Grand Junction Branch (The North/South Side Connection)

[gregorygrice]

FOR YOU BOS PEOPLE: MBTA Transfer Job (or whatever the hell its called) is on duty and waiting to proceed into South Station to move equipment to BET via the Grand Junction Branch. Consist is as follows:

+Genset (leading towards BOS)
-Bi-Level
-Bi-Level
+F40PH
+F40PH

Of course I see this while departing on 65 back home to NYP. Again I appreciate all of the info. Hopefully I'll have time to catch it when I come back up.

[BostonUrbEx]

Can two trains receive permission on the Grand Junction at the same time? If so, can they be in opposing directions?

I'm curious if there's ever meets at the runaround!

[GP40MC1118]

I suppose you could make a meet via the passing siding between Mass Ave & Memorial Drive,
but as far as I know, it hasn't been done in recent memory. You are more likely to see
close following moves like last Thursday's when CSX was followed by an Amtrak Extra
within 10 minutes (both headed to Beacon Park).

Lately, the runaround has been used to stage ballast cars for Worcester mainline stone
trains (like this past week).

D

[jbvb]

I think it's been a very long time since there was a meet between Mass. Ave. and Mem. Drive. During the 1970s and 1980s the siding was usually occupied by TTX intermodal flats, presumably a reserve for Beacon Park. When locals had cars for Necco or the latex plant, they were spotted on the way back to Beacon Park so as to be a trailing point move.

Leaving crossing protection on busy streets unrepaired for a year exactly reflects the current state of the T.

[nomis]

The Mass ave crossing is back in service, as of today.

[BostonUrbEx]

Wow, it only took a whole year to get that one back in service. Unbelievable.

Any others still out from a year ago?

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

Have they installed gates at Mass Ave. yet, or was this just a tardy fixing-the-damn-circuits job.

[GP40MC1118]

Mass Ave went out back in May 2014! Broadway out in August 2014!

Broadway is still out.

D

[eustis22]

monorail

[chefsef]

I don't understand what's out about Broadway? Since like 2013 timeframe, CSX does flag the crossing, but everything is flashing and dinging away. Before that, they wouldn't flag, but I do recall back in either Fall 2012 or early 2013, a car's front end was obstructing the crossing (?) and it got hit by the engine. Again, signals were working fine.

And what's weird is, I swear that the non-CSX moves, don't flag the crossing, just blow the whistle and come on through.

[GP40MC1118]

Broadway has been out of service since August 2014 and after a few weeks since was bulletined
out of service so Form D's did not have to be issued to all train movements. Ditto Mass Ave,
which went out in May 2014. Mass Ave was recently returned to service.

As for the issues with Broadway, it has something to do with the coordination of adjacent traffic
signals. There doesn't seem to be any desire to resolve the situation. I guess Keolis/MBTA has
more pressing problems.

The Grand Jct Running track has numerous problem crossings inherited from CSX. Several are now
consistently bad performers in inclement weather - Medford Street floods out when a
decent rainstorm comes through. Binney Street has been out for four days now for equipment issues.

D

[YamaOfParadise]

As for the issues with Broadway, it has something to do with the coordination of adjacent traffic
signals. There doesn't seem to be any desire to resolve the situation. I guess Keolis/MBTA has
more pressing problems.

Could be more fault on the other end, too, namely Cambridge's DoT (assuming that since it isn't a state route Broadway isn't MassDOT); if Cambridge's DoT isn't pulling their part of the bargain with coordinating, or they don't want to spend the resources to resolve the problem, MBTA/Keolis might just decide to use their time/money/resources on more pressing matters (like you said).

Overall, sounds like it's a little in column A and a little in column B as far as "is this the fault of the MBTA/Keolis or not".

[GP40MC1118]

Gee...I forgot the "People's Republic of Cambridge" factor...

D

[chefsef]

Thank you for the explanation, one observation:

The lights seem synchronized to the crossing's signals, at least, they were yesterday afternoon at around 4PM when the CSX local came through headed for Chelsea.

[Slushbucket]

Looks like there is some MOW work going on - driving along Soldiers Field Road I noticed a couple of pieces of MOW equipment on the small overpass. There was a long string of MOW equipment on the lead to the GJ and about 7-9 AFCX-marked ballast hoppers underneath I-90. I couldn't get any numbers, sorry, but the hoppers look like this one: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3566672