There have been many stories about washouts. Some railroad companies have had washouts and then abandoned the lines instead of spending on prevention and repair.
Is there a method to prevent and detect washouts that is more economically viable than abandonment of the entire line due to the washout?
Andrew
Methinks it’s an economics issue. If the line has value, the damage will be repaired and steps taken to prevent a recurrence.
On the other hand, if the line isn’t worth the trouble the washout may just be the final nail in its coffin, a convenient reason to walk away.
Someone refresh my memory - which northeastern railroad folded after a hurricane caused significant damage over many of its lines? I think the hurricane was Hazel, but I’m not sure.
W-A-G
I believe Hurricane Agnes, in one of those even-numbered early-1970s years, was responsible for a few of the Conrail predecessors declaring bankruptcy.
…Flaglers line out to Key West from Miami was a hurricane victim back in the mid 30’s…It became the rt 1 highway thru the Keys and on to Key West.
Sure enough, a search on Agnes brought this from answers.com:
So, Larry, which year did Agnes hit that area? I suspect that EL was one of the railroads to declare bankruptcy soon afterwards, and LV and RDG may also have tumbled at close to the same time.
(We’re having very strong winds today and a threat of extremely severe weather overnight–baseball-sized hail, winds nearing hurricane force. Could this be the dreaded Hurricane Willy?)
In an official report about Arkansas it stated that most rail lines were abandoned due to washouts.
It might be possible that a low point in an economic cycle of a region combined with numerous washouts in that region would bring a complete end to all branch line rail service.
Any remaining industry might not go back to the railroads for transportation services. The industrial leaders will employ trucks if any business came to them. This would save the railroad maintenance expenses for a while, but could it be difficult to get back into those communities if they could not quickly reestablish their brand of transportation services?
In some places it has to be even harder to run a railroad than just the hard everyday operations.
Andrew
[(-D]
…Not hurricane winds here in Indiana today, but this afternoon we did have 41 mph blowing through here and my instrument registered 94.1 degrees. Still bone dry. Last chance for a bit of rain occurs tomorrow morning and then almost “0” chance for next 4 or 5 days.
1972
I’ve been keeping an eye on that mess - we’ll see it here tomorrow afternoon.
You will have to tell me which railways abandoned lines rather than spending on prevention; there is an implication there that poor business practice was the cause rather than the railway company’s natural reluctance to invest heavily in the fixed plant of lines with modest or poor traffic.
A “washout” is a water damage to a specific, limited section of track, generally the result of a clogged or insufficient drainage structure that results in water overtopping the railway embankment and eroding it, or riverbank erosion of the railway embankment such as at the outside of a bend in the river that is tangent to the railway embankment. Generally an abandonment is the result of flood damage causing numerous washouts, i.e., general destruction of the railway embankment, drainage structures, and track for many miles, to the point that the cost of repair exceeds the value of the traffic.
Washouts are prevented for the most part by rip-rap, channel straightening, channel relocation, channel cleaning, line changes, line elevations, groins, and flood control structures. A classic example of a washout prone line greatly changed to reduce vulnerability to damage is the Los Angeles & Salt Lake (now UP) in the Meadow Valley Wash and Clover Creek Canyon in southeastern Nevada, obliterated on December 31, 1909-January 1, 1910, and raised 8-16 feet for 72 miles in the reconstruction. Generalized flooding cannot be protected against; large-scale floods overwhelm all but the heaviest flood control structures, witness the Mississippi River Flood of 1993.
Many railroad bridges are protected
Really? Cite me that report. Lines are abandoned due to unremunerative traffic. A washout might be the proximate cause of the decision to close the line, but had the washout not occurred the inadequacy of the traffic would have caught up with it eventually.
Customers are not lost from railroads unless they can derive no value from railroads. No business that can make money by using rail service will refuse to return to rail, unless they’re fools, in which case their competitors that are not so petulant will squeeze them out soon enough.
S. Hadid
http://www.arkansashighways.com/planning/F%20&%20E/SRP_2002all.pdf
www.arkansashighways.com/planning/F%20&%20E/SRP_2002all.pdf
Rail Freight Issues
Listed below are the principal rail freight transportation issues for both
providers and users of rail transportation. The number one issue involves
railroad/highway at-grade crossings. Specific problems are safety concerns
(potential risk of train/vehicle collisions) and poor surface condition. Lack of
monetary resources to properly maintain rail lines and funds for emergency
repairs such as track washouts and train derailments is the second most cited
issue. Other concerns are deteriorating equipment and distressed track
Executive Summary 7
infrastructure, especially rail and bridges, lack of ready access to rail freight
service, and rail line abandonments.
Top Five Rail Freight Transportation Issues
Lack of Funding Resources
Poor Condition of Equipment and Infrastructure
Access to Rail Freight Transportation
Rail Line Abandonments
Infrastructure, Equipment and Support Facilities
The Class III railroads provided listings of present and projected
infrastructure, equipment and support facility needs. Higher-weight rail,
improvements to bridges, and additional crossties and ballast are the chief
immediate infrastructure needs. Foremost future requirements include
strengthening of all bridges to handle 286,000- and 315,000-pound loaded
railcars and construction of new yard track.<
http://www.arkansashighways.com/planning/F%20&%20E/SRP_2002all.pdf
Finances
Many of the rail lines owned by the state’s Class III railroads were acquired
from Class I companies. In most cases, maintenance-of-way was deferred on
these lines prior to sale, resulting in distressed track and bridge conditions.
Significant expenditures were needed to bring a rail line to a usable
condition, resulting in heavy indebtedness. Adding to the financial burden
are costs for emergency repairs like bridge washouts and train derailments,
and the inability to obtain low interest, long-term loans.
Information was obtained from the Class III railroads on annual
expenditures. This data, summarized in Figure 2-3, reveals that, excluding
miscellaneous costs, the leading expenditures are administration and payroll,
repairs and maintenance-of-way expenses such as adding ballast and
replacing broken crossties, lease and rental fees, and fuel.
Thanks for the link. It reads just like the one I just finished writing for another state. [:)] Except I think the author of this one did a better job than I (probably had a higher budget!)[:(!]
No big surprises contained in this for me; short-line economics aren’t any different in Arkansas than anywhere else. The report makes the clear point that a lack of revenue is the major problem for many short lines, which again should come as no surprise to anyone. Once a short line with insufficient traffic to stay even on track and equipment maintenance and replacement uses up the legacy investment inherited from its Class I origin it is finished; a washout might hasten its day of doom, that’s all. I was a bit surprised that in 2002 46% of the state’s Class III railroad mileage was either FRA Class I track or Excepted Track – that’s worse than I would have thought.
S. Hadid
That hurricane and I believe an earlier one did a job on the local railroads. The sad part is that EL apparently was trying to make a go of it on its own until the storm delivered the final blow. The other railroads that went into Conrail weren’t in the same position to give it a try.
Page throught the August 2007 issue of TRAINS.
There are two photos and captions about washouts. Union Pacific motive power was damaged in both incidents.
Andrew
Our railroad has a problem with beaver plugging up culverts and what not … my personal feelings regarding beaver aside , the key to any roadbed is DRAINAGE,DRAINAGE,DRAINAGE
You just need a few thousand alligators that can stand your cold weather. Once the beavers have become lunch or dinner, no more problem.