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  • Track 61

  • Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.
Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.

Moderators: sery2831, CRail

 #1521491  by bostontrainguy
 
DMK wrote: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:42 am
All of the bridges along Fairmount branch have been replaced or raised to meet double-stack requirements in the last 10-15 years. Seems long-range this is being considered?

DMK
Is this a fact? Fairmount always was the "high-wide" route into Boston (except now there are high-level platforms killing the "wide" part of that). Was the bypass road ROW also "high-wide"? Would think so.

I am guessing that the Dorchester Ave. bridge is an obstacle and probably the Red Line bridge although that can be avoided with a reverse move. Major work to clear the Dot Ave bridge but it must be due for replacement soon.

Does anyone know for sure the height restrictions into Boston via the Framingham Secondary/Franklin Line/Fairmount Line and Bypass Road?

Of course we know west of Framingham was cleared for autoracks years ago.
 #1521511  by troffey
 
DMK wrote: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:42 am What about CSX?

While this track is under the MBTA, it was my understanding that CSX still maintains an easement on that track and could exercise that at any time. Long range, it has been established in the press that CSX has some long-range plans to possibly bring some container work back to the waterfront and might actually use Track 61 to connect and move freight.

Any updates on that?

All of the bridges along Fairmount branch have been replaced or raised to meet double-stack requirements in the last 10-15 years. Seems long-range this is being considered?

DMK
At the moment, the trackage is completely impassable beyond Pumphouse Road, with construction activity having blocked the tracks both along that corner of the Haul Road and also on the back of that lot at the corner of Drydock Ave and Harbor Street. I'd have to assume that these projects accommodate the right of way for the future, but stranger things have happened.

As far as the width of the ROW, it does open up around West 2nd, but the MBTA is currently performing some sort of construction at Bypass Road and Cypher Street (possibly part of the Red line testing? All I could see was the generic "MBTA Improvements" sign) that certainly appears to only leave one track width for passage.
 #1521719  by QB 52.32
 
BandA wrote: Sat Sep 28, 2019 5:16 pm There really needs to be freight service to Massport Conley Container Terminal.
There's no demand for rail service out of Conley Container Terminal so there's no need. Sure, politicians and planners say we have to build for it, but all you have to do is look north to Portland, ME where a had-to-have taxpayer-funded intermodal terminal serving the port sits idle.
 #1521747  by BandA
 
and someone else pointed out some time ago, there isn't really the space to assemble a train at the Conley terminal
 #1521759  by bostontrainguy
 
QB 52.32 wrote: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:18 am
There's no demand for rail service out of Conley Container Terminal so there's no need. Sure, politicians and planners say we have to build for it, but all you have to do is look north to Portland, ME where a had-to-have taxpayer-funded intermodal terminal serving the port sits idle.
Yeah I thought Eimskip could have been accommodated much better at the rail-on-dock facility at the end of Track 61 vs. the small dock they had in Everett. And of course they would have been connected to CSX which could have easily run single-level shuttle trains to Worcester.

I would love to know if there was any effort by Massport or other Boston authorities to try to keep Eimskip in Boston. That would have lead to the activation of Track 61 of course.
 #1521781  by QB 52.32
 
Unfortunately, there are no players, Eimskip included, that would create demand for rail out of Conley in the forseeable future. But if there was, it would be cheaper to just truck it to CSX's railhead at Worcester.
 #1522960  by neman2
 
A Red Line train was observed running on track 61 Thursday October 17 along the Bypass Rd. down to West First St., so it looks like the track is ready for the new trains.
 #1522980  by johnpbarlow
 
I believe the area circled in red on this Google Earth aerial photo of June 2019 is track 61. Looks like there no grade crossings as all cross streets use overpasses.
Attachments:
MBTA Track 61.JPG
MBTA Track 61.JPG (279.06 KiB) Viewed 2656 times
 #1523002  by bostontrainguy
 
QB 52.32 wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2019 7:08 am Unfortunately, there are no players, Eimskip included, that would create demand for rail out of Conley in the forseeable future. But if there was, it would be cheaper to just truck it to CSX's railhead at Worcester.
I'm not talking about Conley if that's what you are saying. There is an existing unused (maybe never used?) rail-on-dock pier at the end of track 61. You can see it here on the Update plan from 2017:
http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachmen ... ce375ea824
 #1523004  by bostontrainguy
 
diburning wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:23 am Is there a map of the test track part of Track 61 anywhere? Are there any crossings (fenced off/closed or otherwise?) or bridges?
The test track ends just before Cypher Street the first railroad crossing on Track 61. The ROW from the Redline bridge to Cypher Street is depressed in a trench and all roads cross over it on bridges.

From Cypher Street to the Marine Industrial Park there are several unused at-grade crossings.
 #1523064  by caduceus
 
When I was in the area of the BCC recently, it appeared like a fair amount of work was done to spruce up the segment along Haul Rd up to Pumphouse Rd, but is the crossing at Cypher Rd intact?
 #1523098  by QB 52.32
 
bostontrainguy wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2019 8:22 am
QB 52.32 wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2019 7:08 am Unfortunately, there are no players, Eimskip included, that would create demand for rail out of Conley in the forseeable future. But if there was, it would be cheaper to just truck it to CSX's railhead at Worcester.
I'm not talking about Conley if that's what you are saying. There is an existing unused (maybe never used?) rail-on-dock pier at the end of track 61. You can see it here on the Update plan from 2017:
http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachmen ... ce375ea824
Got it. What I'm saying is that no matter the physical facility or player, there is no foreseeable rail demand for container traffic generated through Boston's port.
 #1523122  by bostontrainguy
 
Didn't realise it but I found a really old map and there apparently was a spur off of Track 61 going north on Tide Street exactly where the planned new track would be located. When they dig down to build this new track they just might find the original track buried many many years ago. Looks like there also was a siding off Tide Street into the drydock which has appeared on some of the plans I have seen.

If interested check this out:
http://www.bostonplans.org/3d-data-maps ... ial-photos
 #1523149  by MBTA3247
 
The entire Seaport District was riddled with freight spurs back in the day. Other than Track 61 virtually all of it is gone, except for the odd piece of disconnected track here and there.