billioBeyond Alva, OK, there may remain a few miles of single track on the way east to Wellington, KS. From here eastward, double track or paired track with directional running extends all the way to Kansas City.
AFAIK this has been 2MT CTC for a while. Google Maps updating can be spotty, so I verify with ATCSMon layouts.
The single track gap near Alva, OK is down to about three miles after they extended the second main east from Avard last year.
BTW the Pecos River / Ft. Sumner project was announced by BNSF here.
There is another possible paired track arrangement with NS just east of KC (Birmingham to Maxwell Jct), or it may be just occasionally used trackage rights.
Follow along on the Southern transcon map: http://g.co/maps/dyzd3
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! ***
greyhoundsDidn't the BNSF just add a 2nd main track between Minot and Williston?
Most of the above trackage is now 2MT CTC with a few gaps, notably the viaduct over Gassman Coolee just west of Minot.
To add to the above notes, in 2015 BNSF finished upgrading the long, lonely Devils Lake and Hillsboro subs to CTC and added sidings on the latter. The 'paired track' arrangement between Minot and Fargo should now flow more smoothly.
Another big project also completed last year was converting ABS to CTC between Hastings, MN and Savanna, IL; many universal crossovers had to be added to the existing 2MT. Along with finishing the Staples sub CTC in MN I believe that the transcon is all CTC to the west coast.
BNSF has plans to add some second MT to the Aurora sub but the downturn seems to have slowed that up. Another probable deferred project is extending 2MT from Williston to Snowden, MT (junction with Sidney sub, shale oil central).
Further west on the Northern transcon, a second main track is being added to the Kootenai River sub (ex-NP) between Rathdrum, ID and Athol, ID. The single track bottleneck between Sandpoint, ID and Spokane, WA was created when BN stopped running through trains on the circuitous ex-GN line (not sure exactly when).
For more details see my Northern transcon map: http://goo.gl/maps/zUryP
Didn't the BNSF just add a 2nd main track between Minot and Williston?
kgbw49 Regarding the Northern Transcon west of Minot, from Minot it goes across the northern tier of Montana to Spokane, traversing Marias Pass on the southern edge of Glacier National Park. At Spokane there are two routes to Seattle: 1. The former Great Northern over Stevens Pass to Everett and then south to Seattle or north to Vancouver, BC. 2. The former Northern Pacific over Snoqualmie Pass to Auburn, which is about halfway between Seattle and Tacoma. There is a third route from Spokane - the former Spokane, Portland & Seattle, which heads southwest from Spokane to the Columbia River Gorge and follows the river all the way to Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR, and then heads north from Vancouver, WA up to Tacoma. I do not know if it is all CTC, but the Northern Transcon has very high train density so I would not be surprised at all if it is CTC all the way between Chicago and Seattle.
Regarding the Northern Transcon west of Minot, from Minot it goes across the northern tier of Montana to Spokane, traversing Marias Pass on the southern edge of Glacier National Park.
At Spokane there are two routes to Seattle:
1. The former Great Northern over Stevens Pass to Everett and then south to Seattle or north to Vancouver, BC.
2. The former Northern Pacific over Snoqualmie Pass to Auburn, which is about halfway between Seattle and Tacoma.
There is a third route from Spokane - the former Spokane, Portland & Seattle, which heads southwest from Spokane to the Columbia River Gorge and follows the river all the way to Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR, and then heads north from Vancouver, WA up to Tacoma.
I do not know if it is all CTC, but the Northern Transcon has very high train density so I would not be surprised at all if it is CTC all the way between Chicago and Seattle.
A couple of corrections about routes west of Spokane;
The former NP line crosses the Cascades via Stampede Pass, not Snoqualmie. Stampede lies south of Snoqualmie which was used by the MILW and still is I-90.
The route from Spokane to Vancouver WA is former NP to Pasco, where BNSF operates a large hump yard. It crosses the Columbia River on the former NP bridge and splits at SP&S junction where the former SP&S begins the line to Vancouver. The NP side is the line to Stampede Pass.
The former SP&S between Pasco and Spokane is all gone except for about 10 miles immediately west of the 1972 Latah Creek bridge that connects the former GN from Wenatchee with the former NP at the west edge of downtown Spokane. Between this point and just east if Sandpoint, Idaho the BNSF main is former NP. At Sandpoint the merger era connection connects the former NP and GN mains. The BNSF main is via the connection to the former GN. MRL lease starts just east of the junction switch.
I do no know, but am 99.9% certain is CTC from Seattle to Minot. I know is two main track CTC between Seattle and Portland Oregon. NP Spokane - Pasco is CTC, as is SP&S to Vancouver. The NP from Kennewick to Auburn is dark territory with TWC, except siding switches are controlled by the dispatcher.
BNSF is adding sidings and putting in bits of double track on the former NP between Spokane and Pasco. This is necessary because they pulled up the SP&S and gave the right of way to the State of Washington in one of the great blunders of the 'oil man' management era of the BN.
Mac McCulloch
On the BNSF Web Site, there was a news item several months back that indicated the only single track sections remaining were at the three bridge locations mentioned above - at the Pecos River in New Mexico, the Red(?) River in Oklahoma, and the Missouri River just east of Kansas City, Missouri.
If my memory serves me correctly, once the Fort Sumner segment was double tracked, there would be only 7 miles of single track remaining on the Southern Transcon.
It is similar to the Northern Transcon between Galesburg, IL and Minot, ND in that the single track segments tend to be at larger river crossing where a second bridge would need to be constructed.
This is also what K.P. has pointed out on the Sunset Route regarding the Colorado River crossing at Yuma - that it will probably be the last segment to be double tracked on the Sunset Route.
Regarding the Northern Transcon, I am a know-nothing, so I'll say nothing.
Regarding the Southern Transcon: At present, the line is at least two-tracked, literally between the piers of the harbor at Los Angeles-Long Beach to Ft. Sumner, NM, where the ex-Santa Fe crosses the Pecos River on a one-track bridge. Other sources (Trainorders) tell us that that this bottleneck will be removed by year end 2016. We'll see.
From Ft. Sumner east, the next single-line segment (read bottleneck) is at Alva, OK, where the second track will have to span a creek, which will entail the construction of another bridge and considerable earthmoving and grading. My "source" suggests that this bottleneck is slated for removal next year.
Beyond Alva, OK, there may remain a few miles of single track on the way east to Wellington, KS. From here eastward, double track or paired track with directional running extends all the way to Kansas City.
From Wellington, KS west, back toward Alva, OK, one can follow two tracks on Google Earth to some unnamed to some point west of Kiowa, KS. It's my understanding that after the last posted Google Earth aerial (11/30/2013), BNSF extended additional two-tracking to a point near Alva.
If any of this is wrong, I hope some knowledgeable BNSF'er will correct me.
East of Kansas City lies one single track segment: across the Missouri River at Sibley, MO. Otherwise, two tracks all the way to Chicago.
Is the line from Minot, ND to Seattle, WA?
s the northern transcon CTC all the way from Chicago to Seattle?
Greyhounds,
The line between Northtown in Minneapolis and Fargo is all double track with the exception of approximately 25 miles from just east of the bridge over the Mississippi River at Little Falls, MN to Philbrook, MN.
Double track then runs westerly from Philbrook, MN through Staples, MN, to Fargo, ND, and continues westerly through Casselton, ND to a point approximately 15 miles west of Casselton.
It is important to note that BNSF has paired track from Fargo, ND all the way to Minot, ND. One track runs northwesterly out of Fargo directly to Minot, and the other runs north out of Minot to Grand Forks, ND and then westerly to Minot, making "two sides sides of the triangle".
So with the exception of approximately 25 miles, between Little Falls, MN and Philbrook, MN, BNSF has double track or paired track from their Dayton's Bluff Yard in St. Paul, MN all the way to Minot, ND.
The line from St. Paul down to Galesburg Yard in Western Illinois is largely double track with the exception of short stretches on either side of single track bridge crossings of the St. Croix River at Prescott, WI and the Wisconsin River at Prairie du Chien, WI. That line runs on the east bank of the Mississippi River and is very scenic. It is also the former route of the Twin Cities Zephyrs which for many years held the title of fastest trains in America for their timetable speeds along the Mississippi on their runs between Chicago, IL and St. Paul, MN.
Traffic that goes from St. Paul, MN directly to Chicago, IL takes the single track line east from Savanna, IL through Rochelle, IL past the Trains Web Cam into Chicago.
Galesburg Yard is the former CB&Q Galesburg yard. It is on the double track former CB&Q that runs east to Chicago and west across southern Iowa to Omaha, NE and Denver, CO. There is a well-maintained CB&Q Hudson on display near the yard offices. But the ex-ATSF double track Southern Transcon passes through Galesburg and the two lines connect with a connecting track called the Cameron Connection just west of Galesburg. That track was put in shortly after the BN and Sante Fe merged.
Galesburg Yard receives and sends out a lot of Northern Transcon traffic, so it could be said that with the exception of single track stretches around three river crossings, the BNSF Northern Transcon has double or paired track all the way from Galesburg, IL to Minot, ND.
kgbw49In construction season 2015 BNSF restored 2nd track to an approximately 10 mile gap between Big Lake, MN and Becker, MN, thereby restoring double track from Northtown Yard in Minneapolis to the Mississippi River bridge in Little Falls, MN.
So, how much of the line between Northtown and Fargo is double track?
In construction season 2015 BNSF restored 2nd track to an approximately 10 mile gap between Big Lake, MN and Becker, MN, thereby restoring double track from Northtown Yard in Minneapolis to the Mississippi River bridge in Little Falls, MN.
K P -- Great idea, I'm from NJ but did rt66 trips Chicago to LA in 2001 and 2012. /there were many changes from the first trip along the transcon to the second one. The triple tracking of Cajon the biggest. But there is so much to see and do along the way. On a third trip by plane to visit friends in Pomona was during the triple tracking of Cajon. The amount of work done under sweltering conditions was inspiring. I hope to see your reports as you spend time on the Transcon. STEVEL
Updates on Multi-Tracking the Two BNSF Transcons
The purpose of this thread is to share multi-tracking updates, news, and happenings on the both the NORTHERN and SOUTHERN Transcons of BNSF. While the southern Transcon has little left for the Los Angeles-Chicago distance to be all two-tracked, there are a few single-track pieces left, as well as triple-tracking here and there. The northern Transcon the beginner of this thread is quite unfamiliar with. But, reports about that northern Transcon seem to indicate many miles are two-tracked at a time, in a way that puts to shame Union Pacific’s similar efforts as covered in the “Sunset Route Two-Tracking Updates” thread.
When the founder of that Sunset Route thread and THIS ONE too has some free time, last year’s two-tracking of the southern Transcon gap in the Vaughn, NM area will be posted about. In a very recent trip to that area little in the Vaughn area could be seen, but the photos taken suggest that that two-tracking was an impressive project. Also, a major modification of signal appearances seem to have taken place and is taking place, but that may just be the mind playing tricks on this contributor. When the issue is posted about, maybe others will be able to weigh in on it.
In the meantime, the forum will be left with this amusing photo from the eastern side of Winslow, AZ on the southern Transcon:
The awareness of the concept of “Transcon” apparently is becoming well known, so much so that a street has been named after the southern Transcon!
If you have news and update info to share on either Transcon, you are most welcome to do so here …
Thanks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.