Looking railroad west of Cajon, at new bridge for third track, which is to the left of present foreground tracks. In the background, the new track alignment is on the right! Was that a big mistake? Should be interesting to see what the connected tracks will look like.
Quentin:
Looking at the plans, the grade at this retaining wall is 2.16%. The reason for this stretch is that the fill slope would fall outside the existing right-of-way limits. The access road will be along the bottom of the wall.
Warren
K.P.:
There will be a 900 foot long realignment of the existing tracks in the tangent (straight) section between the bridge and the curve in the distance. The new mainline will be installed on the U.P. side of the other two coming up from Keenbrook, and the transition here will place the new rails on the Cajon Creek side (left side of the photo), where it will cross the new bridge and on up to Cajon Station. The mainline numbering will be 1, 2 and 3 from the U.P. side toward the creek.
That’s the fun part of this project - BNSF’s MOW crews coordinating all the crossovers, signals and CPs. Grading and bridge/tunnel work is ‘relatively’ easy [;)]
Warren
…Thanks Warren…2.16%, not unheard of for sure, but should work the power pretty strong dragging a heavy train to it’s summit.
Understand the retaining wall purpose. Over on the east side of Wheeling, WV, on the interstate {I 70}, bypass, which was completed some years ago…they used a massive retaining wall with large blocks of octagon shaped concrete wall pieces and I understand held in place via heavy cables that are secured back under the “fill” {maybe clear across and connected to the blocks on the opposite side of the fill}, of the grade to provide an almost verticle wall to lesson the amount of fill that was needed. Seems to be staying in place as intented as I’ve watched it over the years as we’d pass just north of it having used the route straight thru {on I 70}, and thru the Wheeling tunnel.
Quentin:
Yes, those are called MSE walls (mechanically stabilized embankments). They are used along properties (usually existing commerical sites) where the cost of purchasing a slope easement would exceed the additional cost of construction.
The grades on mainline 1 (and soon to be re-numbered 2) through the Alray tunnels (soon to be former) exceed 3% …
Warren
…Wow…3% plus seems plenty steep for main line operation but in that case, I suppose it was that or not “get there”.
I witnessed those MSE walls go up in Pennsylvania some years ago and I believe they were the first of thier kind for that work. Last time I pass various locations where they were used before 9-11 they were still in place.
I was looking at the three bridges in the photo… dont they need to shave away the left side a bit more and level out and make room for that third track instead of trying to realign the other two tracks?
Between Walker and Cajon, looking railroad “west” from Highway 138 overcrossing. Grading for new main track seems complete. Signal now operational.
From Highway 138 looking railroad “east.” New bridge seems complete.
Nice pictures, K.P. They really help explain how the new track placement flip flops from one side of the existing Main 1 to the other, and why the published map was so wrong. As I said earlier, local conditions required them to lay the new track on the north side of the existing Main 1 in some places, and on the south side in other places. The trick is deciding how and where to realign all of the tracks when it’s done, and your picture of the curved bridges just west of Cajon shows the answer. In the late 1990s, when BNSF was doubletracking major parts of the “Funnel” between Spokane and Sandpoint, there were some stretches where they had to lay the new main on the north side of the existing single-track main, and others where they had to lay it on the south side. The job of realigning the endoints of the two main lines was done at a long curve. For those who I’ve already confused, try this. Draw a railroad in pencil, with a few curves thrown in. Next, find a curve near the middle of your route and draw a parallel line heading “west” from that curve along the “north” side. Then draw a parallel line heading “east” from that same curve along the “south” side. You’ll then see how easy it is to erase the curve and draw new parallel curves to bring both tracks together, seamlessly. This simple technique was not done in many places I’ve seen back East where Conrail and its predecessors added or removed paralleling main tracks on tangents rather than on curves, resulting in kinks and dog-legs that could easily have been avoided. At West Hauser, Idaho, the two main tracks make such a dog-leg because future plans call for a third main to be laid from there west toward Spokane.
…I’m trying, but somehow I might still be in the dark…Are you fellows saying something to the effect…a new main is constructed on one side of an existing main but then the new construction has to move from one side to the other because of space constriction…and to correct, the builders then cut existing main and connect it {slightly reconfigured}, over to the new main to continue, and so on… And all of the above done on a large sweeping curve so it all can be reconfigured by using a slightly different curvature radius figure…
Yes. Take a close look at the photo of the bridges west of Cajon. West of the creek, new track will be laid on the NORTH side. East of the creek, new track will be laid on the SOUTH side. All three tracks will then be shifted one-track-over to connnect them end-to-end.
Back up in the Barstow area …
The pictures are not of good quality, but they are sufficient to make the point …
Before the big curve west of West Daggett, the lone mast signal appears to be on the right.
But straight on, the signal actually is on the left.
Judge for yourself whether the forum contributor a page or two back had it right or not. Could an exhausted crew in a zombie state misinterpret the signal’s location at night and which track it governs, and when accelerat
…Thanks Bruce…I’m working on it.
Safety Alert!
Interstate 15 and California State Route 138 intersect in the heart of Cajon Pass. From I-15, S. R. 138 goes west, over and under the rail lines, by the famous Mormon Rocks, and continues 50 or so miles to Palmdale. All THAT stretch of roadway is nationally recognized as one of the deadliest highways in all America! There are head-on collisions all the time. An innocent friend had to take severe evasive action several years ago to avoid such an accident, and rolled their minivan.
So, whether Cajon Pass is home turf to you, or you may be visiting from out of state to see for yourself BNSF’s triple-tracking project, drive defensively, and watch out for the many S. R. 138 crazies. Stay alive, and among us.
[quote user=“K. P. Harrier”]
Back up in the Barstow area …
The pictures are not of good quality, but they are sufficient to make the point …
Before the big curve west of West Daggett, the lone mast signal appears to be on the right.
But straight on, the signal actually is on the left.
Judge for yourself whether the forum contributor a page or two back had it right or not. Could an exhausted crew in a zombie state misinterpret the signal’s location at night and which track i
And in case nobody has mentioned it yet, the track numbering will NOT be Mains 3, 1, 2 from north to south as shown in the magazine. It will be 1, 2, 3 north to south.
Not to get too far ahead of ourselves here, but are there any fresh rumors that the third-tracking will next be extended beyond Summit to somewhere in Hesperia?
The following pictures were NOT taken by myself, but acquired through sources:
The new Walker crossovers as viewed from the west end.
The new intermediate signals between Walker and Silverwood.
Four notes about the TOP photo:
(1) With the installation of this new Walker crossovers location, the signals in the background were initially two new poled signals, but a cantilevered bridge soon replaced them.
(2) The control point alignment is on an almost east-west axis.
(3) The new second track from Cajon to Walker has not been laid yet.
(4) As shown in this view, the alignment of the new track will be on the left. However, within a half mile behind the photographer the alignment switches and will be on the right.
Two notes about the LOWER photo:
(1) Most new signal arrangements on Cajon Pass are of the cantilevered type. This signal structure is nonconforming. The bridge for this newly TWO-tracked section is designed for THREE tracks. Is it possible a long transfer track will be installed here so southbound UP trains from Palmdale and Hiland will be able to move onto the westbound BNSF and vice-versa?
garyla: A few years ago, BNSF laid what amounts to a long siding along the north side of Main 1 from Summit east a few miles to CP Martinez. At least that’s the name I recall; been a couple years since I was last there. Not to be confused with the long Martinez Spur, essentially a piece of the old ATSF main line that was left in place when Santa Fe did its big Summit line change back in the 1970s. BNSF’s 3rd main track will tie in with that long siding at Summit.
Thanks for the heads-up, Bruce.
That ought to be enough extra trackage to help get another long eastbound train up over the peak elevation before merging onto the one eastbound main line.