I saw the 4014 a few years ago in Cheyenne. Never did go west to Sherman Hill, regret that. I love following the UP on MapQuest west of Cheyenne. Through Buford and up the hill. Sherman Hill, now, is miles away from the original. You can easily see the old right of way. Near the top is a wye. They turned the helper engines there! The Ames Monument is still at the first Sherman Hill, although somewhat derelict!
Most branchline terminals and junctions across western Canada had wyes, many still do. Most locations with turntables also had wyes.
I suspect this was for turning the aforementioned snow removal equipment, which often ran as plow trains of 5 or 6 car lengths (engine, tender, plow, spreader, flanger, caboose). And for turning entire passenger consists.
In pioneer territory land was so cheap as to be practically free to the railroads. And turntables do not turn very well in winter, when the mechanisms can freeze up and the pit fills with snow and ice.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
One more purpose is turning boxcars that need reorientation for "UNLOAD OTHER SIDE". It is not so important now that the railways have forced most such traffic over to highway carriers, although some still does end up in containers.
I think the point was that there are wye tracks whose main purpose is to accomodate the movement of traffic from one segment to another where three lines come together. That is not to proclude them from turning equipment like locomotives and snow removal equipment. The other specifically exists to turn equipment whether it be coal cars with rotating couplers, snow removal equipment or the most common, turning locomotives.
UP Moffat Route in Colorado and Utah, (Denver & Rio Grande)
There is a WYE in Dotsero where the Tennessee Pass Line meets the Mainline. That portion now is used as an industrial lead to the Gypsum Plant.
In Grand Junction, CO. there is a WYE at the East Yard for turning Engines, and there is a WYE where the North Fork Branch meets the mainline at the West Yard.
There is a WYE going into the Savage Coal Loadout Facility, SE of Price, UT.
In Helper, UT, there is a WYE in that Yard. And in the Martin Yard for the Utah Railway there is another WYE, but the Martin Yard doesn't get much activity any more.
There is a WYE at the top of Soldier Summit for turning Engines, but doesn't look like it has been used in years.
There is a WYE in Provo, UT.
Steve
The Keddie wye is a real three legged wye, the two legs on bridges and the third in a tunnel. I've ridden the AAPRCO convention train on a number of occasions and the 2013 train crossed one of the bridge legs of the Keddie wye.
My favorite wye, now abandoned is at Rochester Jct. on the Lehigh Valley. It is now part of a trail (and there are three short bridges on it). The main is one leg and the other two are on the Rochester branch which went down south to Hemlock, NY. I walk around this regularly. It was commonly used to turn the motor car powered train (usually a motor car and attached coach) which shuttled passengers from LV's Rochester station (now a BBQ restaurant) at the north end of the Rochester branch to Rochester Jct. to meet the main line trains.
Some industrial facilities have their leads to the railroad configured as wyes so they can be served from either direction.
Several years ago the Fort Wayne RHS took its Berkshire 765 out for an early spring test run. I am not sure of the original plan, which most people understood to be to Fostoria and back on the NS, but the usual delays held things up. We gave up at Fostoria and went to Leipsic. The steamer train arrived in the late afternoon; getting to Fostoria and back to New Haven before dark would be very difficult. While 765 sat just west of the CSX main, facing east, an NS local came by (eastbound) to serve the steel mill located just east of the CSX main. The crew of the local unlocked the gates, and suddenly all came clear: the mill has a wye on the property and, while the local crew serviced the mill, the 765 and its train used the wye to turn around and head home. I don't know if the owners of the mill were even aware that took place, and I don't know if this had not been the plan all along.
At St Francis, Wis, the wye was part of the interlocking plant. When C&J still unloaded cars in Milwaukee, those facing the wrong way had to be turned. That was done at St Francis, usually, it seemed, just about the time we were busy with main line trains. The wye still exists today, although part of it is now controlled by the dispr and the north end is now hand throw.
Yes! Typically trains leave/enter different routes here BUT a loco can effectively turn-around or get to the other end of its consist to better switch cars.
Don't forget the wye at Silverton on the Durango & Silverton. The tail is long enough for the whole train to be turned. "Been there, seen it."
daveklepper I am reposting my Kennelworth wye photo. At age 15, I aligned the bottom of the Leica's viewfinder with the bottom-chord-track of the wye, and the result in the photo already posted is that buildings, poles, and the streetcar have a slight tilt. I've repaired that and added some contrast, and tried to rerduce the sprocket-hole effects.
I am reposting my Kennelworth wye photo. At age 15, I aligned the bottom of the Leica's viewfinder with the bottom-chord-track of the wye, and the result in the photo already posted is that buildings, poles, and the streetcar have a slight tilt. I've repaired that and added some contrast, and tried to rerduce the sprocket-hole effects.
And for those who don't know, there is a rear controller behind the back seat cushions of PCCs to facilitate a reverse move.
Two interesting wyes in northeast Iowa - one at Manchester where the CN (ex-IC/ICG/CC Cedar Rapids Sub mainline splits off the Iowa Division mainline and at Marquette where the secondary mainline out to Mason City and Sheldon splits off from the Marquette Sub mainline on CPRS.
Paul - My commuting days ended in 1995 and it's been decades since I've been to South Amboy. I checked a couple of maps on the web and as you can imagine there isn't much track left there. I didn't see a Radford Ferry Road but it looks like a road going toward the Raritan Bay follows the freight line to the old location of the servicing area and coal dumper. The wide highway bridge over the main line covers the place where the freight branch ran over the main line. It is hard to visualize but the area was filled with yards once. Even the coaling tower, ash conveyor and engine house were there when I was commuting (there was no roundhouse or turntable there). And there was a massive, long concrete shed which was used to thaw frozen coal so it could be dumped. There was also an MU yard to store trains that tied up there. The engine facility serviced more than the commuter power since freight electrics and diesels were used on what was once a busy electrified branch from Monmouth Junction.
nhrand - That's quite the interesting wye (GPS coords. 40.4898, -74.2846). The southeast 'point' has a scissors-type configuration, only it has a 'fly-over' bridge over the main instead of a shallow-angle crossing. Also notice how that track is aligned around Radford Ferry Rd. - I wonder if it was relocated to accomodate the highway?
- PDN.
I commuted on the New York & Long Branch (NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line) when electrification extended only to South Amboy and engine changes usually involved an unusual wye. The wye was necessary in the era of PRR K-4's but even the GG-1's and EMD E-8's of my day used the wye because the engine servicing area was on a leg. The wye was odd because it was partly formed by a freight branch which crossed the main line above grade. Two of the legs of the wye were on ramps in order to reach the overhead freight line which served a coal dumper on Raritan Bay. The engine house was a long building at the end of the freight branch and the tracks that ran through it actually ended at the waterline of the Raritan River. The wye was also interesting because locomotives moving to replace engines on southbound trains had to edge on to the long Raritan River bridge because one leg of the wye ended there. The wye was controlled by SA tower which was quite large given the large amount of traffic especially during the rush ours. The wye at South Amboy, NJ was not your plain vanilla variety.
Erik_MagThis brings up a question: I've seen scissors wye's proposed as a space saving measure in model railroad layouts, but wonder if any ahd been built in 12"=1' scale? Note "scissors wye" refers to where the two legs to the stub end cross over each other to reduce width of the wye.
Although I did not call it a scissors wye, the example I linked in my June 28, 2020 9:51 PM post, the junction in the area of LA Union Station is of this type.
mudchicken This brings up a question: I've seen scissors wye's proposed as a space saving measure in model railroad layouts, but wonder if any ahd been built in 12"=1' scale? Note "scissors wye" refers to where the two legs to the stub end cross over each other to reduce width of the wye. The expense of a crossing frog kills that idea before it gets started. The highway bubbas call those "braided" intersections/interchanges. Additionally, supporting the crossing frog becomes problematic at a skew angle that light.
This brings up a question: I've seen scissors wye's proposed as a space saving measure in model railroad layouts, but wonder if any ahd been built in 12"=1' scale? Note "scissors wye" refers to where the two legs to the stub end cross over each other to reduce width of the wye.
The expense of a crossing frog kills that idea before it gets started. The highway bubbas call those "braided" intersections/interchanges. Additionally, supporting the crossing frog becomes problematic at a skew angle that light.
Makes sense and thanks. Crossings in model railroads don't get quite the beating of a full sized RR.
Northwest: That is one hairy wye and is more of a space saver than the classic scissors wye.
CV_ACR: The wye in the video was a bit different than what I was thinking about, but the principle is the same.
nhrandThe New Haven Railroad published at intervals a book of "Characteristic Charts" which included a page titled "Location Of Wye Tracks". The page was a map of the railroad showing the location of each wye. The 1917 edition showed over fifty wyes and even as late as the 1959 map, 22 wyes are shown plus two loops including the one at the Boston yards which turned complete passenger trains.
The B&O ETT's 'back in the day' had their divisional maps keyed to identify all the locations that had specific facilities - Coaling Station, Engine House, Scale, Turntable, Water and Wye tracks.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
The New Haven Railroad published at intervals a book of "Characteristic Charts" which included a page titled "Location Of Wye Tracks". The page was a map of the railroad showing the location of each wye. The 1917 edition showed over fifty wyes and even as late as the 1959 map, 22 wyes are shown plus two loops including the one at the Boston yards which turned complete passenger trains.
diningcar Cameron Illinois, just a few miles west from Galesburg, has an interesting wye creation. The former Santa Fe and CB&Q mainlines crossed each other with a grade separation for more that 100 years. With the merger that created BNSF it was deemed necessary for efficient operations to be able to interchage trains at this location. A 'double main line wye' was created to permit such an operation. A google earth view will show how this was accomplished.
Cameron Illinois, just a few miles west from Galesburg, has an interesting wye creation. The former Santa Fe and CB&Q mainlines crossed each other with a grade separation for more that 100 years.
With the merger that created BNSF it was deemed necessary for efficient operations to be able to interchage trains at this location. A 'double main line wye' was created to permit such an operation. A google earth view will show how this was accomplished.
Erik_Mag mudchicken Wyes- common How much real estate do you have? (restrictive geometry can kill any turning facility) and how much do you really need it? (or is this another operating supervisor bubba on an ego trip?) This brings up a question: I've seen scissors wye's proposed as a space saving measure in model railroad layouts, but wonder if any ahd been built in 12"=1' scale? Note "scissors wye" refers to where the two legs to the stub end cross over each other to reduce width of the wye.
mudchicken Wyes- common How much real estate do you have? (restrictive geometry can kill any turning facility) and how much do you really need it? (or is this another operating supervisor bubba on an ego trip?)
Wyes- common
How much real estate do you have? (restrictive geometry can kill any turning facility) and how much do you really need it? (or is this another operating supervisor bubba on an ego trip?)
Similar to this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-n6sImwaJo
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
I'm pretty shure all the catenary is AC, 12,500V, 60 Hz. If it is still 25 Hz 11.000V, it will be changred soon.
Consant-tension catenary requires a pulley or pulleys and a weight or spring at one end only, and I suspect that end in this case is at the first catenary break, where to catenaries are side-by-side by a few iniches. Generally, the breaks are paired, fixed-with-fixed end, and moving with moving end. Why there is a section of the old catenary still in place is a good question, but it seem a very short secdtion.
In the classic era, passengers in New Haven trains did notice the power change at Woodlawn when traveling from, but not to, GCT. West-Southbound, the coasting was down-hill, but the reverse was uphill coasting, and the temporary drop in speed was noticable, particularly in MUs, where the power-off time was much longer.
Possiibly current technology has each car making the transition independently, but in any case the transition now is on a level right-of-way.
York1 I know very little about actual railroad terms. At Gibbon, Nebraska, the UP mainline from Omaha meets the mainline from Kansas City. Is this considered a 'wye'?
I know very little about actual railroad terms.
At Gibbon, Nebraska, the UP mainline from Omaha meets the mainline from Kansas City.
Is this considered a 'wye'?
In the flatlands of Nebraska and Kansas it is not uncommon for industrial spur lines to join the main line with a wye, for example Hastings NE (South Technical), Kearney NE (airport),and Hiawatha KS (Ag Partners Co-Op). For examples of mainline junctions using wyes you could look at Atchison KS and Fairbury NE (in front of the Rock Island Depot).
Closer to (my) home; Portland and Western's (out of service) McMinnville Branch joins the main line at a wye in Durham OR, and the Chelatchie Prairie Rilroad uses a wye in dowtown Yacolt WA.
If a locomotive could talk would it say wye me?
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/09013+Carbonia,+South+Sardinia,+Italy/@39.1673159,8.5106198,199m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x12e707d1dd2f9ce5:0x56b944a8ebd908c6!8m2!3d39.1644281!4d8.5228853
mudchicken (or is this another operating supervisor bubba on an ego trip?)
Running LHF sucks. Esp now with the PTC screen that isn't in a spot that makes it easy to use LHF.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.