…Stopped by our great bike and walking trail this morning with wife and granddaughter to do a bit of biking and for me a bit of railfaning too…NS parallels at the Trail Head {depot}, for several hundred feet.
And almost on the 11:00 oclock time I believe it generally passes this area it did…And the size of it…!!
I started to count the trailers but gave up early but wish I would have completed my count. Two six axle engines and it seems there must have been close to 200 units on that train…! I didn’t think they could string that many together. Another thing I noticed was the speed with which it was passing…I think slower than they were passing the last time I observed as the train went by. This is the notorious part of the line {just beyond the depot}, that has put the Triple Crown on the ground twice recently and another train a month or so ago…
So I’m wondering if a new speed limit on this section has been installed…
Still can’t get over how long today’s train was…heading south of course.
You folks really do have a super bike trail down there. Anybody living within driving distance of Muncie who is into bike trails should sure make the effort to check it out. Riding the old C&O row down to Losantville and back was some of the more interesting cycling I’ve done.
MC, when you say the trains have slowed down, how slow are we talking about?
In the area you mention, I’m surprised that more trains don’t string line in that hairpin curve.
…Gee, the speed…Hmmm…I’d say 15 maybe 20 as it passed there on Broadway just east of the depot. That’s where I was today watching it “inch” by and taking a few pic’s.
Don’t really know if all kinds of trains have slowed that much though.
That is a right smart 180 degree curve and a bit of grade to it too going south as it winds up over bridges and over streets at the edge of Muncie.
As for the trail…I fully agree, it is a nice smooth surface to ride on and this morning even had some shady places to keep out the heat a bit. I turned left at the bridges north of the depot and went out the White River Trail a ways. There is a gap in that over along Wheeling Ave. as that is being rebuilt this summer. When finished one will have several miles along White River through Muncie heading basically west to West Side Park…Which by the way, was a park created by the Muncie streetcar operation from what I have read back most likely in the 20’s. Done to promote traffic on their line out to it…Which was done in many communities back then by traction co’s.
Unless it has changed recently, Triple Crown trains were limited to 150 trailers in tow. 251, out of Fort Wayne to Atlanta via Muncie and Cincinnati gets that big sometimes.
Hey QM/ModelCar
If you’re doing your favorite activity this Father’s Day and go trackside, today’s #251 Triple Crown train has a Santa Fe warbonnet on the point and 86 trailers. It should hit Muncie around 1325 EST.
Eastbound or westbound?
Heres one I shot in Tolono Illinois with the max number of trailers.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MYWn8Lvk0hE
Paul
…And we have a bit of update info on that line {NS Newcastle line}, in today’s Muncie StarPress…
A study has been on going for some time now to look at the possiblility of rerouting the above mentioned track out of intown northern Muncie. It now enters Muncie on the north side {from Ft. Wayne}, and routes down past the Muncie Mall and crosses a busy business route {east-west}, McGalliard {332} across that north side of town then down into town past the former C&O depot…now{Cardinal Greenway Trail Head}, and crossing over busy Broadway {M. L. King Blvd.}, and on around the east side of town curving widely and passing back into town over several overpasses and then across a main downtown street, Walnut St., and swinging south across some more Muncie streets and finally heading south.
The powers to be here in the city have been discussing the possibility of moving it around the east side of Muncie {approx. 4 mi. bypass}, and then coming back in the area on the south side where it is located now, but with that change move it away from the busy north side near the mall and business route of McGalliard and Broadway.
Sounds like it would be funded by state, county and possibly Muncie.
NS and local officials have to have discussions about all these projections to see if NS could be agreeable to such a change of routing, etc…
It sounds like if it is done at all…it will be down the road a ways.
They mentioned of it being a projected 22 million dollar project.
Believe the article stated 26 trains route thru each day. Believe quite a few are at night.
cha ching
My son just finished last weekend at BSU, so I wont be heading back to Muncie for awhile. I never did take any photos of trains during his tenure there…time spent was usually reaching for my wallet at Best Buy or China Buffet, etc.
TC’s are probably running pretty heavy these days. It has to be a decent alternative to the diesel prices for trucks.
ed
…ed:
Lots more restaurants {in town}, to open your wallet for…
I did catch a T C the other day but haven’t done so consistently lately so can’t say how busy they have been. Seems the service is consistent thru here over the years though.
That trackage change {if ever actually completed}, that I mentioned above would effect the T C route…and eliminate that big wide curve it’s pulled off on twice.
I caught two Triple Crowns headed south last weekend and they had 137 and 138 trailers respectively. Their northbound (timetable westbound) counterparts usually go through after dark which makes it a lot harder to count trailers.
Interesting note: I did a quick preliminary study of a possible relocation about two years ago. At the time nothing came of it. I see someone else got a nibble with their proposal. (or they were just shopping to see if the other guy’s cost estimates were in line.) My route was going to swing the line parallel to the St Rd 3 bypass down to the Frankfort Line near East Yard and it was 2 miles or so of new track. I’ve changed companies since then, but IIRC it was under $10M without r/w acquisition and signaling.
Would it go over or under the CSX main or are they talking about the proposal as made a few years back which rrnut282 refers to? That was proposed as long as ten years ago, minimum.
…In the area it would come in contact with the CSX main, I believe that part would not be effected. It didn’t spell out specifically the details but from what was in the article I believe the diamonds would remain in place that currently are in use…{Near Walnut St.}
And yes, the complaining of the trains near the mall and busy thoroughfare of 332 has been brought to our attention for some time aready. I don’t look for anything to happen anyway soon.
It would appear I got the privilege of doing an inflation check (take an old project off the shelf and let someone prepare an estimate using current prices.) The state does that all the time with highway or intersection improvement projects. (Like every time there is a fatality on that stretch [V]) Nothing came of that exercise, so I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for something to happen.
After putting two or three on the ground in the same area, I would think NS would be working on some improvements to that alignment.
…I believe the correct number is 3…on the ground in the recent several years. 2 T C’s and 1 reg. type frieght train {consist}, some of.
To look at it…it appears to be a nice gentle {rising}, curve {to clear some overpass streets…but the reality of it seems to be a “touchy” bit of track when every part of the operation is not in “the bracket” of sorts.
Edit: It seems the situation though here is not that “curve”…it’s congestion near the mall and crowded 332 {McGalliard & Broadway} routes and streets that local {city}, officials have raised issue with.
It is a rather busy line thru Muncie and I wonder what really is NS’s position about this whole issue…? To me, it appears it must be a rather important line since it was turned into main line status some years ago from what it had been previously.
As a kid my parents and I crossed that line - the old LE&W on Hwy. 224 at Kingsland - at that time it was owned by the NW (now NS of course). I thought then that the track was in poor condition and looked like it was hardly ever used. The ties were all dried-out and grown-over with weeds, the ballast looked like it was half dirt and the rails looked rusty. I never would’ve thought it’d survive let alone outlast the EL main that crossed it there.