Amtrak Empire Service (New York State)

mtuandrew wrote:Is there any reason a bridge couldn’t be put immediately (a few feet) south of LAB, using the same center pivot island? As a movable bridge too, it could be assembled off-site while the eastern fixed spans, both approach abutments, and pivot were built on-site, and the new span dropped into place all before the old bridge was lifted out of place. If my aerial photos are correct, it looks like a new alignment would clear the I-787 supports and not impact Central Warehouse.

Could be done with only closing the Hudson to navigation for under a week, if things go smoothly enough.

You would need to fill or build a new approach on the Rennselear side. There is a tail track that ends fairly close to the bridge . Without the tail track they cant really move train sets from one side of the shop to the other. Add in the possibility of having to move the fuel and sand racks. Amtrak and NYS just re did LAB interlocking if you move the bridge south that means one power switch and five signals will need to be moved.

As for the main pivot island its falling apart just like the bridge and most likely would have to re worked along with the piers that support the bridge.

Why not build a new single span and then take the LAB OOS for a while to rebuild it? You would get some delays for a time, but would end up with 3 tracks across the river causing fewer delays after completion. Could be a CSX - Amtrak joint project as both would benefit.

Are you proposing a bridge parallel to the existing one?

The rotating swing part may be a bit tough to deal with there.
And again you still have the approaches on both sides that are problematic.
And quite honesty, 3 tracks is probably 2 more than the bridge really needs.

Does the "moveable" part of LAB have some outstanding issues that the Coast Guard wants repaired real soon?

Why not just build a lift bridge over the swing bridge much as being done at the Walk lift bridges ? Swing bridges are an anachronism that the coast guard does not seem to want replaced by a new swing bridge anywhere .

Last I heard there were no issues with the bridge or with the coast guard. I think it may have been swung a week or two ago. It does have issues when it gets hot and the wedges that lock the bridge in place like to get stuck open or part closed. The only rumor Ive ever heard is the main cogs that turn the bridge if any should fail there are no replacement parts left. The last time something broke in there they were lucky enough to find a replacement in the weeds inside of Selkirk yard.

I considered a vertical lift bridge too, east point, and that’s fine as long as you’re willing to impose a maximum height on sailboats. Might be worth it, for a wider shipping channel for barges and power boats.

No one is seriously using single or double bascule rail bridges anymore, are they?

DV moveable bridge is a swing span that was lifted,rebuilt at a shipyard and put back inplace,with the Coast Guard's OK.
LAB is much larger bridge,may not be able to lift high enough to do a total replacement of the geartrain at the pivot point.

Previously the Coast Guard required I believe 110' at high tide for clearance all the way to Troy.

However, the lift mechanism (and later towers) for the Rte 378 bridge a few miles north. I believe now it's only about 80' above the river. Based on the other bridges in the area, I suspect 80' or so is still the lower limit.

Meanwhile, back at Livingston Avenue:

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Maybe one of those "Mother of All Bombs" (MOAB; heaviest non-nuke out there) could bring that derelict down. Short if that, who knows; doubt if anyone is about to suggest nuking an American city just to clear for a new railroad bridge.

Greg Moore wrote:Previously the Coast Guard required I believe 110' at high tide for clearance all the way to Troy.

However, the lift mechanism (and later towers) for the Rte 378 bridge a few miles north. I believe now it's only about 80' above the river. Based on the other bridges in the area, I suspect 80' or so is still the lower limit.

I believe the 378 bridge is no longer in service. The only time LAB gets swung regularly is for the Captain JP. Not much left north of the bridge for barge traffic. LAB is rarely if ever is swung during the winter months. The operators/clerks get to spend the winter months as delay clerks.

Railjunkie wrote:

Greg Moore wrote:Previously the Coast Guard required I believe 110' at high tide for clearance all the way to Troy.

However, the lift mechanism (and later towers) for the Rte 378 bridge a few miles north. I believe now it's only about 80' above the river. Based on the other bridges in the area, I suspect 80' or so is still the lower limit.

I believe the 378 bridge is no longer in service. The only time LAB gets swung regularly is for the Captain JP. Not much left north of the bridge for barge traffic. LAB is rarely if ever is swung during the winter months. The operators/clerks get to spend the winter months as delay clerks.

Umm, I drive over the 378 bridge on a regular basis. It's in service.
But I realize the source of the confusion. I left out "removed" in the above sentence. The 378 bridge LIFT mechanism and towers have been removed, but the bridge itself is still fairly high above the water and in service. I believe the requirement is still much higher than LAB. I don't think a lift bridge is feasible.

As for taking down the cooler building. Nope, not going to happen. Any new bridge will have to pretty much go where the current one is.

As a frequent passenger on the Empire Service from SYR to NYP, I can say they run a pretty tight ship, and it is FAR better than trying to fly from ROC or SYR to LGA or JFK. The track and ride quality on the stretch from ALB down to Hudson is horrible though, usually feels like we're going to fly off the rails.

Can a higher bridge be built further north so that a lift isn't needed anymore?

jcpatten wrote:Can a higher bridge be built further north so that a lift isn't needed anymore?

No. Any further northern routes are long gone.