of A-F)
Doesn’t this photo of the north side burger place make one hungry?
The underpass construction must have altered the customer base for the burger place. One undoubtedly has a good view of the underpass construction thereat. K.P. would have gone in and had something to eat, but he had just eaten from a sack lunch a half hour earlier. While this forum contributor has not eaten there, Gold Star Hamburger in Jurupa Hills (CA) gets good reviews on the Internet.
There is that big mound of dirt again (background)!
The 91 Railroad Bridge over the 91 Freeway
We now move over eastwardly to the 91 Freeway area, to the northeast side of the two new LA&SL railroad bridges.
A westbound BNSF comes by and passes those big mounds of ballast.
Continued in Part E
Part “E” (of A-F)
The Railroad Bridge over the 91 Freeway
The formed walling suggests the south new bridge will stay in place; but, the bridge remains unpainted and SP357E44’s previous post both indicate otherwise.
The west eastbound signal at CP C056 SCRRA JCT could, in theory, stay in place. Currently, it is a left of the track signal, but in the future with the other bridge it could be a right of the track signal.
Just above, K.P. thought it was only old, decrepit signals on their last leg that had a sobriety problem … The relatively new signal IS leaning over slightly.
Now, on the other side of the 91 Freeway, that signal and bridge look tiny.
Continued in Part F
Part “F” (of A-F)
A closer view of that signal from afar!
What? Above, where did that track machine come from?
It came off the BNSF! The BNSF? Yes, the BNSF. And, now it is stopped on the LA&SL, on the track that goes over the 91 Freeway!
On the southwest side now, that humungous bridge over the 91 Freeway that doesn’t look so humungous anymore. A BNSF westbound passes in the distance, on BNSF’s own route to Los Angeles.
That yellow machine moves through Pachappa Cut and over to the beginning of two-tracks, and stops by the Magnolia Ave. overpass.
Did you notice the stunning artwork of the famed artist Juan Zaun? UP paid Juan $2 million dollars in that commissioned work! (Yah, right!)
The track equipment waited on Main 1. A westbound soon came, probably off the Sunset Route from Arizona and New Mexico. Distorted view is because of a wide angle lens setting.
The cell phone rang. This free time was over. It was time to get back to the dispatch for K.P. He assumes the track equipment headed back to the BNSF area, where it mysteriously came from.
It is hoped these posts sufficiently convey the LA&SL current status, the alternate Sunset Route.
K. P. Harrier Update as of Thursday, October 29, 2015 LA&SL Bridges in Riverside, CA Part “D” (of A-F) The Clay Street Grade Separation Doesn’t this photo of the north side burger place make one hungry? The underpass construction must have altered the customer base for the burger place. One undoubtedly has a good view of the underpass construction thereat. K.P. would have gone in and had something to eat, but he had just eaten from a sack lunch a half hour earlier. While this forum contributor has not eaten there, Gold Star Hamburger in Jurupa Hills (CA) gets good reviews on the Internet.
The IGN
A Quick Note to desertdog (and the forum) ...
... about Maricopa’s Highway 347 Overpass
My first impression of your post and that tying in of the moving of tail dome car California Zephyr Silver Horizon to the west, desertdog, was that it was just a savvy move on someone’s part with questionable motives. But, in researching the matter I found AZDOT’s “Preferred” build plan was option “H” with a partial free flowing pattern. With that plan southbound vehicles on Highway 347 will NOT have to turn left at Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, but it will be like a freeway exit, exiting on the right, and going under Highway 347 and routed right over where Silver Horizon is now! So, it is AZDOT’s doing, NOT some savvy person with personal interests combining the projects.
To learn about this, go to LINK:
http://azdot.gov/projects/south-central/sr-347-at-union-pacific-railroad/overview
The above link is crude, and one will have to do a little work, and press “SR 347 at Union Pacific Railroad.” The full link itself caused my computer to malfunction bigtime, so be advised the AZDOT website is presently questionable. (It seems to be working at post time.) My computer is protected by DeepFreeze, so nothing can permanently alter it. But, other users here at the forum can possibly expect the State Route 347 link to do weird things to their computer. But, a neat diagram at the AZDOT website says much if you can safely view it!
K. P. Harrier A Quick Note to desertdog (and the forum) ... ... about Maricopa’s Highway 347 Overpass My first impression of your post and that tying in of the moving of tail dome car California Zephyr Silver Horizon to the west, desertdog, was that it was just a savvy move on someone’s part with questionable motives. But, in researching the matter I found AZDOT’s “Preferred” build plan was option “H” with a partial free flowing pattern. With that plan southbound vehicles on Highway 347 will NOT have to turn left at Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, but it will be like a freeway exit, exiting on the right, and going under Highway 347 and routed right over where Silver Horizon is now! So, it is AZDOT’s doing, NOT some savvy person with personal interests combining the projects. To learn about this, go to LINK: http://azdot.gov/projects/south-central/sr-347-at-union-pacific-railroad/overview The above link is crude, and one will have to do a little work, and press “SR 347 at Union Pacific Railroad.” The full link itself caused my computer to malfunction bigtime, so be advised the AZDOT website is presently questionable. (It seems to be working at post time.) My computer is protected by DeepFreeze, so nothing can permanently alter it. But, other users here at the forum can possibly expect the State Route 347 link to do weird things to their computer. But, a neat diagram at the AZDOT website says much if you can safely view it!
I was able to access the the full link without (hopefully) destroying anything in the process. It reminded my of an early version of SimCity.
Anyway, it appears that the SR 347 grade crossing will remain. I suppose that's to provide access for businesses and residents located near it on either side of the tracks. Perhaps I'm interpreting it wrong.
desertdog (11-3): More on Highway 347 in Maricopa, AZ
The below link shows the Highway 347 grade crossing at the UP tracks (when the overpass is finished) with a col-de-sac, so the old road won’t go through. I resize it to 200% for easy viewing.
http://azdot.gov/docs/default-source/projects/preferred-alt-board.pdf?sfvrsn=2
The link also illustrates how AZDOT plans to handle the crowded junction between Highway 347 and Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, with a southbound fly-under!
It took me a while to find that link, so without such it is understandable how you came to your posted conclusion. But, now we know the plan.
Highway 347 will be relocated south of the tracks; it looks like to an original alignment, so the Highway will be more or less straight again (with a slight curve) instead of jogging for a distance as it does now.
The website seems to be running quite well now on my computer, so the weird problems I was having yesterday might have been a fluke with the AZDOT website, possibly when it was partially down for updating, etc. The site still wants to download certain programs to make their offerings run, which I don’t mind because they are downloaded only temporarily because of DeepFreeze.
Take care,
That unfinished fill at the west end of the new "new" bridge has been open so long it's been tagged. There was some sort of rebar item there a few months ago but that's now gone. Even mid-day there wasn't anybody in sight south of Cridge street (there were employees down on the freeway to the north of course).
First … For the Computer Nerds among …
… the Users of this Website
To avoid problems in posting at this website, for some months K.P. has had to copy his composition in WORD and paste that composition unto a neutral .TXT file, then copy that .TXT file onto this website’s post composition screen. Quite cumbersome, but it worked. However, something new happened today in trying to post replies at the forum, and much, much time was consumed.
After a certain point in copying (“copying”) and pasting composition to this site, the preview screen at this website would not display any composition text. The idea of copying in reverse was tried. It was found that the cutoff length for copying one way was the same cutoff length the other way, i.e., if one copied hypothetically 66 lines of text, lines 1-66 would text display on the preview screen, but if 100 lines were copied to this website, nothing would preview but malfunction. Copying the other way, lines 100-33 would display, but nothing if the 100 lines would be attempted
Thus, K.P.’s interpretation of this is that copying copies TWICE, one what you as a composer sees on the screen, and internally (within the TRAINS website), but that internal mechanism is smaller sometimes than the composition, and it malfunctions.
That makes one wonder if the TRAINS website tech people stay up at night and dream up wicked schemes to screw users of their website, to make the site even more difficult to use. I question whether the return on invest for these forums is adequate. Why else would the site keep making things worse?
If you can figures out something else that is going on, I for one would love to hear about it.
Now, the Replies
Part I
BrushKestrel (9-18):
It is most fascinating how the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), I suppose Brittan’s equivalent to the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has a very different perspective than the U.S.’s Federal Railroad Administration on color light signals. Of course, I suppose differences in perspective should not be surprising. The United Kingdom drive’s their autos on the left side of the road, whereas Americans drive on the right. I don’t know how those with dual citizenship are able to handle that.
I came to know a girl when she was 15, who probably is 40 now. She married this guy in Brittan, and because of that, obtained dual citizenship. I haven’t talked with her in years, but the next time I do, I should ask her how she manages drive on the correct side of the roadway straight in her own mind!
Super Hunky (9-19):
Concerning that railroad that crosses the California-Mexican border near San Diego, the TRAINS Newswire very recently had a piece about some wonder guy being hired by the parties involved. Maybe he is a miracle worker, and will bring results. But again, I’ll believe it when I see it.
ccltrains (9-21):
As you said, the low speed on that line (see above post) gives the route limited potential. But, the ‘pie in the sky’ idea I think was to rebuild the old SD&AE and have super locomotives snaking swiftly through the canyon’s. But again, I’ll believe it when I see it.
garyla (9-26):
Yes, the SP predated any flood control branch of a generally localized governmental authority. I’ve often wondered, because the railroad was their first, IF the flood control entity would pay for the bridging for a second main. In theory, they should. That would make the final cost of a flood control building always up in the air, because they would have to pay for an unexpected bridge at the railroad’s whim. Oh, the technicalities of easements …
Pete-M3 (9-28):
Just before your post I had been wondering what was happening in the Houston, TX area that you reported on previously. So, your post was good timing!
Thanks for the update, and the slowdown report. Now that the Positive Train Control (PTC) law has been extended, the uncertainty of matters is out of the way. But, I expect so much two-track funds will be redirected to the PTC effort.
About that triangular tri-light signal erected in the Houston area two-tracking, that sounds like a fluke. I suspect that is only temporary, as a placeholder. Such occurred in Arizona several years back with target heads on what looked like a color light mast.
Less than a year later I passed through that area and the traditional new vertical color light mast and signals was present.
Replies Continued
mvs (10-11):
That was certainly most interesting news about BNSF’s Rosecrans and Marquardt diagonal grade crossing in Santa Fe Springs here in Southern California, that the powers that be are now getting serious about a grade separation there, with construction starting possibly as early as 2018. While the news is certainly off topic for this thread, in does have value for it
I don’t recall the Sunset Route between Los Angeles and El Paso having any such diagonal grade crossings. The Phoenix line off the Sunset Route does have such, and it is an impressive thing to see, but it doesn’t come anywhere near the volume of rail traffic of that BNSF Rosecrans and Marquardt grade crossing, reportedly 130 trains a day!
As UP has done on the Sunset Route two-tracking, BNSF has left a gap in its triple-tracking on each side of that crazy intersection in Santa Fe Springs. In the past, MikeF90 referenced some diagrams for me, that showed a large truss bridge over the intersection. Because the bridging over the intersection will require such a long spanning, most likely some type truss bridging will be used, like in the Grand Terrace (CA) area.
That effort involved three separate trusses (two spans each), and they could be repositioned at will, and were. As you know, mvs, the alternate Sunset Route trains were involved in that effort. I suspect the Rosecrans and Marquardt effort will utilize three bridges also, rather than just one large one. But, who knows?
Building under or overpasses have their unique challenges when involving railroads. One that I’m presently interested in, but haven’t gotten to for a while, is the separation under construction at Valley Blvd. and Workman Mill Rd. / Puente Ave. in the City of Industry (CA) on the Sunset Route. I’m not sure how a shoofly can be put in there. But, since the construction there is now taking place, obviously that has already been figured out.
I’m curious how one non-Sunset Route intersection in Arcadia (CA) will fare when the Gold Line Foot Extension opens next year. That diagonal grade crossing will probably see 100 light rail movements / crossings a day, in downtown Arcadia no less!
On the Los Angeles-New Orleans stretch, two-tracking has been reported west of Houston, TX. I don’t know if the Houston area has any diagonal grade crossings on the Sunset Route there, but the Sunset Route must have one somewhere. (Hey, Pete-M3, are you still with us and possibly have something to say on this?)
There is a diagonal crossing of an intersection near Phoenix, on the Phoenix Line.
A last thought about the Rosecrans and Marquardt location: I wish I would have known of its existence when I was a kid some 55 years ago. Surely my ‘nice’ dad would have brought me to the intersection if I had asked him. Seeing warbonnet F’s and PA’s pass there while heading the San Diegan and Grand Canyon trains, and black and silver striped GP-9’s, would have been specular! Anybody have a time machine? I have a few extra bucks right now …
Now that I’ve beet this particular reply to mvs to death, I’ll move to the next …
desertdog (10-12):
I would venture to guess that the blue power belonged or was leased by a contracted switching outfit. UP has so many units they don’t have to lease any, at least small ones.
About those bridge sections stored in Eloy (AZ), by Toltec Rd. at UP’s staging area, are you sure all the old, wooden bridges on the Sunset Route in that area were replaced? Occasionally on the numerous trips to Arizona, I would see old, wooden bridge structures on the original main and a new concrete structures in place for the new, second track.
blue streak 1 (10-12):
I don’t think Amtrak will ever reroute Trains 1 and 2 through Phoenix again. For cash strapped Amtrak, going via Maricopa suits them just fine and saves them big money!
There is a possibility of going through Phoenix again, though, for all those nostalgia kooks (I’m that type sometimes), but I don’t see it in our lifetime. Maybe in 30-40 years when the Sunset Route has 100+ trains passing on it daily, UP will rebuild the western Phoenix Line for overflow traffic and Amtrak’s No’s 1 and 2, which will by then be an even more of a thorn in their sides
John Simpkins-Camp (10-12):
The promoters of each used to say 1.6 miles (for the Colton Flyover) and 1.8 miles (for the San Gabriel Trench).
On the latter, I’ve also heard it put as 2.8 miles, which does not fit the present trenching area. I did hear earlier this year about another, future trenching. Maybe (“maybe”) those that said 2.8 miles were thinking ahead to when that trench extension would built.
narig01 (10-19):
I wouldn’t bet on UP getting out of Yuma, AZ entirely, and going around the city. If that was even a remote possibility, UP wouldn’t have built the new crew change building east of Pacific Ave. Make sense?
billio (10-25):
Thanks. But I couldn’t stand not knowing if any two-tracking was happening between Mohawk and Estrella.
Even with the Positive Train Control issue resolved (at least for a while), I’m inclined to believe UP will put its money, not on the two-tracking effort, but re-signaling the Sunset Route's remaining single-track. That should be a real damper on the economy as that effort will not in itself enhance it for productive, money generating things, like two-tracking and the efficiencies it brings!
BNSF6400 (10-29):
Thanks for the tipoff on the TIGER grants. Maricopa, AZ on the Sunset Route will really benefit in a whopping way!
SP657E44 (11-3):
The seemingly stoppage on the building of that new “new” 91 Freeway bridge makes me wonder if something was put in place in the wrong spot. The delay must be for some reason. Interestingly, the Perris Valley Line construction seemingly stopped a few months ago, with only two masts left to attach number plates to. Suddenly it resumed a few weeks ago, and the masts got their number plates, as you know. But, the mileposts, even before being put in service, were remileposted, instead of starting from Riverside they now start from Los Angeles! I wonder what is now holding up the progress on that LA&SL railroad bridge over the 91 Freeway …
Now, everything is caught up (hopefully).
K. P. Harrier Now, the Replies Part I BrushKestrel (9-18): It is most fascinating how the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), I suppose Brittan’s equivalent to the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has a very different perspective than the U.S.’s Federal Railroad Administration on color light signals. Of course, I suppose differences in perspective should not be surprising. The United Kingdom drive’s their autos on the left side of the road, whereas Americans drive on the right. I don’t know how those with dual citizenship are able to handle that. I came to know a girl when she was 15, who probably is 40 now. She married this guy in Brittan, and because of that, obtained dual citizenship. I haven’t talked with her in years, but the next time I do, I should ask her how she manages drive on the correct side of the roadway straight in her own mind!
Where I live they drive on the left, as well as using single LED lamps that display multiple colours. I also know what the Brush Kestrel was (A British 4000 HP prototype locomotive eventually sold to Russia where it became the structural prototype for the TEP 70 passenger locomotive). What isn't known is that the Kestrel came close to going into production in Australia.
Driving on the opposite side of the road is easy. You just follow everyone else. Making left turns needs some thought, as does changing gear with the other hand but the same foot.
The real problem is remembering how much car is on each side of you when you sit on the opposite side. There is at least one Camry in California with scuffed wheels after I misjudged a kerb.
Trust me, remembering how to use the same language in the USA is harder than driving on the right side of the road.
And the Australian rail regulators are happy with single multiple aspect LED lamps.
M636C
Quoting K.P.: "A last thought about the Rosecrans and Marquardt location: I wish I would have known of its existence when I was a kid some 55 years ago. Surely my ‘nice’ dad would have brought me to the intersection if I had asked him. Seeing warbonnet F’s and PA’s pass there while heading the San Diegan and Grand Canyon trains, and black and silver striped GP-9’s, would have been specular! Anybody have a time machine? I have a few extra bucks right now …"
See if you can find Doc, who has been back to the future a few times; perhaps he will let you use his locomotive?
Johnny
Replying to billio, KP notes, in part:
[/quote]
KP, I'm of a slightly different opinion. Once UP's PTC mandate compliance capital finally gets spent (meaning when the railroad catches up on PTC installation), I think the powers in Omaha will have to focus on top line (i.e., revenue) growth, and a route so perfectly located as the Sunset, which can potentially accommodate 90+ trains per day (a number I saw some, can't remember where), cries out for double tracking. Most of us would concede that if UP weren't saddled with the PTC mandate, there would remain a lot less Sunset to double track between LA and Sierra Blanca, TX.
If I were controlling the expenditures on Sunset Route expansion, I'd target first the segment in your back yard (Ontario-West Colton,/Sierra); second, the short stretches between Yuma and Dome, plus any yard track needed to accommodate crew cahnge at the east end of the Yuma terminal); third, as you suggested not too long ago, starting at the Theba siding, run east to Estrella; and then start filling in the blanks. But hey! I'm just a bumpkin from Virginia, not a senior UP officer...
By the way, thanks again for your tireless Sunset reporting.
billio (11-6):
I’m not exactly sure what the “slightly different opinion” is, but yours seemed pretty much the same as mine!
That Ontario to Fontana stretch in California you mentioned first seems to be a priority for UP. That somewhat baffled me, though, because UP has the LA&SL it can traverse too. It might be the Kaiser Yard, plus industrial industries that need to be switched, which can tie up a single-track line.
Your theory about where two-tracking might bridge some gaps next sounds logical, and close to my opinions. One area you did not mention is west of CP SP637 SALTON down by Salton Sea in California, the Mecca-Salton stretch. Several years ago the old target intermediate signals to the EAST were converted to color lights, most the TWO-MAST type. Then that area was two-tracked.
Next UP replaced the target signals between Mecca and Salton, suggesting, at least to this forumist, that that area might be two-tracked soon.
The second and third photos above depict one of those two mast signals on an electrical box, unlike the first photo with a single mast NOT on an electrical box. The electric box present is separate and away from the mast signal, and is for the grade crossing out of view where the camera was located.
As opinioned previously, K.P. envisions little two-tracking on the Sunset Route in the next three years, and probably the same for a few years thereafter. Recently, I was by the LA&SL in the Kelso-Cima area (CA), and the very old target signals are fast giving way to the color lights in accord with Positive Train Control regulations But, I was struck by the sheer volume of trains on that LA&SL section. That tells me UP is taking away Los Angeles-Chicago trains via El Paso and routing them Los Angeles-Chicago via Salt Lake City, lessoning the urgency to two-track the remaining single-track between Los Angeles and El Paso.
Additionally, if coal traffic is being reduced on the Central Corridor for environmental reasons, rerouting some of the Los Angeles-Chicago traffic via Salt Lake City makes money sense. The rerouted traffic might return via El Paso when Los Angeles-El Paso is more two-tracked.
Best,
Prowling Around on and by 9th Street
Part “A” (of A-B)
The Colton Flyover has been finished and in service for over two years now. Part of the agreements involving that flyover was the elimination of the street running on South 9th Street. Unfortunately, the street running is still in place and being used. A northward view on 9th Street, with the east slope of the Colton Flyover in the background:
Above, the west (left) leg of the wye has been removed from service and switch on 9th Street removed.
North up by “K” and 9th Streets, a southward view:
By the white car street-parked in the distance on the left, note the slanted thin pole …
When this 9th Street track will finally be taken up is still unknown. There is a related development several miles to the south of here, but that will be discussed in another series in a few days.
Near the white car (in the near distance on the right) is a quarter mile marker off the roadway’s side.
Part “B” (of A-B)
9th Street allies have crossbuck posts, with those little blue grade crossing hotline signs.
Now, back up at “K” Street, a view of the new disconnected west leg of the Riverside Industrial Lead’s wye. There is a bunch of concrete tied panel-like track stacked up.
A westward looking view with the Colton Flyover on the right, and on the left is the Colton Signal Dept. and all those electrical boxes in the barbed wire fenced yard.
Above, on the lower right, is the railing for the many tracks wide (“wide”) bridge over the La Cadena Drive underpass.
Something New about Containers
By the Colton Signal Dept. a container was on top of its transporting trailer, with an electrical box at its end.
This is the first time such a container, white too, has been seen with a UP shield placard on it, about midway and towards the top!
This will end the series.
K. P. Harrier First … For the Computer Nerds among … … the Users of this Website That makes one wonder if the TRAINS website tech people stay up at night and dream up wicked schemes to screw users of their website, to make the site even more difficult to use.
That makes one wonder if the TRAINS website tech people stay up at night and dream up wicked schemes to screw users of their website, to make the site even more difficult to use.
They must really hate me then. All of the pictures you post I get as a square with an X in it.
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