Worcester Line Track Work, 05-05-2010

[jaymac]

Gates Road, Sterling, based on a 1315 09-27-2010 drive-over, has also gotten work. The panel track that had been sitting on the ROW off to one side has disappeared, hopefully under the freshly-paved crossing. New stone has also been spread on the ROW approaches to the pavement. It looks like the work was done to reduce the ice-over possibilities that existed with the old crossing. On the Campground Road side of the ROW line of trees, there are three piles of stone, unknown if RR or town.

[boatsmate]

There has been a tamper and spreader parked at shrewsbury st on adn off teh week. could be that they where working there

[jaymac]

On a 10-02-2010 1230 drive-by, the spreader and tamper were gone from Shrewsbury Street. Also gone were the three hills of stone mentioned earlier at the Gates Road, Sterling, crossing. In their place was nicely profiled ballast east and west as far as could safely be seen in a drive-over. Gates Road probably hasn't looked that good since State of Maine days.

[jaymac]

On 10-16-2010 during a 5-hour-spaced pair of drive-overs, a Guilford pickup and a Guilford dump truck -- that's right, Guilford, not PAR, markings -- were parked on the ROW either side of the Prescott Street, W. Boylston, crossing. No crew was visible. I wasn't there on 10-17, and the trucks weren't there on 10-18, at least not at 0700.
On 10-18 at 1050, yellow Track Critter 20808 was parked without people on the old New England Envelope siding just east of Shrewsbury Street, W. Boylston.

[jaymac]

Seems the Burncoat Street crossing will be getting a rebuild. A drive-over on 11-09-2010 at 1020 showed a crew in conference and panel track compass southeast of the crossing.

[jwhite07]

Seems the Burncoat Street crossing will be getting a rebuild. A drive-over on 11-09-2010 at 1020 showed a crew in conference and panel track compass southeast of the crossing.

Hallelujah. Won't have to cut through the Stop and Shop lot anymore to avoid it.

[jaymac]

As off 11-15-2010 at 0830, work hadn't yet started. Supposedly Worcester keeps on delaying.

[jaymac]

Signs were posted prior to an 11-16-2010 pre-noon drive-over of Burncoat Street stating that it would be closed on 11-17 for work. The forecast? Rain, naturally.
A bit earlier drive-over of Prescott Street, West Boylston, showed a line of fresh, mounded, but untamped stone in the gauge, east of the crossing.

[jaymac]

An 11-18-2010 0915 drive-over of Burncoat Street showed the work pretty much done. PD Worcester was still there and the lights were flashing, but because there was a tamper working just east of the roadway.
Also, there's probably no restoration of service to Bunzl off Shrewsbury Street, West Boylston, likely in the near term. Just east of the Angell Brook access road, a small forest's worth of evergreens has been planted in new soil mounded high over the tracks to the warehouse.

[boatsmate]

I was going to post this in the topic I created for this area but it seems to have disapeared.... I won't comment on that.

I drove over the crossing at Burncoat st today, all paved, and it looks like they fixed the track all the way around the curve to the bridge with new track, ballist, and ties. there where a lot of low joints and water problems in that area.

was nice not to have to slow down for the crossing, however I did because there was a train parked before the crossing headed towards worcester.....

Bill

[StillRiver]

The line has been jacked, lined, and tamped from Clinton/Lancaster north through Still River in Harvard. Many ties were also replaced. Most of the low joints are gone and the alignment is much better. The rail is still beat up and worn out, though.
The short, 'see-saw' section a few feet south of the crossing at Still River Depot has also been fixed after teetering for at least 5 years. However, the rail through that crossing is now about 3-4" lower than the rest of the track.

[CPF363]

Even if all of the ties are replaced and the line is aligned, speeds will not be able to be raised due to much of the track itself being deformed at joints and flat rail heads. The 112lb welded rail put in over ten years ago in the W. Boylston area is probably in the best shape verses the rest of the line with 100lb jointed rail. Does anyone know if there are plans to remove all of the old jointed rail and replace with welded rail of a higher gauge? One other question, is the welded rail plant in N. Billerica in working order still?

[newpylong]

Even if all of the ties are replaced and the line is aligned, speeds will not be able to be raised due to much of the track itself being deformed at joints and flat rail heads. The 112lb welded rail put in over ten years ago in the W. Boylston area is probably in the best shape verses the rest of the line with 100lb jointed rail. Does anyone know if there are plans to remove all of the old jointed rail and replace with welded rail of a higher gauge? One other question, is the welded rail plant in N. Billerica in working order still?

No plans to replace the rail that I've heard.

[frrc]

Even if all of the ties are replaced and the line is aligned, speeds will not be able to be raised due to much of the track itself being deformed at joints and flat rail heads. The 112lb welded rail put in over ten years ago in the W. Boylston area is probably in the best shape verses the rest of the line with 100lb jointed rail. Does anyone know if there are plans to remove all of the old jointed rail and replace with welded rail of a higher gauge? One other question, is the welded rail plant in N. Billerica in working order still?

Think of the $cost$ involved to upgrade to CWR....

[boatsmate]

a double check of the area shows that they actually replaces some of the rail beyound the crossing in both dirrctions but mainly towards the bridge where it was the worst