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Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

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 #1607133  by gprimr1
 
I've always wondered why no one has considered two stub end tracks built over that large parking lot on the east end of the station. That would allow 2 trains that terminate in Richmond to load and unload there as well as lay up, and keep the main free. Then the main would be used for Newport News bound trains.
 #1607137  by scratchyX1
 
gprimr1 wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 9:22 am I've always wondered why no one has considered two stub end tracks built over that large parking lot on the east end of the station. That would allow 2 trains that terminate in Richmond to load and unload there as well as lay up, and keep the main free. Then the main would be used for Newport News bound trains.
You mean where there is the remains of siding trestles.
Though I guess they would need to branch off sooner.
Or, if the gear is going to have locomotive at one end, and cab car at the other..
Could tracks go into the station itself?
How much more expensive would it be to do that?
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.537385, ... a=!3m1!1e3
 #1607169  by RandallW
 
Once the decision to put the maintenance area south of the station along the route the west side tracks follow was made, there is no advantage to having stub-end tracks in the station since that would require a train that terminates at the station to pull back out, reverse, and pass the station again to get to the maintenance area, whereas through tracks allow a train to avoid a reversing move.

The maintenance area is where it is because that does not require any land purchases outside of CSX property and it minimizes potential conflicting moves for trains moving into, out of, or past the maintenance area (all other possible areas that did not require land purchases could not fit a wye long enough to turn the whole train).
 #1607181  by west point
 
STrRedWolf wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 9:07 am [
Okay, I'm a bit confused with the EIS. Are they're going to have two tracks on both sides (total of four?) and have passengers detrain from all four?
Any chance of the stub end tracks being restored? Either with the initial restoration or the future? They would be ideal for trains ending at RVM.
Last edited by west point on Sat Sep 24, 2022 12:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #1607182  by west point
 
west point wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 12:17 am
STrRedWolf wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 9:07 am [
Okay, I'm a bit confused with the EIS. Are they're going to have two tracks on both sides (total of four?) and have passengers detrain from all four?
Any chance of the stub end tracks being restored? Either with the initial restoration or the future? They would be ideal for trains ending at RVM.
 #1607183  by west point
 
west point wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 12:23 am
west point wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 12:17 am
STrRedWolf wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 9:07 am [
Okay, I'm a bit confused with the EIS. Are they're going to have two tracks on both sides (total of four?) and have passengers detrain from all four?
Any chance of the stub end tracks being restored? Either with the initial restoration or the future? They would be ideal for trains ending at RVM.
EDIT corrected to Main street station.
quote]
 #1607193  by RandallW
 
west point wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 12:17 am
STrRedWolf wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 9:07 am [
Okay, I'm a bit confused with the EIS. Are they're going to have two tracks on both sides (total of four?) and have passengers detrain from all four?
Any chance of the stub end tracks being restored? Either with the initial restoration or the future? They would be ideal for trains ending at RVM.
At this point, given the planned train frequency, I'm not sure that two platforms aren't essentially going to be "in reserve" to allow a late train to not cause cascading delays. As designed, the eastern two platforms are only for through services to Newport News, and the western two platforms are for all other services terminating at or through Richmond.

The stub end tracks are not planned to be restored. With only one exception, all planned train services at Richmond are planned to be through services with two of the existing trains that currently terminate in Richmond to be extended to Norfolk and all other new services to be terminating in Newport News, Norfolk, or (ultimately) Raleigh.
 #1607195  by Allouette
 
A look at some historic photos shows that at one time there was a through track on each side that went inside the train shed. With the train shed converted into event space that's unlikely to happen again. Both "inside" tracks (one on each side) rejoined the "outside" tracks near the head house. There seem to have been two west-side (for RF&P?) stub tracks as well. Seaboard built the second track on the west side viaduct as a station bypass around World War II. Before SAL moved to Broad Street in 1958 (requiring a backup move to and from the ACL) all Seaboard trains in Richmond were through trains, with the power swap (with RF&P) happening at Acca yard in steam days with diesels running through to and from Washington.

Broad Street had an elegant track arrangement. Trains from both directions approached the station via a wye off of the RF&P. South of the station the tracks looped back to the wye so that all trains, north- and southbound, in the station itself ran in the same direction.
 #1607200  by gprimr1
 
Image

This space in yellow looks like it could easily house two tracks, if not 3, elevated over the parking lot. People walk out to the tracks and board the train. The tracks combine into 1, accessing the main via that abandoned spur track.

Trains heading for Newport News continue as usual.

This gives you a huge advantage of being able to keep the station downtown. The space might even be big enough to build a pocket track to allow access to the mains going west and souh, since it would be very low speeds, the switches could be pretty sharp.
 #1607215  by RandallW
 
That abandoned spur track is a coal trestle (elevated up higher than the mainline) for a heating and cooling company that has been at that location since 1921 although obviously no longer handling coal (they do have oil bunkers).

Historic photos show that there were platforms outside the tracks (as VA is proposing building) on the both sides of the tracks on the C&O side through at least the 1975 and the SAL side through 1941. On the east side of the station today, the railings for the old platform are still present, albeit on a truncated platform and the steel stringers below still stick out past the railing showing how far it extended out.
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