Heard from a fairly reliable source that there is going to be some siding work or maybe an additional siding going in at Scarborough for the DE. Am not sure if they'll just be upgrading the exiting yard lead to passeneger train status or if they'll be actually extending that siding towards the Scarborough salt marsh. I figured the Saco siding was close enough to Portland, but apparently there are some conflicts with trains as they operate in and around Rigby. Anyone else heard about this? Thanks!
Railroad Forums
Downeaster Trackwork & Upgrades
- Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.
Moderator: MEC407
Yes I did. They're going to extend the yard lead out into the Marsh I believe. No idea about going all the way to saco, but the former double track road and bridge work is already done so that option is avaliable (Although the current track switches from the left roadbed to the right roadbed a few times down the line)
There's been some earth / snow movers down on the roadbed Monday & Tuesday this week by the Pleasant Hill Road bridge and ALSO by the Black Point Road bridge - presume this is in connection with this???
Some rail laid today - probably around 200 yards worth - this is laid directly to the south of Black Point Road bridge (route 207) a mile or so southwest of rigby yard - nothing north of the bridge towards Rigby yard but the rail bed has been scraped clean of snow and stuff ready for the rail to be laid
Granted, I'm no expert on train dispatching, but it seems somewhat strange that there would be a need to extend the existing siding?? Can't imagine how much an extra mile or so of siding will help; unless for some reason Guilford doesn't want them on the existing yard lead. Would be neat to see them run double iron all the way out to the siding at Surf, though I'm guessing there'd be major issues getting through OOB.
I noticed on the unh web cam, that they installed the second span to allow for the second ( passing?) track at Durham. They previously graded and ballasted the roadbed for this track.
That webcam is pretty cool.
That webcam is pretty cool.
hh660 wrote:I noticed on the unh web cam, that they installed the second span to allow for the second ( passing?) track at Durham. They previously graded and ballasted the roadbed for this track.From exploring this area recently (I'm a UNH student) I also noticed that the new "bridge" looks to be double-wide. Over the past year or so I've noticed how they were working with ballast on that section, but then things sort of slowed down (or stopped). To my relatively untrained eye, there seems to be room for a passing track there. However, I'm not sure how long it could be. A couple hundred yards to the north of the new bridge is the Durham station with the platform right up against the current track. And maybe a three or four hundred yards in the other direction is the road bridge over the tracks...not sure if there's room for a second track under that span. I'll have to double check though, I could be wrong.
That webcam is pretty cool.
This is obviously enough room for a Downeaster trainset to wait, so maybe that's all they need. But most PAR freights I see would not fit here. Maybe that's a non-issue, since a double track would probably be meant to benefit the Downeaster more than anything.
I really hope they do install a passing track here, because that means more rail action and more photo opportunities to catch multiple trains at the same time!
Been some work this week to lay track from Black Point Bridge back towards rigby yard - this week's snowstorm on wednesday which dump around 10 inches of snow in the Portland area may have slowed progress
The new "bridge" in Durham has changed a bit since the last time I was over there. Within the last week they have added new main beams (for lack of a better term) to the un-tracked side of the span. See this picture I took today (sorry, not many good angles of this work site):
The big tan beam closest to the camera (and I assume its partner is behind it) is a new development.
EDIT: After a second look at my picture, it doesn't look like there's a second one of those huge beams behind the one in front. I'll see if they add one. I think the other side has two, so that would be the logical action.
The big tan beam closest to the camera (and I assume its partner is behind it) is a new development.
EDIT: After a second look at my picture, it doesn't look like there's a second one of those huge beams behind the one in front. I'll see if they add one. I think the other side has two, so that would be the logical action.
The "main beams" would be called longitudinal girders. This is a fairly modern and common type of bridge for this application. Much older girder bridges would be made out of plate girders, instead of rolled steel, like what this one appears to be made of.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, efficient to build. Really the only thing that takes a set time is for the concrete to cure.