How many rail lines pass through restricted government property like military bases and such like? A major one here in South Carolina is CSX through the Savannnah River Site. CSX also passes through the Chalreston Naval Base and also tunnels under West Point in New York. Metro North also passes right trough Sing Sing Prison. What are some others?
Does passing through these sites complicate MOW work? I know traffic passing through the SRS on Route 125 is not permitted to stop at any point.
The Union Pacific (formerly Southern Pacific) Coast Line runs through Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The railroad passes through base and even has been known to blank !
Most military bases are (or were originally) bordered by active railroads, and likewise are (or were) served by them - with passenger or military “MAIN” transport trains back in the day, and at least by local freight trains more recently.
But as you surmise, rail lines through such places are rare - despite knowing about several dozen military bases here on the East Coast, I can think of only 2 others with that characteristic:
A fairly large “US Naval Weapons Station Earle” in northern coastal NJ (a little west of Asbury Park, and southwest of Sandy Hook), which has a former Central RailRoad of New Jersey line (now NS or CR) through its eastern side - here’re the Lat./ Long. coords. of a point near the southern boundary: N 40.22658 W 74.13944
“US Marine Corps Base Quantico” VA - the former RF&P (now CSX) passes through its eastern side - the Amtrak Quantico station is at about: N 38.52171 W 77.29320
NJT’s Coast Line…former New York and Long Branch RR…runs through the Earle Navy Base and even bridges the Naval railroad and highway. Up to the Eisenhower Legacy Interstate HIghway System, rail connections to service military installations was vital. Although not Dwight Eisenhower’s fault (he warned of the military-industial complex incursions and destruction of our society) the legacy highway system helped dismantle the system of connecting so military bases, depots, arsenals, etc., that it is not a feasable system. Some of this is the result of the politics of those who claimed that such a good system capable of moving troops and machinery played into the hands of the expected invasion by USSR and other cold war enemies. Amtrak was a bad idea because the likes of Beech Grove shops were ripe for the production of invading troops’ tanks and the ability, cost effectiveness and efficiency to move invading troops by rail was detrimental to the safety of 'Merica. There are lots of military installations near railroads but often the tracks are ripped up or buried deep in dirt and foliage.
The Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific passes through the Corcord Naval Wapons Station
CSX’s St Lawrence sub runs alongside Fort Drum (and serves it via an industrial lead), and the Carthage branch (former Utica & Black River) runs through the fort itself.
I saw many trains (including Amtrak) running through Vandenberg AFB when I was stationed there. Trains were held up for scheduled launches. Vandenberg contains over 20 miles of some of the most pristine beaches you’ll find. The branch into Lompoc doesn’t run through the base, but runs between “North” Vandenberg and “South” Vandenberg.
Last summer at Train Fest when our excursion went through the Rock Island Arsenal we were made to keep our cameras below the window sill. If we didn’t supposedly MP’s would board stop the train, confiscate the offending cameras and put an end to the trip.
Can’t see anything except trees and buildings. Maybe they’re concerned about photos of the people there & not necessairly the real estate.
The Providence & Worcester runs along the edge of the US Navy Submarine Base in Groton, CT.
More than once had to deal with a Marine coming out of the dark in blackface while laying steel and running tie and surfacing gangs in the dark around Fallbrook/Oceanside, CA. Not fun looking at the business end of an M-16 attached to an MP in camo looking for illegals trying to sneak around the imigration station on I-5 by going thru the Marine Base.(Camp Pendleton)[+o(]
ATSF Line is now Orange County/SanDAG owned.
Edited Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor passes east of Ft Meade, MD and to the north of Edgewood Arsenal and Aberdeen Proving Ground. The town of Quantico, VA on the ex RF&P and its station are not actually on the Marine Corps base. I can see why the MP’s in Rock Island Arsenal made the passengers on the Raifest Specials keep their cameras below the windows, photography of or on most military facilities is forbidden.
In the California desert, part of BNSF’s main (between Barstow and Daggett) passes through the USMC Logistics Base.
The former AT&SF Surf line predates Camp Pendleton by over 50 years - Highway 101 also predated the formation of the base, and that’s why I-5 also goes through the base.
Pendleton is one of the many military facilities that used to be private property prior to WW2. It would now be worth a bundle for housing development if it wasn’t for all the UXO lying around.
San Joaquin Valley Railroad’s (former Southern Pacific) Huron Branch runs through NAS Lemoore in California.
The military ships a lot of material by rail. I would bet that most bases have rail access. Use Google maps or Bing maps to check out the extensive rail system that runs right onto the piers at the Norfolk Navy base.
You’d be surprised, Phoebe Vet, how many military bases were cut off from rail services with the advent of CR for instance. Mainlines were cut to branch status then dwindled away from there. Branches and short lines that didn’t have major industry to back up the military installation were left out and eventually many a track was ripped up and base has ended up with no rail at all. You would be famliar with PA’s Tobyhanna Depot which was cut back from an east/west main to a stub from the west (yeah, differernt now but still not east/west direct connection like in DL&W and EL days). The rail was ripped up from Picatinny Arsenal near DOver, NJ. It was the CNJ’s Green Pond Jct. line (through the installation with sidings) pulled up back to just a CNJ siding into the base (the CNJ would pull cars and get them to Wharton or Lake Jct. for the EL to take to Dover to put on the head end of #1; they got caught when the cars exploded at Hornell one day). Under CR the track was pulled up all the way into the base so that munitions, etc. are trucked in and out on Rt 80 and NJ15. If I recall reading the USRA report, there are several more scenerios like these.
Actually the P&W main runs through the base, essentially separating the main base and the lower base, with the lower base consisting of the piers where the subs are moored - otherwise known as the shoot first, ask questions later part.
Historically - since 9/11 at least - US Marines rode with the freights that passed through the base, getting on at the north fence line, and riding until the train was back northbound, where they’d get off the same spot they got on - spoke with one of the Marines in Old Saybrook for some time while the train was working, probably in 2002 or so. This occurred until the Navy constructed a fence along the right of way (maybe 5 years or so ago), essentially sealing off the tracks from the base. Now a call from the dispatcher alerting the guards of the train’s approach is all that is needed.
See this interesting article/ webpage:
at: http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/NovDec99/MS455.htm
And also: “Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET)”
at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/stracnet.htm
What bothers me about both those reports Paul, is that the performance was good based on what there was in place to work with: it worked as it was designed to work so of course there would be no short comings or problems. What if the system were enlarged making use of more bases in more diverse places, places that no longer have tracks, places that no longer have grade A connections to the whole rail system, Here, a move is designed to go at, say, 10 mph for 20 miles, then 65 for a hundred miles, and 20mph for 10 miles, etc. because that is the way the system is designed. It does not consider that that first 20 miles or the last 10 miles used to be or could be done at 30 or 80 mph instead. It is the American complacency of good enough is good enough and accepting the status quo rather that trying to be good, be better. We accept without quesiton, without conviction.
henry6…
.Wouldn’t you think, that the military bases that shipped enough by rail to justify keeping their connections did just that, and those bases that didn’t ship enough to justify it lost theirs? It seems like it would just be a simple case of asset rationalization. Over time, the needs and missions of different bases have changed; so have the freight shipment patterns.