Railroad Forums 

  • Lower Montauk Division Discussion

  • Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #1218623  by freightguy
 
There should be no code down there if the ASC cut out is still on the Lower Montauk near Richmond Hill. The trains would have the speed control cut out before entering the non speed controlled territory. A lot of freights and passenger trains rolled along at more then 40 MPH before it reduced to that secondary track. Though I heard stories of people forgetting to cutout the ASC and it was a much longer ride
 #1218752  by Jersey_Mike
 
Doc Emmet Brown wrote:I still think Its a safety Issue. double track with crossovers and Yards along the way, all it would take is a slight human error for something to happen, or a car to roll out of the yard. Look what Happened when the Engine rolled out a few years ago. Also, they are not abandoning the line, they are just proposing removing the signals.
Newsday may say the limit will be 10, but lets face it the engine will have a 15 code with no signals, and most will be doing 15. Its all about, no passengers, who cares about the safety of the train crews. Hope someone does not rip open a tanker car filled with toxic chemicals or propane in that area of queens, its heavily populated.
Look in the timetable special instructions about operating with a speed failure. The speed limit is higher, when there is an engine on the operating end, as opposed to a cab car. Ask yourselves why? Because the Engine provides more of a barrier for the public. Guess the Engineer is expendable. The FRA should smack this one down, if they have a clue.
Since its years ago and everyone involved is retired or passed, Ill share a story about operations down there.
I was the Conductor On an Westbound heading into fresh pond from the east end. We got permission to use the crossover to go into the yard. Just as the rear end of my train cleared, and I was throwing the switches back. Here comes a Passenger train out of LIC around the bend at restricted speed, because the block signal was down due to the switch being opened.
The Engineer of the eastbound reamed me out, with some choice words. I said, hey I had permission don't look at me.. He said.. geez you got to be (bleep) ing me!
All it takes is a small mistake.
Are you serious? Tens of thousands of miles of previously signaled railroad have been downgraded over the years as traffic patterns change. The railroad is not some make-work charity. If you want a government job digging and filling in holes move back to Russia, but in the real world even public sector railroads need to be efficient and signaling a line where trains move at walking speed is simply ridiculous.
 #1218861  by Doc Emmet Brown
 
Ok if you want to play the putdown game and make go back to russia comments, thats up to you. I will not lower myself to your standards.
I feel it is an unsafe situation. Just be ready when the I told you so time comes, sooner or later it will.
Yeah lets run freights down there with no signaling.. wheeee...
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 #1219231  by Jersey_Mike
 
my2cents wrote:Jersey,
Then why is the railroad looking to get a waiver if the signals are out already? Did they take the signals out then ask for the waiver?
If you mean Out of Service that term actually means they are still there, but not considered in service. They might still even be lit, but cannot govern train movements. The NYA/LIRR are probably not applying for a waiver, but to abandon the signaling system. Any change in a line's installed safety equipment requires FRA approval, but with only freight running over the line at low speed where is no requirement for a signaling system to be in place that would then need a regulation to be waived.
 #1219305  by Tadman
 
It is insanity, and it is a safety hazard, but the insanity is being caused by a mindless group of regulators pushing for PTC. Blanket unfunded mandates rarely work right. PTC is being mandated mostly because of chatsworth, where an engineer neglected his duty and texted others. PTC will not solve this problem, only dilligent management will. In fact, PTC is a false safety blanket that already could've killed quite a few people in last year's Niles, MI, Amtrak accident. A speeding train was given the wrong signal and sped into a tiny siding and narrowly missed some hoppers. "Oh but we have PTC that can never happen"...

Yeah right. It's insanity.

And so you have BS workarounds like making long stretches of main into a "yard" to get around PTC. Bad ideas are born to get around even worse ideas.
 #1219449  by Head-end View
 
The Long Island Railroad installed its Automatic Speed Control system as a result of the two horrendous crashes they had in 1950. The rest of the railroad industry has had enough similar incidents through the years that such backup systems should have been installed on all main lines nationwide a long time ago. If the industry as a whole had taken heed as LIRR did, the Chatsworth accident and many others may well have been prevented. Chatsworth was apparently the last straw. The federal government took the knee-jerk action that it did because the railroad industry failed to do so on its own over the last 50 years. So now railroads are stuck with the consequences of their own failure to take care of business, back when they had so many years to do it.
 #1219465  by jayrmli
 
While I don't like to see the signals go, as Jersey Mike pointed out, this is nothing out of the ordinary. The line is not considered main track anymore, but a secondary track. The speed has been reduced to 10 MPH and is now freight only. There is no need for the signals anymore if that is the case. To remove them, federal law requires that you petition for their removal.

Times change. At one time the Bay Ridge branch was a 45MPH line four tracks wide in spots and powered by overhead catenary. Today, it's a single track secondary line with no signaling and a speed of 10MPH. Now the Lower Montauk will be the same.
 #1219506  by Doc Emmet Brown
 
Yep and when engine 160 took a stroll what happened? secondary track, no crossing protection, how many people were hurt? Hmmm.
Insanity, accident waiting to happen.. It may take time, same with the TMI on the tunnels... watch..Just a matter of time..
Secondary track with no signals... 10 miles per hour.. yeah that wil work..this happened on such a track..uhhh ok
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 #1219528  by NYCrails
 
It all comes down to the RR nitpicking and playing cheap around the corners so they don't have to pay signalmen and other M of W departments from maintaining Lower Montauk. Nothing else. Why pay them when you can hire more managers and directors.
 #1362996  by Jeff Smith
 
Community board pushing for reactivation: Times Ledger

I honestly can't tell if they're talking about commuter rail, or light rail? It's hard to make out. They're also talking about incorporating other discontinued branches such as Bushwick and Rockaway.
CB5 officially backs Crowley’s commuter rail
...
“This commuter-rail line should be considered a part of a master plan for a new commuter rail system for the residents of Queens County,” CB 5’s recommendation read. “[The concept] would connect the Jamaica LIRR Station to the Hunters Point Terminal in Long Island City.”

The resolution noted that the proposal could be part of a larger plan with additional phases, including the reactivation of the old Rockaway Branch of the LIRR, reactivation of the Bushwick Branch of the LIRR, connection to the LIRR’s East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal, or the LIRR’s existing Penn Station Access.
...
Crowley hopes to establish a rail commuter service line on the LIRR Lower Montauk line, which carried passenger service until the late 1990s and is currently lightly used to transport freight.

“Light rail in this community could change the way we all work, where we eat, the way we play and more,” Crowley said at the CB 5 meeting.

The plan would create new passenger stations at the Atlas Park Mall in Glendale, the M train station at Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, the abandoned Fresh Pond Road station beneath the Metropolitan Avenue overpass, Flushing Avenue in Maspeth and the Hunters Point Terminal in Long Island City.
...
Bob Holden, a committee member, said the plan would only be feasible if it went to Jamaica and was connected to the Rockaway Line, which he said would alleviate many commuting problems on Woodhaven Boulevard.

“They need a transportation master plan,” he said. “The plan is not really a plan yet, it’s just an idea.”

Crowley anticipates each rail car will cost about $3 million. The tracks and the right-of-way—two of the most expensive pieces—have been secured for the future project, according to a Crowley spokeswoman.
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 #1363029  by SwingMan
 
Count how many trains there are that turn in Jamaica now that very well could be doing this run, but the timing and planning just wasn't there. I don't think much of this, mainly because I don't think they know what the heck they're talking about.
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