D
Daniel
Guest
At the Houston station, the parking lot has been repaved and the track closest to the station is being rehabbed. Could the station building itself be renovated as well?
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dart330
OBS Chief
When I was there on Sunday they had made a lot of progress on rehabbing the track and fence posts were being installed in the parking lot. It looks like they are going to limit access to the tracks so you will have to go through the station and not be able to just walk right up. I have not been able to find any information online about what they are doing but would like to see the plans.
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mfastx
Service Attendant
Interesting, might have to check it out next time I'm in town as well. Strange how I haven't heard anything about the station renovations going on at all in the media anywhere.
neroden
Engineer
I hope this isn't being done for the purpose of creating unnecessary security theater delays. It hardly matters when Houston is only served by the SL, but still.
dart330
OBS Chief
When I dropped by the station a couple months ago to check it out for the first time there was a large police presence outside. I overheard one of the Amtrak staff members telling one of the police they were glad they were there as they had been having trouble with vagrants. Perhaps it is being done to keep bums away from the ticketed passengers and the trains. San Antonio has had problems with homeless stealing luggage out of stopped trains.
Green Maned Lion
Engineer
Of course. It's called spending money. Often the purpose of spending money is spending money.
neroden
Engineer
Sounds likely.
henryj
Conductor
I am glad to hear they are fixing up the station grounds, the canopy and the second track. The track is used to park the circus train on when it comes to town and UP uses it when they bring their business train to town or their steamer. Amtrak may plan to use it for the Sunset as the main track is used for freights also and when Amtrak stops at the station for 30 minutes or more the main is blocked.
ehbowen
Engineer
I seriously doubt that the second track, being under asphalt, has received any kind of maintenance whatsoever since the present station was constructed in 1959. This may well have been a case of "use it (and fix it first) or lose it!"
VentureForth
Engineer
And... MURDER.
On the otherhand, perhaps they are spending all these resources to correct the signage that points to New Orleans in one direction and Kansas City in the other...
Incidently, that old thread I linked makes reference to the refurbishment of the 2nd track, too. From 2011. If they didn't have to pay for all that full time staff, they might could have refurbished the entire location by now. (OK - tongue and cheek. Not literally. No citation available.)
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cirdan
Engineer
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I never saw it that way and always assumed the station was on some loop away from the main line, but looking at Google Earth I see it isn't.
No wonder UP dislikes Amtrak.
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henryj
Conductor
Yes we know that, but UP runs freights on both tracks. The other track is the former 'freight bypass' that was in use when the passenger main was actually a passenger main. But that hasn't been the case for the last 50 years. UP may use the two tracks directionally. I just don't know. I do know the main is double track west of the station with single track east of it. The freight by pass is single track. I have ridden the Sunset west several times. Once it came in behind a freight. I have been to the station many times and freights pass by there all the time. Usually west bound.
JoeBas
Conductor
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I'm simply pointing out that one train per day, "Blocking" a main that has a few-mile bypass for 30 minutes a day, isn't exactly the end of the world.
In my recent experience, we spend a lot more time waiting for UP freight between HOS and BPT than UP freight spends waiting for the train while its in HOS.
In my recent experience, we spend a lot more time waiting for UP freight between HOS and BPT than UP freight spends waiting for the train while its in HOS.
Tennessee Traveler
Conductor
I just rode #2 through Houston on Tuesday 7/29. I don't know about what lines or tracks we were using but I do know we exited the station east bound and after traveling a couple miles or so, we stopped and then backed up quite a distance to switch to another track line. After this back up move, we then proceeded on a different track toward Beaumont. I don't know if this was normal or not. By the way we were on time or ahead of time all the way to San Antonio from Los Angeles. After departing San Antonio we lost up to one and one half hours because of freight congestion between San Antonio an all the way to Lafayette, LA. Nevertheless, bacause of padding we arrived New Orleans at 10:15pm just over 30 minutes late.
Another observation. While Amtrak is busing the Texas Eagle sleeper and coach passengers from San Antonio to Fort Worth, they are apparently detaching the two cars and holding in San Antonio. I noticed they did not continue with us to New Orleans as someone had implied in an earlier forum post.
Another observation. While Amtrak is busing the Texas Eagle sleeper and coach passengers from San Antonio to Fort Worth, they are apparently detaching the two cars and holding in San Antonio. I noticed they did not continue with us to New Orleans as someone had implied in an earlier forum post.
M
Motorcar
Guest
The Houston station is on Terminal Sub Main 2. This was called Passenger Main until about ten years ago between Chaney Jct. and TWR 26. The other side is Main 1, it goes by Hardy Street Yard (gone now) and was called Frieght Main. Some old crews and dispatchers still know it as such. Double track extends from Dawes MP353 to Heacker Jct MP376 on the Terminal Sub. Just because two tracks aren't right next to each other doesn't mean it's not double track. The second track west of the depot is the Connecting Track, which is only between Depot Jct and Chaney Jct, it's not a main track.
The repairs to the depot track and platform were paid for by Amtrak.
I'd guess the SL takes that route about 25-30 percent of the time. Probably has something to do with the freight yard just east of that backup move area.
ehbowen
Engineer
My understanding is that UP prefers to operate that section of track directionally for all trains, not just Amtrak. The backup move puts you onto the old Missouri Pacific route which ran to the north, then east to Beaumont. Heading west from Beaumont, you are normally on the old Southern Pacific route. The two routes join just a little bit west of the Beaumont station, so except for that backup move in Houston there's very little "monkey motion".
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M
Motorcar
Guest
Except for locals, trackage right agreement trains, or when traffic is heavy. Beaumont Sub (former MOP) is 60 mph maximum whereas the SP side has 79 mph for passenger. 2 hour trip is the best time you can make eastbound Houston to BMT. 1 hour 27 min westbound. Of course slow orders and traffic will knock those times out.
mfastx
Service Attendant
Yup, happened when I rode the SL Eastbound as well.
The fun part is going over Lake Houston lol, which you don't get to do on the normal route.
George Harris
Engineer
There is nothing in the old MoPac route's alignment that prevents it from being faster. If I recall correctly, during the days of passenger service on both railroads the run time between Beaumont and Houston over these routes were about equal. A 79 mph limit on the MoPac would probably take little more than dealing with the lenght of the circuits at the road crossings. Likewise, a wye connection could be built to eliminate the need for the backup move. It is just that for a 3 times a week train and in a state that is not overly enthusiastic about running it in the first place there is no push to make these things happen.
Despite the backup move, use of directional running is probably a plus for the Sunset because it eliminates meets with freight trains. For teh freights I am of the impression that directional running continues to the east with one direction following the old MoPac and the other on the former SP through Lake Charles to Iowa Jct then tunning north on the old MoPac Alexandria to Lake Charles line to Kinder where it joins the MoPac from there east. East of Iowa Junction the SP main went to BNSF as part of the UP+SP merger.
Another odd tidbit: The lift bridge at Beaumont is owned by KCS. The MoPac route is on KCS track east as far as Dequincy LA.
Despite the backup move, use of directional running is probably a plus for the Sunset because it eliminates meets with freight trains. For teh freights I am of the impression that directional running continues to the east with one direction following the old MoPac and the other on the former SP through Lake Charles to Iowa Jct then tunning north on the old MoPac Alexandria to Lake Charles line to Kinder where it joins the MoPac from there east. East of Iowa Junction the SP main went to BNSF as part of the UP+SP merger.
Another odd tidbit: The lift bridge at Beaumont is owned by KCS. The MoPac route is on KCS track east as far as Dequincy LA.
M
Motorcar
Guest
There used to be a connection, it was there at Tower 26, they took it out. The only way to access the HWB ( Houston West Belt ) from Main 2 requires a back up move to the wye connection at Maury Street or Carr Street. Once in a blue moon it will have to back all the way to Chaney Jct and then go east to Maury Street connection then north.
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