Original NH Catenary Replacement Progress

[powerdirector99]

Otto the stations involved are Southport, Fairfield and Bridgeport and the unconstructed Fairfield Metro Center Station.

[RDL 879]

At interlockings, such as CP-248, additional catenary bridges are being installed to provide better support for the more complex catenary construction at these locations. This can be seen where the catenary replacement is complete, such as CPs 229 and 266, among others.

There are also other locations away from interlockings where additional bridges are being installed to provide better support, or where the installation of a pull-off pole (used to center the wire on curves) would be unfeasible, such as at the Milford Station.

[myamyc72]

I take it that the new catenaries that are being installed will allow the new fleet of trains including the Amtrak to run at high speeds alone the New Haven Line if I am not mistaken. I by the way live in Vermont and occasionally travel to NYC for business and either drive the I-95 route to Manhattan or take the Metro North Trains or Amtrak if I have to travel between Boston and Washington DC.

On another note the city of West Haven received money to start buying property where the new Railroad Station will be located, so it looks like construction will be starting in 2009 with the completion date in 2011. Now the question will be are they going to use four tracks or two, and will the fourth track be reinstalled at Milford?

Regards:

Amy

[Patrick A.]

I take it that the new catenaries that are being installed will allow the new fleet of trains including the Amtrak to run at high speeds alone the New Haven Line if I am not mistaken. I by the way live in Vermont and occasionally travel to NYC for business and either drive the I-95 route to Manhattan or take the Metro North Trains or Amtrak if I have to travel between Boston and Washington DC.

On another note the city of West Haven received money to start buying property where the new Railroad Station will be located, so it looks like construction will be starting in 2009 with the completion date in 2011. Now the question will be are they going to use four tracks or two, and will the fourth track be reinstalled at Milford?

Regards:

Amy

Amy,
From my understanding the Constant Tension catenary that is being installed on the New Haven Line is only to maintain reliability along the line during times of temperature extremes. Under the old catenary, the wires would sag in heat (summer) or become too rigid (winter) resulting in wire pull downs at higher speeds. However the Constant Tension system that is being installed will prevent this from happening and thus allow trains to run at track speed. The CT system will not to my knowledge increase track speeds.

For your second question there are plans to re-electrify a freight siding that runs parallel to the NH line from outside of New Haven to just after the West Haven line into Milford. However the Milford station is in the way of building a true Track 3 between Mew Haven and DEVON Interlocking.

Cheers,
Patrick

[DanSullivan]

a little correction to the end of patricks post.

milford station is not in the way.. they can literally slide it over. the issue is one of the bridges over a river(i forget the name) was only built for 3 tracks and has no footing for a 4.

[Erie-Lackawanna]

Well, no....not really.

They can't just "slide it over". They'd need to demolish the track 1 platform, dig up the footings, and then rebuild it 12 feet north of where it is now. Frankly, it's not significantly less work than would be required to put in the footings for the fourth track at that bridge.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that you still don't need a four-track railroad at this location to support the traffic currently operating and reasonable future needs. The Harlem Line puts much more traffic over a two-track railroad than what runs on this stretch of three-track railroad.

Jim

[mntktagt]

Yes, but do the wires come down on those two Harlem Line tracks?

[Patrick A.]

Well, no....not really.

They can't just "slide it over". They'd need to demolish the track 1 platform, dig up the footings, and then rebuild it 12 feet north of where it is now. Frankly, it's not significantly less work than would be required to put in the footings for the fourth track at that bridge.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that you still don't need a four-track railroad at this location to support the traffic currently operating and reasonable future needs. The Harlem Line puts much more traffic over a two-track railroad than what runs on this stretch of three-track railroad.

Jim

And with all the ruckus involving the Track 4 platform, I sense that there will be any major RR construction projects in Milford for the next several years. But Jim, where does that industrial track (5) begin/end and when might it be activated for service?

Patrick

[RDL 879]

"Track 5" is the old New Haven Line mainline Track 3, between CP-271 and CP-261.

It currently is in service between MP 64.74 in Milford (just east of Old Gate Lane) and CP-271, serving the last large cluster (about four) of freight customers on the New Haven Line. The track has been removed between CP-261 and where it presently begins in Milford. Although the overhead wire on the track was removed as part of the catenary replacement project there is still a circuit in service for Track 3, carried on the catenary bridges.

The plans for the West Haven Station include provisions for this track to be restored for passenger service between CP-271 and CP-266.

[myamyc72]

All of you have been a real help with all of your comments, you must be tired of hearing from a dizzy girl, however do I have the track configuration correct here?

Track Configuration


____________________ Track 1
____________________ Track 2 <New> New York Bound

Regards;

Amy

[RDL 879]

The New Haven track numbering between Woodlawn, NY (where it joins the Harlem Line to reach Grand Central) and New Haven goes like this:

Woodlawn / New Haven



---------- 3------------
-----------1------------
-----------2------------
-----------4-------------
(As we now know, Track 3 between Milford and New Haven is now named "Track 5.")

Hope this high-definition rendering helps .

[myamyc72]

It looks like track 3 is back in service as of today (7/12/08). I was surprised though that the rust from the track was cleaned off before train service was restored. Is this a normal thing, I though the rust would have been removed first to provide better electrial conductively?

Regards;

Amy

[DutchRailnut]

Track 3 and 1 are New York bound and 2 and 4 are new Haven bound.

[myamyc72]

Yes I believe that this is track 3, NYC Bound, the local track.

Regards;

Amy

[DutchRailnut]

Amy your not telling us where ??