Flooding in Upper Midwest

[Anonymous]

The quarry at Rock Springs hasn't opened yet for the season, from what I have been told.  Can't get to within 20 miles of there by rail right now anyways...  UP has been getting similar rock from South Dakota, D&I railroad.

Maybe the UP will get the rock it needs from the ballast quarry at Dresser, WI?

[Anonymous]

Just updating from the east USA....On the old PRR monongahela Division, there is still 3 drags  a day of coal and nothing but NS locos I think all the BNSF AND UP are stuck Over in the midwest, because usually there are BNSF and UP helpers hanging out in Shire oaks(Average rail yard)

[blhanel]

I just ran an errand down to the southwest side of town, and on the way I took a couple of "detours" to see what's happening- lots of MOW activity everywhere on the UP, didn't see any trains running though.  The crossing gates for C St. SW in front of the power plant are completely gone, not sure if the flood took them out or MOW did.  There must have been a dozen utility/maintenance trucks congregated down there.  I was not able to eyeball the bridge, as C St. is still under water north of the grade crossing.  Downtown CR is a beehive- the First, Second, Third, and Eighth Ave. bridges are now all open, in spite of having debris piled on the upstream side of the pillars.  A crew is working on clearing debris from along the UP bridge near Quaker.  People are getting access to their homes and businesses, and piles of curbside trash are growing quickly.  Quite a sad sight on an otherwise beautiful day.

[eolafan]

Brian, keep a stiff upper lip buddy and you and your neighbors and family/friends will come through this in good shape.

By the way, I stopped by the UP Proviso diesel facility while driving home from Milwaukee today and found tons of power congregating near the "house" with much of it shut down.  Very little evident movement in the yard as I crossed over the tracks on the Mannheim Road bridge.  No doubt this is all due to the lack of traffic attributed to your situation in Iowa.

Keep the faith!

[blhanel]

Thanks, Jim, I really appreciate the support.  Although the flood didn't affect me personally, I do know many people who have lost alot- especially a Lutheran minister who is also a member of our church.  A year ago he started Crossroads Mission to minister to the poor and disadvantaged people on the near SW side of town- today it is totally wiped out (it was in the basement of a church on 2nd Ave SW).  The good news is that he will recover, with the help of our congregation and many others.  My daughter is even drumming up funds and support over in her West Des Moines church for Crossroads.

We've got a lot of work to do here- our symphony lost their home, along with some of their instruments (Paramount Theater), our local theater troupe lost 85% of their costumes along with their building (Theatre Cedar Rapids), the main library got dealt a serious blow, the new YMCA is trashed, as well as the National Czech/Slovak Museum, etc. etc.

Give us a few months, though- I'm willing to bet we can erase the scars and make this town look better than ever.

[zardoz]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin's severe flooding is taking a toll on railroad service, both freight and passenger, because of washouts and damaged track left by the high water that hit the state this month.

"The flooding has pretty much crippled our operations," said Ken Lucht of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad. "A lot of what we're doing right now is waiting for the water to recede so we can see what the damage is."

Lucht estimated that repairing the line between Madison and Prairie du Chien will cost about $1 million.

The railroad is responsible for maintenance and the cost of repairing tracks it leases from the state, he said, and it might eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The line between Madison and Reedsburg is owned by the railroad and likely won't quality for aid.

The flood-related problems aren't limited to his railroad, he said.

"All of the major railroads have been incurring temporary shutdowns and embargoes," Lucht said.

Also, Amtrak has had to bus passengers on a Wisconsin segment of its Empire Builder line, which runs between Chicago and Seattle and Portland. The bus service is taking passengers from Wisconsin Dells, Tomah and La Crosse to St. Paul, Minn., where they're able to board the train.

One exception is the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway's route along the Mississippi River. It hasn't been disrupted in Wisconsin, and other railroads are using it as an alternate route.

But the BNSF has tracks flooded near St. Louis, said spokesman Steve Forsberg.

"We're doing so much rerouting of our own traffic because of problems farther south that we've added to the congestion on alternate routes," he said.

Among the worst problems:

- The Canadian Pacific line that runs from La Crosse to Milwaukee and south to Illinois, also used by Amtrak, is closed because of flooded tracks near the Reeseville Marsh west of Watertown. The same flooding has shut down the Wisconsin & Southern line between Madison and Watertown. The Union Pacific route between Chicago and Minneapolis also has flooded tracks.

- The Wisconsin & Southern line between Madison and Reedsburg is closed because of flooded and damaged tracks near Reedsburg and at Devil's Lake.

- The Wisconsin & Southern line between Madison and Prairie du Chien is closed west of Avoca, and 500 feet of the line has washed out at Wauzeka.

---

Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

[CNW 6000]

CP is even detouring on the CN.  This picture was taken yesterday in Oshkosh:

CN seems to be back up to speed through town.  The loco that flipped in the mud (IC 6204) is reportedly back on rails again and in NFDL for repair/evaluation for repair.

[Soo 6604]

CP is even detouring on the CN.  This picture was taken yesterday in Oshkosh:

CN seems to be back up to speed through town.  The loco that flipped in the mud (IC 6204) is reportedly back on rails again and in NFDL for repair/evaluation for repair.

What time did that reroute go thru? The last couple of days, ive caught them coming into neenah around 9:00ish am. Didnt hear one yesturday (6-18) at all.

Mondays detour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGmta3IrDE

Tuesdays detour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYc_JcycNw

 

Paul

[tree68]

Take a look at the Fort Madison cam today - only the tops of the rails are visible.  Yesterday they were still running trains through there.

[CNW 6000]

CP is even detouring on the CN.  This picture was taken yesterday in Oshkosh:

CN seems to be back up to speed through town.  The loco that flipped in the mud (IC 6204) is reportedly back on rails again and in NFDL for repair/evaluation for repair.

What time did that reroute go thru? The last couple of days, ive caught them coming into neenah around 9:00ish am. Didnt hear one yesturday (6-18) at all.

Mondays detour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGmta3IrDE

Tuesdays detour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYc_JcycNw

 

Paul

NB at noonish.

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Sounds like the detours by CPRS could be ongoing for a while anyway as the latest Customer Service Bulletin that came to my inbox stated that affected portion between Portage and Milwaukee probably wouldn't even be inspected until sometime late this next week due to water levels.  Looks like there were 4 CPRS detours on the ICE between La Crescent and Pingree Grove (2 west, 2 east) yesterday (Wednesday 6-18).

Brian, have you heard anything as to when the CN's Iowa Division mainline will be fully operational again? 

[GrimsbyRailfan]

PLEASE REROUTE TRAINS IN TO SOUTHERN ONTARIO!!!

[SFbrkmn]

Being curious, earlier in the wk I glanced @  the working boards for W Quincy to see how the Hannibal Sub was being effected. All the engr & condr pool turns were abolished, those crews being placed on the bump board. The xtra boards were sliced down to about 5 on each board. The senior dudes cut off the pool boards  are CBQ guys w/ around 40 yrs service and they probably don't have a clue on how to mark up on another board. A glance last night showed some turns were put back on, so atleast there is traffic starting to move once again and folks are going back to work.

[Soo 6604]

CP is even detouring on the CN.  This picture was taken yesterday in Oshkosh:

CN seems to be back up to speed through town.  The loco that flipped in the mud (IC 6204) is reportedly back on rails again and in NFDL for repair/evaluation for repair.

What time did that reroute go thru? The last couple of days, ive caught them coming into neenah around 9:00ish am. Didnt hear one yesturday (6-18) at all.

Mondays detour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGmta3IrDE

Tuesdays detour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYc_JcycNw

 

Paul

NB at noonish.

Missed the one today by 10 minutes. Didnt feel like running 20 miles to catch it. went thru Neenah around 1115am

Paul

[CNW 6000]

I hope they're still running this weekend (CP on CN).

[CShaveRR]

We're expecting a flood of our own now--one report said that about 1500 freight cars were coming in from the west now that things were open.

A manifest for North Platte was departing Proviso this afternoon at about the same time I was; in Elmhurst it met an inbound manifest from Eagle Grove.  I'll know things are returning to normal whenever I see a coal train here.

I suspect that Beverly Yard (Cedar Rapids) is still out--we're making a block for direct forwarding to the CRANDIC, and have at least temporarily restored some switching operations to Clinton.  I saw one car for Cedar Rapids being classified to Des Moines instead; I don't know if that was a legitimate diversion or not.

[blhanel]

Well, downtown CR is still a mess- they're working on the tracks south of Quaker, but the railcars are still sitting on the UP bridge west of Quaker, and the mountain of corn from the Cargill elevators is still blocking the entrance to the old MILW yard.  I suppose until those obstacles are removed, Beverly will remain choked up as well.  CN's departure yard is now above water, but still no evidence that they're ready to use it yet.

Interesting sight near us- the Iowa DOT has a fleet of about 70 dump trucks here helping remove all the flood debris, and they're hauling it all past our neighborhood to the county landfill.  Load after load of mattresses, furniture, appliances, you-name-it.

[Kevin C. Smith]

PLEASE REROUTE TRAINS IN TO SOUTHERN ONTARIO!!!

I just heard tonight that CN put some cars on the ground outside of Sault Ste. Marie a few days ago and things are just returning to normal so even that route was closed out.

Of all the things to happen, at all the times...

[tree68]

BNSF is still sending trains across the bridge and past the webcam at Fort Madison.  Although it is a strange sight - the water is at the tops of the ties for most of the webcam's view.  Saw a lot of people in hardhats looking at the line yesterday.

[Chris30]

Slightly off topic... With the UP just starting to get back up and running again accross Iowa and the BNSF still shut down in Iowa and other points south I've got a feeling that there are going to be a lot of trains this weekend at a little spot on the map called, "ROCHELLE". There are going to be a lot of UP trains and a lot of BNSF detours.

CC

[Victrola1]

http://www.burlingtonderailed.com/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2008-6-20

 

It looks like no Zephyr through Burlington (IA) for a while.

The above has photos of a washout on the BNSF just east of Burlington.  

 

[blhanel]

I've got a question for our experts out there- why would UP use this arrangement of rolling stock- covered hoppers on the upstream side, and ballast hoppers on the downstream side- to protect the Cedar River bridge?

[CShaveRR]

Brian, I don't think it made too much difference.  The ballast cars concentrated more weight over the length of the bridge than the covered hoppers (just because they're shorter cars with roughly the same gross rail load).  I suspect that if enough ballast cars were available, they would have liked to put them on both tracks.

[tree68]

http://www.burlingtonderailed.com/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2008-6-20It looks like no Zephyr through Burlington (IA) for a while.

The above has photos of a washout on the BNSF just east of Burlington.  

Had to look Burlington up.  After you posted that, I saw a "pig" train moving through Ft Madison.  The track that comes from Burlington down to Fort Madison is under water in Fort Madison.  Looks like BNSF is raising the track there, as it's further out of the water than it was, and I don't think the river is going down...

[blhanel]

It actually might be going down there thanks to all the levee breaks, Larry.

[tree68]

It actually might be going down there thanks to all the levee breaks, Larry.

Well, there's a mixed blessing if I ever heard of one.  You're probably right.

[joegreen]

Slightly off topic... With the UP just starting to get back up and running again accross Iowa and the BNSF still shut down in Iowa and other points south I've got a feeling that there are going to be a lot of trains this weekend at a little spot on the map called, "ROCHELLE". There are going to be a lot of UP trains and a lot of BNSF detours.

CC

BNSF Has been running coal detours since the Ottumwa sub was shut down. BNSF will have the same amount of traffic this weekend that its been having the last 2 weeks. UP i dont know about. I will tell you that the BNSF doesnt have to demand the diamond like it used to.

[EJE818]

I'd say Rochelle is probably very busy with UP being reopen, plus the BNSF coal trains detouring. Also, it sounds like Amtrak's Empire Builder will soon resume service on the BNSF detour route, but that could change if BNSF decides not to let them use the line because of all of its own detours like they did the past few days. I did see some UP on the Rochelle webcam so it looks like they are getting back to normal operations.

[billbtrain]

Brian,

Any word on the UP bridge by Quaker Oats? I would imagine it has sustained a bit of damage after reading about it 'bowing' from the weight of the water and houseboats.I seriously doubt any bridge can move laterally by very much without being shifted off it's footings.

My son,Will,and I went on a roundabout tour of CR Wednesday.Hwy 13 from Marion to 30 to C st SW to the Prairie Creek power station.We ended up going to the trail head on Ely Road and walked from there to the bridge over the UP(we forgot our bikes,but it was good exercise).When we left there we went to Beverly yard and back to Marion through downtown CR.All very overwhelming and sad.

Have a good one.

Bill 

[Ted Marshall]

Brian,

Any word on the UP bridge by Quaker Oats? I would imagine it has sustained a bit of damage after reading about it 'bowing' from the weight of the water and houseboats.I seriously doubt any bridge can move laterally by very much without being shifted off it's footings.

My son,Will,and I went on a roundabout tour of CR Wednesday.Hwy 13 from Marion to 30 to C st SW to the Prairie Creek power station.We ended up going to the trail head on Ely Road and walked from there to the bridge over the UP(we forgot our bikes,but it was good exercise).When we left there we went to Beverly yard and back to Marion through downtown CR.All very overwhelming and sad.

Have a good one.

Bill 

I've heard the conditions in Cedar Rapids compared to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina... I can't imagine what that must be like but I will admit that I did shed some tears watching the news reports. The suffering those people must be going through is unfathomable; I wish I could do something to help someone there get their lives back to normal. Unfortunately, normal as we know it won't be returning to Cedar Rapids any time soon, I'm afraid.

The clean-up will take months, repairs and rebuilding will take years. Reports indicate that many residents say that they will be moving further away from the river in search of higher ground to relocate to and that many neighborhoods will likely become 'ghost towns'.

My heart really goes out to all those affected.