Haverhill Line Upgrades (Western Route)

Last week's white pickups went where white pickups go, but a track alignment machine and a couple of other track machines were parked at the AS end of Lawrence yard about 10:20 this morning. No employees visible with them, no other signs of activity anywhere.

octr202 wrote:

Rockingham Racer wrote:One word applies here: ridiculous. Can you see octr202 driving down to Lowell Jct. from Essex St. in Andover?!

I'd be moving.

Talk about assinine. Two stations that serve traditional town/village centers, yet still have ample parking* for those not within walking distance. With the always drawn out but still theoretically happening Andover DPW garage relocation, there's a golden opportunity to create a station complex with transit-oriented housing on that property, all while (finally!) creating convenient pedestrian access to Main St (*gasp* People walk to the train station?).

All so that they could make more park & ride spaces, when Anderson is just a little further south, has much better service, and rarely if ever fills up? Another solution in search of it's problem.

I'll get off my soapbox now...see what you started, RR?

I surely agree! I grew up in Andover and lived about 1 mile from the station. Andover depot was really convenient when I worked in Boston since I didn't have to drive when it when the roads were bad, and I saved a ton on my insurance and gasoline due driving less. These out-of-the-way stations don't make sense. If anything, perhaps add in a Lowell Junction station back in again rather than remove the two convenient existing stations on the same line. The "T" can't say that the this wouldn't be cost effective due to the number of stations in the are already because the rest of the line from Reading south (by compass) has stations every few miles if that.

John

No sooner do I post, than riding home, I noticed new ballast on the easterly track E of Andover St.: the 'wow' left when the track was first connected is now gone, presumably removed by the track machines. Which means the speed will go from 10 MPH to 35 MPH, either already or in the next couple of days.

Several track machines powered up on the W leg of the LJ wye about 0930 today, but if their mission was more than routine maintenance, all I can envision is reconnecting the easterly track at the Andover bridge. Otherwise, 2 weeks gone, no progress. So for 2014, all I see the customers/taxpayers getting is AS - Fry double track into service. This is the absolute minimum the T needed to handle single-tracking between Frost and Hall for the Haverhill bridge job. I think they plan to finish this 2009 'shovel ready' project just enough before the 2017 deadline so they can schedule the requisite photo-ops for bureaucrats and politicians.

I saw a track crew today in the process of reconnecting the easterly track at the Shawsheen River Bridge site.
They are laying continuous rail with the front loader supplying ties as they proceed along.

Nice to see some activity. There's been a couple pieces of equipment there for a while but no signs of activity.

Looks like the storm drain blocking the Essex/Pearson crossing work isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I am starting to wonder if the section through Andover has been put on hold until the Main St (Route 28) overpass is replaced, which as been in the pipeline but never started for several years.

This project is at a snells paste. In the last few weekends they replaced a couple of road crossing panels in Wilmington. Looks like one panel left for Rt 62 at North Wilimington station.

insider485 wrote:This project is at a snells paste. In the last few weekends they replaced a couple of road crossing panels in Wilmington. Looks like one panel left for Rt 62 at North Wilimington station.

YES, we are all grieving with you. Slower than cold molasses going uphill in January..

I'm starting to wonder if there's any hope of seeing the 2017 deadline met at the rate things are going.

Rockingham Racer wrote:

insider485 wrote:This project is at a snells paste. In the last few weekends they replaced a couple of road crossing panels in Wilmington. Looks like one panel left for Rt 62 at North Wilimington station.

YES, we are all grieving with you. Slower than cold molasses going uphill in January..

Slower than Death chained to a stump

This project is at a snells paste.

Well no wonder it's taking forever. They're using that snells paste! ;-P

"This is glue. Strong stuff." - Elwood Blues

whoooooop's sorry about that! I meant snells pace, meaning very slow................but the best glue for the money is Gorilla Glue.

jwhite07 wrote:

This project is at a snells paste.

Well no wonder it's taking forever. They're using that snells paste! ;-P

"This is glue. Strong stuff." - Elwood Blues

And what the Hell is a "snell"?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

The "snell" is a measure of time just as the "smoot" is a measure of distance when crossing the Mass. Ave. bridge over the Charles. Were a snail foolhardy enough to attempt a longitudinal crossing of said Mass. Ave. bridge, the progress would be quantified in smoots -- whole and/or decimal -- per snell. In the heat of summer, snail bloop -- especially at smoots per snell-expressed speed -- can become snell paste.

jaymac wrote:The "snell" is a measure of time just as the "smoot" is a measure of distance when crossing the Mass. Ave. bridge over the Charles. Were a snail foolhardy enough to attempt a longitudinal crossing of said Mass. Ave. bridge, the progress would be quantified in smoots -- whole and/or decimal -- per snell. In the heat of summer, snail bloop -- especially at smoots per snell-expressed speed -- can become snell paste.

Thats just far- T-lining OUT, man!