Fremont 4th track

I see fremont's getting it's 4th, westernmost yard track re-installed. Is this for handling all the new loads coming or to enable replacement/repair of some of the other tracks up there?

Not sure when that track was originally removed but I'll assume it was a very long time ago.

Clearly this Fremont expansion is to support the Triboro RX Subway expansion plan, which to judge by the way people are carrying on about it on SubChat is ready to start construction sometime next month...

That's the old 3 iron upstairs. It would probably be the longest interchange track. It was always used as an access road to get down towards the East NY tunnel area or to inspect car interchange from CR/ CSX.NYA could probably get another 100 cars out of that. 1 iron is rated for 90 cars 2 and 4 iron both 60( 50 ft. Cars). They've talked about doing that for awhile glad to see it may finally happen.

It's actually happening. Graded, new ties are down, and rail is being bolted on, from south to north (not sure all the rail is on the property, but the ties are in place). New pre fab switch ready to go in at the north end. The rail goes from behind wilson ave. L station to evergreen jct. - just ties going north of there. No ballast. Not sure when this started but it's well on its way.

Those subchat people are insane. They can't even get a study for passenger rail back on the old lirr rockaway branch through queens where the only competing option is a park that the city will not maintain... subways over those freight tracks will absolutely never happen.

Will this new track be stick rail or CWR ?

I'm assumin that's what the CSX rail train was doin there a couple months back (droppin off).

PS: we're not all insane....................

Don't know how that one went by unnoticed. Was just informed the LIRR has been rebuilding 3 iron for almost a year. That is a bit odd they are doing the work verse somebody like Railroad Construction. Good to see some freight improvements as of late Pinaire and now Fremont.


Good find Dogbert!

Here are two photos. Definitely looked like they've been working on it for awhile - the leaves in the cut suggest sometime before autumn last year for sure. I don't think they're in any particular rush to get it done, though I'd expect maybe later this year? Also I'm not sure if it'll be CWR. There was some extra rail laying in the gauge of the next track over, though I'm not sure it has all arrived. Would dropping the extra rail in the gauge of the active track be standard rail-building procedure?

Wasn't csx going to move 'swamp switch' further north too? I haven't been up that way, though I don't think that work was ever done, or just plain not needed with this new rail going in.

I would guess it'll be around 100 car capacity.

On a slightly different topic, there is a stone line marker labeled '10' behind the wilson ave. L stop - anyone know if this would be 10 miles from the bronx or 10 miles from bay ridge?

To answer your question in the last part, that should be measured from 65st in Brooklyn. The Bayridge is 11 miles long. LIRR is probably in no rush to complete the work. Not a private contractor that has to move on to another jobsite. Looking at that strand it looks like a piece of CWR, not a 40' piece of stick rail. I wonder if the work was city/ state funded and being done by the LIRR track dept.

It's amazing how much $ is wasted when railroads remove track only to re lay it years later. Just like the line DOGBERT mentioned through Queens, all LIRR had to do was spray and stop vegetation don't worry about rails and ties just deal wit that if the line ever was to see traffic again. we've seen alot of money wasted on less needed stuff.

So very true re: waste. Ounce of prevention is far cheaper than a pound of cure.

Not sure who funded it, maybe it came from the pool of cash NY&A pays LIRR (some of which must go to trackwork). Not sure who'd doing the job but I'd bet it's lirr and would have been done long ago if it were being done by a contractor. Though to be fair they might have worked on the overpasses too? I didn't see anything obvious being done on them but that would have been the first step.

Thanks for the clarification on that mile marker. I figured it was bay ridge but it's probably a similar distance to OP too.

Not sure who I heard it from, but LIRR was doing the trackwork to prevent their crews from being furloughed during budget cuts. The outside work helped them justify keeping them around. My guess is this work got put on hold after crews needed to make any repairs from Sandy.

The reason the rail is stored between the gauge of the active track is for safety/liability reasons. If the rail was laying outside the gauge, it could be construed as a tripping hazard for employees. Since employees are told not to walk inside the gauge of the rail, they can get away with storing it there because they do not belong there.

The Milepost 10, as freightguy mentioned, is measured from Bay Ridge.

some of the Google 45 degree shots show the row already prepped and Orange pick up trucks both hi rail and on the prepped areas.

DogBert wrote:Not sure when that track was originally removed but I'll assume it was a very long time ago.

Anyone know why it was removed in the first place?