MTA LIRR Double Track Project - Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale

Edward Hand's photos indicate the following over the outages going from Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale.

Ronkonkoma:
-A crossover switch in between Pond and Ocean has been connected to the second track.
-Ballast and surfacing have begun.
-The second track is still having its' third rail installed further East of the pedestrian overpass at Milepost 47.

Central Islip:
-PRR signals on the CI1 gantry have been removed and replaced with dwarf signals.
-Additional dwarf signals have been erected.
-Second track has had the third rail installed through the new CI Interlocking around Milepost 43.
-Ballast and leveling has been completed.

Brentwood:
-Ballast dumping and surfacing continue West of Islip Avenue to BRENT.

Deer Park:
-New crossover switch installed further West of the current JS switch in anticipation.
-Ballast dumping and surfacing has begun near Commack Road.
-Signal sheds/huts have been installed through Wyandanch.
-DK is now temporary. That section in between Commack and Carll's is confusing to me.
-Ballast rail cars and TC vehicles continue going down the grade towards Wyandanch gradually.

Wyandanch:
-Station building construction over the past few weeks has seen it go from just a foundation to four walls and a roof to fully enclosure the inside.
-Cement trucks were pouring concrete on the section of the new second platform.
-Three new wooden poles have been erected for future power lines to sway the wires over the new elevator/station building.
-New Wyandanch Interlocking has all four turnover switches, both crossover switches about connected, but the Western crossover seems out of alignment.

Pinelawn:
-Nothing new, he hasn't photographed there in over a week.
-Last time the ramp for the platform replacing the old Southern one has been completed.

Farmingdale:
-Work has begun reconfiguring FARM in a way with a new crossover switch installed that if you go East it goes from TK1 to TK2.

The work in Farmingdale is the reason that there is NO train service between Ronkonkoma and Hicksville.

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More work scheduled for this coming weekend. The line is getting closer to having a second track to Ronkonkoma and other improvements throughout are ongoing in other parts not related to the double track project.

The double track project will be helpful for growth of Long Island. After it is done, I hope LIRR adds stations on the line including Republic and hopefully more people will use the train to get to MacArthur airport which will help relieve space at other airports. The second track project is a meaningful project for the state. The buildout continues and people will report on the work seen till this peoject is completed this year.

They really need a better way to get people from the LIRR to Islip Airport.

What a difference a few weeks has made since I last posted on this.

1.) New crossover switch installed in between Pond and Ocean.
2.) Third rail being extended further East towards Ronkonkoma.
3.) CI1 signal bridge gone.
4.) Third rail has all been but been laid and installed from West of Carleton to Brentwood.
5.) New second track has been aligned at JS, and both new crossover switches are in place. The current switch in service will be gone by the end of the project and the new one will be to the West.
6.) Ballast has been laid heavily, and will be groomed soon over Deer Park Avenue to just East of Wyandanch.
7.) New elevator shaft skeletons are up, concrete being poured.
8.) Power lines reconfigured on taller poles.
9.) New Wyandanch station building almost completed.
10.) Some work at FARM.

Now some of the new track has welded/bolted clamps on the inside of the running rails, I know that is not supposed to be that way, so I guess those will be cut out using steel saws.

Are the dwarves being installed of the position light type or the color light type?

The dwarfs are position light, not colored where the CI1 signal bridge stood. Those signals are temporary because the new Central Islip Interlocking will be located in between the Peters Blvd. and Islip Ave. crossings. CI2 will be taken out sometime in the next few months hopefully, but they have to connect the second track and it has to be in service.

Those are actually pedestal signals which are different than dwarf signals or low home signals as I understand LIRR calls them. They are used where there are space limitations or for temporary signals like these. Pedestal signals show the same aspects/indications as high signals. Dwarf signals, those little triangular shaped housings that sit right at ground level only show slow speed aspects.

Head-end View wrote:Those are actually pedestal signals which are different than dwarf signals or low home signals as I understand LIRR calls them. They are used where there are space limitations or for temporary signals like these. Pedestal signals show the same aspects/indications as high signals. Dwarf signals, those little triangular shaped housings that sit right at ground level only show slow speed aspects.

You mean those signals that look like the Amityville Horror House windows? I think this is a dwarf signal here at FARM1.

Busy day yesterday and today on the grade between Wyandanch and Deer Park Ave overpass. LIRR crew working at the pedestrian overpass. Looks like they're burying cables. On the new ROW construction crews are working with 2 tie tampers and a track stabilizer. The Rail King trackmobile and 4 Herzog ballast cars are dumping more ballast behind the tampers and stabilizer. Noticed the Herzog cars appear to have small solar panels on the ends of the cars. Anyone know what their purpose is?

Battery charger panels,for the door motor battery!

Saw new photos by Edward.

-Third rail has been installed to just short of Brentwood.
-Crossover work continues at JS.
-Ballast has been dumped to near New Highway.
-Something with new switches at Wyandanch is being done, but I'm not sure.

Why does the new track under the pedestrian bridge at the Wyandanch switches bow out? Is it going to be aligned eventually?

Solar panels as you heard from him, clean and renewable energy. Plus it saves money and is more efficient.

Backshophoss wrote:Battery charger panels,for the door motor battery!

Thanks.....

Nice pics, lets hope those pedestals and/or the replacements stay as position lights, but I am not holding my breath

RestrictOnTheHanger wrote:Nice pics, lets hope those pedestals and/or the replacements stay as position lights, but I am not holding my breath

Sadly, no position lights. All color light, all ground mounted.

Pedestal signals are also being installed at KO, so in the near future the signal bridge near Easton Avenue will be removed, the signals will be replaced near Pond Road because of a new crossover, the gantry at CI2 will be removed, BRENT will be eliminated, and FARM is going to be going through switch work and upgrades to the interlocking. What signals they will put up for the new Central Islip and Wyandanch Interlockings I don't know. Gantry or no gantry, I can see FARM, JS, and KO staying with gantries.