North Carolina NCDOT-Amtrak Piedmont Service

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:23 pm https://bridgehunter.com/va/mecklenburg ... ke-gaston/
It's a single track bridge, and it looks like there will be some people with lakeside homes not thrilled to have trains, especially higher speed ones, in their back yard.

Worth bearing in mind that a higher-speed passenger train is a lot different than a coal drag. It's a lot lighter and less noisy and goes past a lot quicker. Can say that from personal experience-- I live within 700' of MN's lower Harlem Line, a route that's probably 20x busier than the S-line would ever be.

orulz wrote: ↑Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:48 pm NCDOT will sell unrefurbished train cars (including the Ringling Bros circus train) that they no longer have a use for.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/polit ... 87420.html

The article says that they have $157 million in federal grants and plan to use that money to buy six new locomotives and 26 new coaches.

The planned sale of those “previously owned” cars is not good news for Delaware Car Company in Wilmington DE, the shop that rebuilt all of the old passenger cars now in service for NC DOT.

Well Mr. Deasy, is opportunity knocking for "Mount Vernon" to have a "mate", say, named "Peacefield"?

Ridgefielder wrote: ↑Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:15 pm

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:23 pm https://bridgehunter.com/va/mecklenburg ... ke-gaston/
It's a single track bridge, and it looks like there will be some people with lakeside homes not thrilled to have trains, especially higher speed ones, in their back yard.

Worth bearing in mind that a higher-speed passenger train is a lot different than a coal drag. It's a lot lighter and less noisy and goes past a lot quicker. Can say that from personal experience-- I live within 700' of MN's lower Harlem Line, a route that's probably 20x busier than the S-line would ever be.

I'm thinking of all the opposition that Texas central is having, with Nimbys on a new ROW.
I don't think it's possible to fence the entire length in, and you know there will be "think of the children" BS.

Buying those old circus cars never really made sense . I would say the rebuild total costs would come close to the cost of new cars.

Believe the cars were bought to be part supplies for current fleet,

Only two (of 14) cars in the circus car auction received bids. The state will revise reserve prices and other terms and try again shortly:

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/polit ... 06540.html

The rail division has been taking a bit of an unjustified beating in the local press for this. They purchased the cars for refurb before they received the federal grants for new gear.

NCDOT had some information to share at this year's Southeast Rail Forum.

* Pre-COVID service levels will be restored on the Piedmont April 5ht (and there will be a fare sale)
*The 4th Piedmont Frequency should start in 2024 and will coincide with the opening of Charlotte Gateway station
* The 5th Piedmont Frequency will require improvements between Greensboro and Cary that are currently being studied (I suspect many of those improvements will be concomitant with the development of Durham-Garner commuter rail (which really should run to at least Hillsborough or Burlington)
* It sounds like an expansion of the (still unused) Charlotte passenger equipment storage and maintenance facility is planned to coincide with the arrival of NCDOT's new rolling stock.
* NCDOT officials showed a map of "NC Passenger Rail Opportunities" which showed Wilmington being served via Goldsboro (rather than Fayetteville)
* The map also featured an interesting new segment of 'possible passenger service' from Norlina to Weldon (on the A-Line). A new Weldon station was mentioned (perhaps, in part, to serve Southern Virginia).

Is the switch to the S-line between Richmond and Raleigh causing some tension, leading to your last two points? I don't recall how the S-line affects through service to Florida. It's for the Carolinian and SEHSR at least.

kitchin wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 10:27 am Is the switch to the S-line between Richmond and Raleigh causing some tension, leading to your last two points? I don't recall how the S-line affects through service to Florida. It's for the Carolinian and SEHSR at least.

Its a good question. Its been widely thought that CSX was looking to downgrade the S-Line south of Raleigh which would negatively impact the speed of the only train that currently runs on it, the Silver Star. That said, there is very little public discussion of the Star and the Meteor in NC (and from NCDOT), I don't think they are viewed as particularly important to NC residents. Given that, I don't see any strong connections between the state's purchase of the S-Line and the Star. I have long thought that rerouting the Star via Charlotte to Columbia is a much better option for NC. AFAIK the only big hold up to that is access to the Columbia station. I could see this becoming much more of a possibility after Charlotte Gateway station opens in 2024.

I just saw a presentation by the SE Corridor Comission, strangely it also included a map which featured the Norlina to Weldon link, so it appears it is being viewed as an important link to build redundancy and better connect the S and A Lines.

west point wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 7:57 pm The Norlina - Weldon ( actually North Weldon on the "A" line ) is an old SCL ( SAL ) line that was abandoned by SCL before the CSX merger. At least the ROW may still be in tact (?) in most places. That route might be built to regular speeds that would give faster travel between Raleigh - Petersburgh. However that would bypass Selma, Wilson, and Rocky Mount. Upgrading the whole "S" line between Raleigh and Petersburg might take longer.
Or it might allow for a second train route being an extension of a NEC train from Richmond ?

Very left field , but would it be cheaper to swap the lines with CSX, so the freights take the slower less urbanised line. Though it would mean more freight trains going through Raleigh , I guess.

Well Mr. Benton, I'm at a loss to know why the Seaboard was not maintained as a through route, as this could have been the foundation of two "one way roads" resulting in operational efficiencies such as the UP has realized in the South Central region with their former Missouri Pacific and Cotton Belt lines. True, Seaboard Coast Line was confronted with the Roanoke River bridge dilemma, but considering how that waterway has become a man made reservoir, somebody could have leaned on the Corps or Engineers, which has a long history of "pork responsiveness", to start building.

It seems this was started long before Chessie came on the scene during the later '90's. It appears to date back to the ACL-SAL '67 merger when the Coast Line team prevailed at meetings and proceeded to chop up the Seaboard.

Look at predecessor road's maps and present day Chessie. Then ask the question "who best survived; Coast Line or Seaboard"?

The S line was considered inferior to the A line in that it was rather curvy and hilly as opposed to the straighter and level A line. I sometimes wonder why Amtrak did not offer to acquire it with CSX granted sole freight rights.

Alex M wrote: ↑Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:42 am The S line was considered inferior to the A line in that it was rather curvy and hilly as opposed to the straighter and level A line.

You indeed have a point Mr. M--s.

While hardly the SRY operating through the heart of the Piedmont range, the SAL nevertheless "skirts" it. By contrast, the ACL runs over the Tidewater plain.

Heavier trains, such as coal, would be best routed over the ACL regardless of direction, but Containers and "The Juice" could have benefitted from the essentially one way operation.