Grafton & Upton Railroad (G&U) Discussion

[b&m 1566]

I wonder if they will make a push this coming summer to finish rehabbing the remaining portion of the line.

[apple1]

In support of that I noticed this morning that the ROW from rte 140 to the hopedale St bridge was snow plowed. Perhaps to keep it clear for trackwork soon.

[johnpbarlow]

I visited the G&U area in Milford and saw a sign for motorists posted at the Main St crossing next to Pinz Bowling - looks like the sign maker doesn't use spell-check!
Then I went over to the vacant area between the the Vernon Grove Cemetery and So Cedar St and witnessed a Komatsu shovel doing some excavation work - looks like newly stacked ties have been staged (?). Also looks like the truck scale at G&U Logistix warehouse is installed and a bundle of ties have been dropped off at the recently rehabbed Hopedale St bridge. So despite the winter weather, work continues!

[buddydog]

how much higher is the improved hopedale st. bridge?

[johnpbarlow]

It's difficult for me to tell if the bridge was raised at all or maybe just a few inches. It looks new concrete pads were put in (see photo) but I don't know what the girder support looked like before the structure was rehabbed.

[BandA]

The pads & stringers are not centered; Is that to allow space for someone to stand on one side?

Seeing that bridge without rail it looks like a rail trail, lol.

[b&m 1566]

Is the bridge itself brand new or did they just raise the original structure to add clearance underneath?

[Mikejf]

BandA, the bridge is centered, photographer is not. The girders under the track are longer than the girders on the sides. This is due to crossing the road at an angle.
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... ex=4&key2=

Google map imagry
155 Hopedale St 155 Hopedale St, Hopeda ... urn false;

[Ridgefielder]

Is the bridge itself brand new or did they just raise the original structure to add clearance underneath?

Riveted steel + rounded shapes on the corners = not new construction. This is the original structure rehabbed and raised.

Tough to tell from the picture w/out any reference points, but it looks to me like it was raised maybe 1 1/2'.

[slashmaster]

Been a while since I've been here. Nice to see work on the bridge. Anyway, I plan to do a playlist for both the G & U fan and the Super 8 fan. Could be YouTube or could be Vimeo but probably not both. I think I'll do the same 50 footer over and over but progressively higher quality each time. It will go from an absolutely horrible off the wall transfer then progressively higher transfers leading up to a 5k or higher wet gate transfer. Question is, would you guys rather see action in West Upton or Hopedale? Would you guys like it if a picture was showed at beginning of each setup? Or would you be upset because it makes it more difficult to see the difference? Would you guys rather see it on the much more popular and familiar YouTube? Or Vimeo where higher quality is possible?

[NHV 669]

4k is already possible on YouTube. There's a dedicated thread in the PAR forum, and the videos are very high quality.

[slashmaster]

4k is already possible on YouTube. There's a dedicated thread in the PAR forum, and the videos are very high quality.

Sure is, but Youtube uses more compression than Vimeo, compression is escpecially bad for film to digital transfers.

[BandA]

BandA, the bridge is centered, photographer is not. The girders under the track are longer than the girders on the sides. This is due to crossing the road at an angle.

That is weird; The side girder ends on one side & the joist is cut short on that side! So basically an optical illusion.

Presumably this bridgework is funded by the government, but is the bridge still owned by the railroad?

[johnpbarlow]

Here are two pictures of the Hopedale St bridge taken back in September 2016 before any rehab work was started. Note how the NW corner of the bridge was "propped up" with short sections of rail jammed in between the joist and the abutment. New concrete pads have replaced the jerry-rigged rail support scheme. I don't think bridge clearance from the roadway has been raised by more than a few inches, if at all.

As far as where funding of the bridge rehab comes from, like much of the G&U track rehab to date, I believe RR owner Jon Delli Priscoli has sourced the money with the exception of a MassDOT grant to build two new tracks at G&U's W Upton transload facility.

[johnpbarlow]

I did a Milford/Hopedale drive-by on Friday 2/15/19 to assess construction progress and saw perhaps one of the strongest clues of upcoming significant construction: a Porta-Potty has been dropped near S Cedar St in Milford. Also looks like RoW prep has occurred with some grading. And in Hopedale, the rejuvenated Hopedale St bridge has had cross ties installed (there’s a strong odor of creosote).