Howard Street Tunnel Baltimore

CraigDK wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:22 pm Another step forward.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/b ... story.html

Only about 30 years late.

I seem to recall reading last century that there was a cross harbor tunnel on the table, if CSX would sell the state Howard street tunnel for light rail.
But CSX asked for too much, thus the Howard Street "transit mall".
Anyone else remember that? I also recall that the Key bridge started life as a tunnel, possibly with rail.

Looking at CSX intermodal schedules online (https://next.shipcsx.com/#/plan/schedules/intermodal), it looks like all domestic and international IM from Philadelphia departs compass northward / RR westward on Q157 toward NJ/Dewitt/N Baltimore. There are 16 destinations from Philly include Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, West Coast, Texas, Mexico, and more. But there is no Philly IM service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Charleston, Florida, Pittsburgh. I wonder if a portion of the Q157 IM service lane to Chicago/western and SW US will change back to the B&O routing of old, and if Philly service lanes to the SE US will be re-instated once the Howard St tunnel clearance work is done? I also notice CSX has no IM service lanes from Atlanta (Fairburn GA) to the NE US (eg NJ, Baltimore, Dewitt) except for Springfield MA via Chicago! Will that change once the Howard St tunnel is enlarged?

This interactive CSX network dimensional clearance map that can be filtered for double stack clearances is interesting:
https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers ... ance-maps/

Between having the full double stack clearance and the IM terminal being built at Rocky Mount, which I believe will eventually do block swapping, I would be very surprised if CSX doesn't implement new IM service along the I-95 corridor. Places like Atlanta, Worcester and Philly would seem to be prime candidates for new service.

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 11:30 am I seem to recall reading last century that there was a cross harbor tunnel on the table, if CSX would sell the state Howard street tunnel for light rail.
But CSX asked for too much, thus the Howard Street "transit mall".
Anyone else remember that? I also recall that the Key bridge started life as a tunnel, possibly with rail.

B&O/Chessie/CSX have missed the boat multiple times. They could have piggybacked onto the 1950's construction of the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. They also could have piggybacked on to the 1970's/80's construction of the Fort McHenry Tunnel.

Politics, Finance, Ego and Personality have all affected aspects if the double stack conundrum.

johnpbarlow wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:15 pm This interactive CSX network dimensional clearance map that can be filtered for double stack clearances is interesting:
https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers ... ance-maps/

Very interesting. The tunnel has a max double-stack total height of 18'... and in fact, it's 18' from Jessup north... and don't get into Philly!

That said... I wonder what else is restricting it. The road bridges over the track into Baltimore and Bayview are:

• MD 175 at Jessup MARC station
• MD 100 at Dorsey MARC station
• I-895 at Lawyers Hill Rd
• South Rolling Rd near St. Denis MARC
• I-195 near St. Denis MARC
• US 1 at Clarke Blvd
• Landsdown Rd *and* Harmonds Ferry Rd
• Nearby West Patapsco Avenue (south end Mt Winans Yard)
• A railroad bridge connected to a wye.
• I-95 *and* South Monroe St
• Russel St *and* Ostend St
• The Ravens Walk cross-over at Federal Hill Light Rail
• Hamburg St *and* South MLK Jr. Blvd at the above light-rail stop
• ...and you hit the tunnel...
• Short detour, if you go to the repair shop, you got a few bridges at MD 2/Hanover St at I-95... and two instances of East Fort Avenue.
• Northern end of the Howard Street Tunnel, you get Howard STreet again at I-83...
• And the Light Rail roller coaster...
• And I-83 itself...
• And North Avenue.
• Sisson Street between West 24th and 26th Streets
• Huntington Avenue...
• Oh look, another tunnel starting at Howard street along 26th and hitting five more street bridges and... in fact, it's like that until you get past Greenmount Avenue.
• MD 147 Harford Road at Clough St
• Edison Highway at Sinclair Lane
• And I-895 again at Bayview.

Wanna bet not only is the Howard Street Tunnel an issue but also one (or more) of those bridges?

So with this full project then, will CSX have all three sides of its "triangle network" cleared for doublestacks? That map isn't the easiest to read, but it seems there's nothing between PHL and New Jersey that is less than the blue clearance. As someone mentioned before, there aren't any lanes any more between Atlanta and the northeast. Selfishly as a railfan I hope they reinstate them since that will mean a pickup of traffic on the Abbeville (currently 4 through trains per day, all manifest, one pair carries racks). But I also see the logistical benefit to our nation and the overall transportation network, in particular truck traffic on I-85. In this world of PSR, I can see why CSX eliminated the lanes between Atlanta and the Northeast even if I don't agree. The places that can be reached with doublestacks are too small of a market, running further requires either running with a cut of single stacks, or restacking the cars (is that even done?).

Port of Baltimore has taken delivery of 4 new container crane at the Sea Girt Marine Terminal that will permit unloading post-panamax container vessels with up to 23 containers WIDE across the deck.

Cranes are anticipated to become operational in early 2022.

And it's on!

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/howard-s ... g/38379638

...and it turns out that the expansion project also tweaks some bridges. In short:

• Howard Street Tunnel -- Track lowering and notching.
• Mount Royal Avenue, Light Rail roller coaster, Sisson Street, Huntington Avenue, Charles Street, St. Paul/Calvert Street, Barclay Street, and Greenmount Avenue -- Track lowering
• Guilford Avenue, Harford Road -- Bridge replacement
• North Avenue -- Bridge rebuild with modern materials.

Hallelujah!

This project is a LONG time coming. This project should have been done in the mid-2000s after the Conrail split. I do understand why it never happened then though. CSX had to make back all the money it spent on Conrail and subsequent absolutely necessary infrastructure upgrades such as the redouble tracking of the B&O in the Midwest.

If CSX is serious about rail-truck competition along the Selkirk-Waycross I-95 corridor like they say they are, this project NEEDS to happen. Glad to see it.

Might pop up there in a few months to see the construction. (And to railfan.)

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:05 am And it's on!

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/howard-s ... g/38379638

...and it turns out that the expansion project also tweaks some bridges. In short:

• Howard Street Tunnel -- Track lowering and notching.
• Mount Royal Avenue, Light Rail roller coaster, Sisson Street, Huntington Avenue, Charles Street, St. Paul/Calvert Street, Barclay Street, and Greenmount Avenue -- Track lowering
• Guilford Avenue, Harford Road -- Bridge replacement
• North Avenue -- Bridge rebuild with modern materials.

Rebuilding the Bridge over the streetcar museum?
Harford road Bridge has been in need of replacement , for some time.
Shame sidings from NS at Bayview and rebuilding Claremont branch to get freight out of the b and p tunnels not in plan, this time.

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:24 am Rebuilding the Bridge over the streetcar museum?
Harford road Bridge has been in need of replacement , for some time.
Shame sidings from NS at Bayview and rebuilding Claremont branch to get freight out of the b and p tunnels not in plan, this time.

Nope, rebuilding the bridge section over the tracks that carries North Avenue. I looked at the EIS on this one. It's rather sandwiched in.