YES
Depends on how long the tail track is.
Wyes are common at junctions, but also exist on their own for turning equipment. If the railroad has the space, a couple of switches are less expensive than a turntable pit and bridge - especially in areas where the pit filling with snow can be an issue. In this case, a wye provided for a purposes of turning equipment might have a tail that’s only long enough for a set of engines (but still easy to turn something much larger than a turntable).
The third connecting track turning it into a triangle arrangement 100% makes it a wye. It doesn’t really matter if the three tracks are main lines or secondary tracks.
Thanks, Overemod. Did not know the catenary had been removed Woodlawn - Mt. Vernon East. I had heard there were good reasons for both 3rd rail and wire in this section, but apparently MN decided the maintenance expense was not worth it.
Came as a great surprise to me, too, but it almost HAS to be cheaper to support third rail in that stretch, and I don’t think either the reason or the funds are there for constant-tension conversion on that south end.
More interesting, to me, is how the transition to catenary seems to be happening. I’m used to seeing variable-tension cat require substantial anchor bridging at the end of a span. Here it seems just to appear at a regular bridge, with the first few wire spans with trolley at an angle section-to-section, suggesting that for some distance this is a low-current ‘voltage-only’ reference, and mechanical landing zone for the pans. Even so, I didn’t see what I thought would be full span anchoring before the third rail stopped.
Also looked for artifacts of the power changeover and did not see or hear them. That in itself is pretty impressive, even though I know the art was perfected in Europe decades ago.
There is a wye at WUS, but it is entirely on Amtrak property. They don’t use the CSX/ex-B&O mainline to turn the trains.
When the Pennsylvanian terminates in Pittsburgh (or a Capitol Limited is truncated), Amtrak runs a few miles east to Highland Park to turn the train there.
And, back in the hinterlands I grew up in, the Allegheny Valley interchanges with the Buffalo & Pittsburgh in an otherwise non-descript place called Eidenau.
As it turns out, I just a few days ago rode the TVRM Missionary Ridge Local, behind ex-Sou #4501. On one end of the run (East Chattanooga), they turn the loco on a turntable (fun to watch). On the other end, Grand Junction, they turn the loco on a wye (also fun to watch). The one “point” of the wye which abuts Cromwell Rd appears to have a spring switch, which makes sense, as they always traverse the wye in a clockwise direction. https://goo.gl/maps/7q1SbYCorVLkm84P6
The wye at WUS is totally CSX’s, as the hypotonuse is owned by CSX. WUS property line is at the clearnace point of the terminal lead switches at Control Points QN Tower and F Tower. The Capitol Limited enters and leaves WUS from the QN Tower side. MARC commuter trains from the West use QN Tower entry point and the trains from Baltimore use the F Tower entry point. As a rule of thumb - CSX crews are not qualified beyond the clearance point of the lead switches at QN Tower and F Tower.
In the B&O passenger days - most all trains arriving WUS backed in using one leg or the other as necessary.
Back in 1967 when the P&W Subdivision was B&O territory I worked the Operator’s position at
This reminds me that there was a wye at Harrisburg where consists were regularly turned with remarkable speed; I don’t know if cab cars have supplanted that practice.
Wyes- common
Loops - Less common
Turntables & Transfer Tables - dying breed.
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?)
Last three wyes I placed were to replace turntables. Last loop track for turning engines also turned branchline trains…with engine storing capacity for sets of locomotives (two to four to a spur for blue flag simplicity.)
On my first trip from Chicago to Washington (in 1968), we backed into the station. On my last few trips, we have stopped on one of the lower level tracks–once, a train for Florida was waiting there for us, to take passengers who were transferring.
In 1968 the B&O was operating your train. After May 1, 1971 Amtrak has been operating your train as well as WUS.
Running LHF sucks. Esp now with the PTC screen that isn’t in a spot that makes it easy to use LHF.
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.
If a locomotive could talk would it say wye me?
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.
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.
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.
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