Diesel on the Broadway elevated

A couple of weeks ago, I was down Queens and was doing some shopping on Jamaica Avenue in the vicinity of the Forest Parkway (85th Street) staion of the Broadway el. I looked up to see a train traveling eb through the station and was amazed to see a diesel locomotive pulling a couple of work cars.
For (too) many years when I lived in the area I traveled on the el daily, and while I'd seen work trains before they had previously always been pulled by an converted passenger car; the diesel was a FIRST for me.
With the line now snaking down into the subway in Richmond Hill on its way to Jamaica Center, where, how does the diesel change direction?
Are there still layup tracks around 111th Street to allow it to "turn"?
Appreciate your knowledgeable replies.
Best regards,
Rodger

As of now...-3.16.07 at 2000hrs there have been over 70 views, but no responses...please, someone must have knowledge of the subject.
Best regards,
Rodger

Sorry, Rodger, no specific answer to your question. I do know from my Brooklyn/Queens days that there is a subway yard around Broadway Junction/East New York accessible by the Broadway line; maybe the whole work train just backs to there?


Ocala Mike

From what I have seen on other lines using the diesel worktrains, the train can operate in either direction. When the diesel engine is not in the lead, a TA employee will ride in the front, usually a flat car, and maintain communications via headset/radio with the operator. They also will operate a small air powered whistle off the the flat car. I believe the whistle is connected to the train air line. Also, the next time you see a work train, look closely, the flat cars have both red tail lights, as well as white headlights mounted underneath the body of the car.

The train can either go to Jamaica Center or 111st middle to turn back south. Recently, there was a general order(construction) at Jamaica Center. Each weekday for 2 weeks, track and tie plates were replaced in certain spots resulting in a diesel or as we call them, a worktrain to go out to Jamaica Center. As a result, every other J train from Manhattan turned back at 111 st to go back to Manhattan. Every other J train from Manhattan went to Jamaica Center. One track was in use between 121st and Jamaica Center in both directions.

Not really able to answer your question, but I went up to the 7 line and shot some photos of the work trains on the express track waiting for this weekends work on the line.

http://jtunnel.rrpicturearchives.net/ar ... x?id=20999

I did notice that the trucks on the locomotives had direction arrows:

http://jtunnel.rrpicturearchives.net/sh ... ?id=696440

That might have something to do with the trip arms on the respective divisions. First time I've noticed this.

I was in charge of track rehabilitation planning for NYCTA for five years in the 1980s, so I may be able to help you out with work trains.

NYCT owns about 450 pieces of nonrevenue equipment, including the "rider cars" you mention (although these no longer have motors), flat cars, hopper cars, tank cars, and a couple of jet snow blowers. There were (back in the 80s) 59 work diesels plus six straight electrics that looked like the low-cab 70-tonners but had a big motor-generator set instead of a prime mover.

Since the third rail is usually de-energized when work trains are used, they mostly use the diesels. They can move either direction; they just put an employee on the head end of the move.

Many work trains are staged out of 38th Street Yard in Brooklyn, but they also try to stage them as close to where the work is going on as possible. IN the case of the Jamaica El, I'd guess they're working out of East New York yard, or possibly out of the yard at the end of the "M" line (can't recall the name).

How the work is done depends on what kind of work it is. Track and switches on the el structure are renewed as "panels" (39 foot track segments and partially assembled turnouts). These are put together at Linden Shop (off the Canarsie and New Lots Ave. lines) and moved by truck to the work site. Track-mounted ("Grove") cranes are used to lift them to the structure. The old rail and ties are stripped out in pieces and moved by either truck or train to the staging location.

In the subway, a flatcar with a ramp and a small front-end loader, and some hoppers with a conveyer belt, are used. The ramp is dropped, the rails are removed and the front-end loader pops out the ties and excavates the old ballast, which is loaded by conveyor into the hoppers. New track is built by hand, ballasted, and surfaced.

Tie blocks in concrete are even worse. The old blocks must be chipped out and new blocks bolted down and then concreted in.

Anyway, they're all interesting operations. Just so you know, NYCT in the 1980s had a track program that included about 60 track miles of rail renewal per year, several thousand panels on both elevated structure and underground, and 35 turnout replacements. It's less now, but just keeping up with obsolescence takes a lot of work.

Oh, and you should have seen our welded rail train -- eight scrap subway cars with the end bulkheads removed and rail racks welded to the body bolsters right between the seats. We could carry eight 390-foot strings, and somebody once sent the train around the 160-foot radius loop track at Coney Island...and they made it!

NellieBly wrote:
Oh, and you should have seen our welded rail train -- eight scrap subway cars with the end bulkheads removed and rail racks welded to the body bolsters right between the seats. We could carry eight 390-foot strings, and somebody once sent the train around the 160-foot radius loop track at Coney Island...and they made it!

The welded rail train is still around, I saw it just a about a month ago in Manhattan. I don't remember which line though.

"Rule 3.62 tran buzzer signals are as follows....
3.62a L................STOP
3.62b L, L............PROCEED on signal clearance
3.62c S, S...........Answer any signal
3.62d S, S, S.......Signal for T/O to sound horn for a Road Car Inspector
3.62e L, S L, S.....Signal for T/O to sound train horn for police assistnance
3.62f S,S,S,S,S....Signal for Conductor to come to T/O's cab
3.62g These same signals mus be used by a Conductor when staioned on the front end of a train, by reason of the Train Operator (T/O) operating from some other car."
Legend: L....Long buzzer souind
S....Short buzzer sound

Thanks again and best regards,
Rodger