Fitchburg Line Upgrade Discussion

Several J.F White machines sitting on the old B&M Car House site just east of Elm Street in Waltham. Probably some track work planned for this weekend. Also I had been noticing big potholes forming in the Newton Street Railroad Bridge lately so I called the city the other day and MassDOT has been out to evaluate the structure now. We will see what happens.

Major track work this weekend. Crews from J.F White have installed all new track from the Jackson Street Bridge to Waltham Lumber (Rte 20) this weekend. MassDOT and contractor SPS New England came out Friday night and repaired the surface of the bridge over the RR tracks on Newton Street. Photos below were taken just before midnight last night from Newton Street bridge of the track work.

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Some time between last Friday (11/7) and yesterday noon, they installed a huge signal bank over the tracks just East of South Street at Roberts Station. Still working on it today.

Roberts Station crossing gates all got rewired and slightly moved over the past few days

Driving by the South Acton station this morning before 0700, there was a large red and white crane and support vehicles parked along the right side of the entrance. As best I can tell from looking down from the Route 27 Bridge, they are working slowly on what will be the new outbound platform, and the inbound platform looks largely done, but there has been little to no work on the station building and pedestrian bridge in the last year.

So what's the crane for?

JBConn wrote:Driving by the South Acton station this morning before 0700, there was a large red and white crane and support vehicles parked along the right side of the entrance. As best I can tell from looking down from the Route 27 Bridge, they are working slowly on what will be the new outbound platform, and the inbound platform looks largely done, but there has been little to no work on the station building and pedestrian bridge in the last year.

So what's the crane for?

The new outbound platform is being installed. See http://actontrain.info/news.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for details.

Thanks. I had forgotten that link.

More work crews this weekend in Waltham. J.F White crews were working on the tracks near Waltham Lumber & Route 20 all day Saturday. A crane was also on the tracks erecting a signal bridge at the Outbound Waltham Platform.

Gigantic new signal gantry now erected next to Fresh Pond Mall in Cambridge by the stub end of the MOW storage track.

I was at S Acton Station this morning walking the dog and checking out the construction. All remaining outbound platform sections are installed. In the distance, we could hear a train approaching from the west. It whistled for all the grade crossings in Acton (these crossings are in a "no whistle" zone). There were a lot of extra toots in addition to the rule 19.b.'s (2 longs a short then a long) meaning there was personnel on the right of way. The train stopped at the station then returned west. The dog and I headed home via West Acton to Investigate. Keolis had people protecting all the crossings and I noticed the jog in the iron betwen Central St and Comm ave had been straightened. This is where a temporary connection had been made from new track 1 from the west to old track 2 to the east a year ago so repairs and maintenance could be completed on track 2 between Acton and Littleton. Obviously the train was out testing the newly restored track.

Tom Coughlin (and dog Midnight, too)
Stow, MA

Rust busting extra. They swung the main back to the Number 2 track(original single track) this weekend. This is preparation of putting the double track through South Acton station when the new high level platform opens on the Number 2 track side.

Also noticed a new catilever signal bridge was recently installed just east of the Rt 27 bridge in S. Acton. Is an interlocking still planned for this location?

Tom Coughlin
stow, MA

Yes they are going to install an interlocking just east of the new South Acton Station approximately in the same location of the old South Acton Interlocking.

In an it-may-have-been-there-with-the-old-signals-but-it's-still-new-to-me moment, the CPF-FG new WLs showed a Limited Clear for 1 during the 0713/11-24-2014 drive-by.

I noticed another new cantilever signal bridge on the way home from work tonight. It's locate just west of Conant Road in Weston.

Tom Coughkin
stow, MA