NC DOT reallocating $117 million for Piedmont Corridor projects

[cirdan]

Where NC DOT plans to get the 5 NPCUs from is a good question. I gather adding cab cars on the trainsets to reduce turnaround time and costs at Raleigh have been in the plans for some time.

How are the trains reversed now? Do they wye them?

 

[John Bobinyec]

Where NC DOT plans to get the 5 NPCUs from is a good question. I gather adding cab cars on the trainsets to reduce turnaround time and costs at Raleigh have been in the plans for some time.

How are the trains reversed now? Do they wye them?

The Raleigh station sits on one side of a wye.

At Charlotte, the wye is somewhat north of the station, but not far.

jb

 

[cirdan]

With NC DOT paying, could Amtrak convert AEM-7s?

Or what about the surplus P40DCs, ot other surplus locomotives?

 

[cirdan]

The Raleigh station sits on one side of a wye.

At Charlotte, the wye is somewhat north of the station, but not far.

jb

Thanks.

I don't know the Charlotte location, but from my observation at Raleigh the lines are quite busy with freight so wyeing a train there is not going to be easy. I guess NS will be quite happy to see Amtrak/NCDOT find another solution.

 

[Ryan]

With NC DOT paying, could Amtrak convert AEM-7s?

Or what about the surplus P40DCs, ot other surplus locomotives?

I don't think that there are really any surplus locomotives, P40 or otherwise.

The weight issue shouldn't be too hard to solve, just pour a cement slab inside the baggage compartment. Between that and stripping all the crap off the roof, the CG should be nicely lowered.

 

[jis]

With NC DOT paying, could Amtrak convert AEM-7s?

Or what about the surplus P40DCs, ot other surplus locomotives?

There does not exist any surplus P40DC with a non cracked truck, from what I have heard. The ones not in use were cannibalized to work around the truck cracking problems on the P42s a little while back.

The weight issue shouldn't be too hard to solve, just pour a cement slab inside the baggage compartment. Between that and stripping all the crap off the roof, the CG should be nicely lowered.

In addition, I suppose they could leave the main transformer in situ under the floor (assuming that is where it is, like in most other modern electric engines)

 

[The Davy Crockett]

The again, maybe Amtrak could create a steerage class where all that is guaranteed is a commuter style seat and just use many of these cars as is leased from whoever wants to get into that business. There are many possibilities.

The '3' seats could become the new habitat of the lounge lizard! :giggle:

 

[jis]

The again, maybe Amtrak could create a steerage class where all that is guaranteed is a commuter style seat and just use many of these cars as is leased from whoever wants to get into that business. There are many possibilities.

The '3' seats could become the new habitat of the lounge lizard! :giggle:

It does open up all soprts of additional possibilities :giggle:

 

[xyzzy]

Wyeing the train in Raleigh rarely causes a problem. Arriving Piedmonts must go to the NCDOT passenger yard for servicing anyway. What does cause a problem is that the current Raleigh station uses the main line. The replacement station will sit off the main line and will also have two station tracks to begin with. This will provide much more flexibility. A cab car would simplify the reverse moves somewhat, but the trackage between the station and the NCDOT facility is slow speed anyway.

 

[Notelvis]

Wyeing the train in Raleigh rarely causes a problem. Arriving Piedmonts must go to the NCDOT passenger yard for servicing anyway. What does cause a problem is that the current Raleigh station uses the main line. The replacement station will sit off the main line and will also have two station tracks to begin with. This will provide much more flexibility. A cab car would simplify the reverse moves somewhat, but the trackage between the station and the NCDOT facility is slow speed anyway.

This is correct...... the two Piedmont consists which arrive in Raleigh each day are both returning from thier roundtrip to Charlotte and neither are going out again until the following day.

 

[battalion51]

It kinda sounds to me like they may be trying to re-focus the Mechanical operation away from RGH and toward CLT, which is actually very logical. In CLT you've got the Carolinian set laying over each day, both Crescents being re-fueled and watered, and all of the Piedmont action. If you can consolidate your Mechanical forces into CLT you'll get more work done, and have more specialists available. Granted you'd likely still need skeleton Mechanical in RGH since at least one set will likely have to layover there, but it would be a good thing to re-focus the majority of the activity in one place.

 

[Guest]

These terms and requirements have nothing to do with who has the most traffic, but only who came first. Have no idea who did in Charlotte. Somewhat suspect it was NCRR.

It's probably more complicated than it looks because the modern-day Charlotte trackage controlled by NS comes from three different ancestors -- some of whom ran parallel to and next to each other. Notably, last I checked, the proposed Charlotte Gateway Station location wasn't actually on the NCRR, it was on NS -- anyway the contracts may be quite convoluted.

 

[orulz]

The crossing is between CSX and NS. Neither can control the number of trains the other runs over it. To be more clear, CSX cannot limit the number of trains that run on the NS track. Further, NS does not actually own those tracks. They have a long term lease. The owner is the North Carolina Railroad which is owned by the state.

Don't quote me on this, but I believe that that Norfolk Southern actually does own those tracks at the CSX crossing. South of the current station, the old route of the NCRR runs parallel to and in between College and Brevard. NCRR had its own diamond with the CSX / Seaboard near the intersection of 12th & Brevard. It was bypassed, I think, in the 1950s or 60s. The southern part of this route has already been converted into the Blue Line light rail, and the rest is being converted as a part of the Blue Line extension.

Not that this has any real impact on whether or not trains will be allowed to cross there.

Anyway, it is unfortunate to see the grade separation project has been dropped for now, but I would think this is critical for the planned commuter rail through Huntersville moreso than the Amtrak trains. The commuter rail line would have required a new track at the CSX diamond, for the O line. Perhaps that is what CSX was not going to allow. It looks like if the commuter line is to happen, it will either have to find an alternate route (Diverging from the O-line at Atando Jct.), bundle the cost of the grade separation into the commuter line, or else wait for somebody to pick the grade separation plans back up and build them as part of a future HSR upgrade, which may be decades from now if ever.

 

[xyzzy]

Don't quote me on this, but I believe that that Norfolk Southern actually does own those tracks at the CSX crossing. South of the current station, the old route of the NCRR runs parallel to and in between College and Brevard. NCRR had its own diamond with the CSX / Seaboard near the intersection of 12th & Brevard. It was bypassed, I think, in the 1950s or 60s. The southern part of this route has already been converted into the Blue Line light rail, and the rest is being converted as a part of the Blue Line extension.

I think you're right. The line that runs parallel to Graham Street was originally the Atlanta & Richmond Airline, later called the Atlanta & Charlotte Airline and controlled by the Richmond & Danville before everything was folded into the Southern.