How has the truck and rail travel been affected by the flooding this week in the Northeast?
For example there is a WASP Perishable train that is schedules to deliver into Albany and a subject of another thread here. Has that railline been affected?
I understand I 95 in Maryland at the Delaware line has been restricted due to a 2 lane wide hole near Elkton. What impact has trucking experienced?
Finally has any Dams failed in the Mid Atlantic area? There are quite a number of them in the region. For example Conowingo above Havre De Grace is probably running with the gates wide open by now.
Another river to consider is in the Harrisburg PA area as well as the Harpers Ferry area near Brunswick Md. I am asking about those here because we have rail crossings in these areas as well as others. Very little information in the media so far. Everyone seems fascinated by a few inches of water in someone’s yard.
The sustained rains of the past few days in
the Mid-Atlantic region are expected to
result in moderate to severe flooding in
the lower Susquehanna River Basin, which
includes Harrisburg.
Many local creeks and streams are expected
to reach flood stage as early as tomorrow.
The Susquehanna River in Harrisburg is forecast
to crest at 25 feet early Friday morning, eight
feet above flood stage. If this happens, it will
rival the flooding caused by T.S. Ivan in September
2004 and the winter floods of January 1996.
This will undoubtedly impact Norfolk Southern’s
operations in the area.
The September 2004 flooding inundated River Road
in Marysville on the west shore of the Susquehanna,
and covered the entire ground level of Bair’s Tackle shop,
reaching as high as eight inches into the first floor living
quarters.
Duncannon’s main street was also flooded by Ivan and the old
PRR station was inaccessible. These photos were taken
at Duncannon a day before the worst of the flooding:
Not that I’m an expert by any means, but the track from Buffalo to Albany was in good shape Monday (except for the bits under construction). Streams were very high as were ponds, but the water seemed still far away from the ROW. There were some freights experiencing switching problems out past Amstradam, but other than that, no worries. [:D]J.R.
As some of the rain belt has moved a bit west these last few days I’m wondering about such places as…Johnstown…the famous valley that has been hit by major floods 3 times in the past century plus…{My home area}…and there are several dams in that area that one might be concerned with if it continues. In the past a storm that stalled over that area and producing up to 11" of rain did some major flooding and of course damage…{last one was in July 1977}.
I did see some pic’s of RR tracks that had wash outs under them in the news last evening over in the east, probably the Md. area.
Norfolk Southern has released the following statement:
June 28, 2006
Possible Delays Due to Flooding in Northeast
Due to heavy rain and subsequent flooding in the northeastern part of
the Norfolk Southern network, some traffic may be experiencing delays
in the states of Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland
and Virginia.
For information about specific shipments, please contact the National
Customer Service Center at: 800.635.5768.
The following info from local NYS news and RR sources:
Additional reports of significant flooding are coming in.
NYS&W/CNYK Long Eddy flooded. Heavy flooding in Greatbend, PA on Susquehanna River near NY/PA line. I-81 Closed. Coast Guard Helicopters reported enroute. NYS Rte 17/I-86 closed east of Binghamton due to mudslides. Bainbridge being evacuated at midnight 6/27
Binghamton under State of Emergency. D&H yard at east Binghamton (used by NS also on TRs) under water. Propane tanks floating in the yard. Crew terminal closed until further notice.
D&H (CPRS) Flooding in and south of Oneonta. I-88 collapsed at Unadilla. Both lanes and median gone. Flooding south of Binghamton and mudslides.
Flooding in Cortland County near Marathon on NYS&W. U.S. Rte 11 closed due to flooding and muslides. Chenango River rising. One fatality in Chenango County. Two fatalities in Delaware County. Six people missing, believed drowned.
Flooding reported in Tioga County. Possible washouts on NS Southern Tier Line. Owego Harford Railway, mudslides and washouts.
Storms now moving east. Mohawk River flooding expected to threaten CSX water level route near Little Falls. Herkimer County all roads closed including NYS Thruway (I-90). Kaiser Lake Dam, water now going over the dam. Evacuations downstream commencing.
As i write this the Schuylkill River is forcast to rise to the highest level since Agnes in June of '72. Much of that damage was never repaired . That storm wreaked horrific damage on the rail infrastucture of Pa. and NY. NS has to go through Allentown on the Lehigh River and then through Reading on the Schuylkill and Harrisburg on the Susquehanna. The pictures on the news make it look very bad. Does anyone have any knowledge on the rail situation from ground zero ?
Wilkes Barre - Susquehanna River projected to crest today at 40 feet. Flood gates may hold up to 41 feet. Flooding in outlying areas. Mudslides reported on the D&H. DL inScranton closed due to flooding.
Great Bend - Large scale flooding on East branch of the Susquehanna River. Mudslides.
Sayre/Athens - West Susquehanna rising. Up to 25 feet. NS has pulled everything from Sayre yard area to higher ground.
Yeah…I live in central Montgomery Co near to the Schuylkill River (Pronounced Schooo-kill near Philly and Scoolkil further up country.) We had about another 2-1/2 inches of rain between midnight and dawn this morning. This is on top of the 7 or so inches we’ve had since last Friday,
By the way, the Lehigh is it’s own river that flows from the Pocono mountains southeasterly through Allentown and joins the Delaware at Easton PA. CNJ and the Lehigh Valley followed that river.
I haven’t gotten to Norristown to see if NS has loaded the bridge there with coal cars below Abrams yard like they have in the past…going back to Hurricane Agnes in '72. The traffic on the old Reading main that NS uses has been curtailed.
Although much of the R.O.W. is on embankments above the flood plain, many of their bridges and especially the abutments are inundated and being buffeted with debis.
I hear much of the area in Reading PA is affected.
It takes several days for the flood ‘tide’ to pass along the Schuylkil thru Reading, Birdsboro, Pottstown, Royersford, Phoenixville, Norristown, Conshohocken and on into Philly. When you get down past city-line Ave into Philly, CSX is affected.
My [2c]
I’m sure there are others who are watching…because this may be as bad as Hurricane Ages in '72 or the one-two punch of Hurricanes Carol & Diane in 1955 which among other things, drove
Check out this statement from the National Weather Service in Philly/Mount Holly:
FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY
1036 AM EDT WED JUN 28 2006
…THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS IN PENNSYLVANIA
SCHUYLKILL RIVER AT BERNE AFFECTING BERKS AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES
SCHUYLKILL RIVER AT PHILADELPHIA AFFECTING MONTGOMERY AND PHILADELPHIA
COUNTIES
…THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS IN PENNSYLVANIA
SCHUYLKILL RIVER AT LANDINGVILLE AFFECTING BERKS AND SCHUYLKILL
COUNTIES
SCHUYLKILL RIVER AT READING AFFECTING BERKS COUNTY
SCHUYLKILL RIVER AT POTTSTOWN AFFECTING MONTGOMERY COUNTY
…MAJOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ON THE
SCHUYLKILL RIVER…
PAC011-290036-
/X.CON.KPHI.FL.W.0015.000000T0000Z-000000T0000Z/
/RDRP1.3.ER.060627T1814Z.060628T1800Z.000000T0000Z.NO/
1036 AM EDT WED JUN 28 2006
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER AT READING.
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
AT 10AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 22.5 FEET.
MAJOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MAJOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
FLOOD STAGE IS 13.0 FEET.
THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 22.9 FEET BY THIS AFTERNOON.
ADDITIONAL RISES MAY BE POSSIBLE THEREAFTER.
AT 22.0 FEET…ADDITIONAL STREETS IN READING FLOODED. CONRAIL TRACKS
IN WEST READING FLOODED
$$
Intersting that they mention tracks. Also, note that they (The NWS) still call them “Conrail” tracks.
CSX Service Bulletin, June 28 - Flooding Conditions in New York
Released: Jun 28, 2006
CSXT lines have experienced flooding conditions the morning of June 28 at Palatine Bridge, Montgomery County, N.Y, which required stopping rail traffic between Syracuse and Selkirk, N.Y. More rain is in the forecast for today with current flooding conditions expected to worsen. The water level is expected to rise an additional five to seven feet. Rerouting of some traffic across Canadian railroads is under review.
Gov. Pataki is now activating the NY National Guard for flood relief.
Seven National Guard helicopters evacuating people from flooded homes in addition to Coast Guard units in and around Binghamton, NY and N.E. Pennsylvania.
The situation here in Central Maryland appears to be stabilized. The Potomac is expected to crest sometime tonight or tomorrow morning at Point of Rocks. I do not believe that CSX operations will be affected significantly. The Northeast Corridor may be a different story. The NS line of the Eastern Shore has been washed out in several places.
Does anyone know whether the NS yard at Gang Mills, NY suffered any damage? I have relatives north of there who reported no flooding in their area but did not know if Corning/Painted Post had received any flooding.
The major secondary creeks will crest today
or tomorrow.
This afternoon, I saw flooding in Duncannon,
with Sherman’s Creek at the ex-PRR bridge
as high as it was in September 2004.
In Marysville, River Road is still open
but will surely be flooded tomorrow. The
former Bair’s Tackle Shop is surrounded by
water and it will likely get worse there
tomorrow as well.
It is possible that portions of the NS
Buffalo Line will be under water tomorrow.