B&A double tracking

[MBTA F40PH-2C 1050]

what is the most tracks the B&A ever had in Mass.? I konw there is 2 tracks for most of the journey until CP 60, and then CP80, etc. why did Conrail rip up the 2nd track between all these spots?

[TomNelligan]

what is the most tracks the B&A ever had in Mass.? I konw there is 2 tracks for most of the journey until CP 60, and then CP80, etc. why did Conrail rip up the 2nd track between all these spots?

Through the 1950s it was basically four tracks between Boston and Framingham, and mostly double track west of there with some short stretches of triple track. The section east of Framingham was double tracked when the Mass Turnpike extension was built in the early 1960s. Conrail ripped up much of the double track west of Framingham in the mid-1980s because they felt it wasn't necessary and wanted to save money on maintenance.

[MBTA F40PH-2C 1050]

well with all the traffic today, would it be worth it for CSX to put in that double track again>?

[Noel Weaver]

It is 192 miles from Boston to CP-SM which is where the B. & A. connects
with the Hudson to cross the Hudson River and go into Selkirk Yard.
Of this 192 miles, there is second track available over 106 miles either by
double track or controlled siding and 86 miles of single track.
The line like much of the railroad had been allowed to go downhill by
Penn Central and needed much work for upgrdading. The management
felt that the existing traffic could be adequately handled by one track with
sidings and a double track section over the mountain and also through
Springfield.
In the process of single tracking, top freight train speeds were raised from
40 MPH on the entire line to 50 MPH in many areas, a modern cab signal
system was put into place and on the sections where two tracks are in
place, modern signals permit one train to be passed by another.
The tax structure in some of the northeastern states has not helped any
when it comes to removing unneeded tracks, buildings and other facilities.
Noel Weaver

[johnpbarlow]

In the Penn Central to pre-single track Conrail years, was the B&A double track ABS signalled for current of traffic? Or was one track signalled bi-directionally and the other track signalled in one direction only? IIRC, the track along the Mass Pike Extension was set up like this before the MBTA dramatically increased commuter train frequency.

[LCJ]

It was ABS with current of traffic in effect