BNSF track projects, WA State 2014

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There is some sort of activity on the north side of Auburn where the third main would be installed, some digging and grading on or next to the new track. No real sign of anything else the rest of the way down to Ellingson Road where the third track would end (highway bridge and White River are immediate obstacles). Been waiting years to see this work done. Coming back from a job interview this afternoon I drove right by this location today, but didn't see anything new.

Talking to my boss, there will continue to be work through next year on this segment. There will need to be some mitigation up near Thomas MP 18 and there is on going utility work and grading. The north section up near Tukwilia should be done in July so then the focus can be on the Thomas to Ellingson section. I've been waiting years, also. It would've all been done years ago had it not been for the recession.
 
Work continues on the Auburn project in multiple locations. The Boeing plant turnout off the south main is being excavated and it'll interesting to see how it's made to fit into the smaller space remaining between the new third main and C St. Grading is being done by Ellingson Road where the switch will probably be located. When they start breaking up the temporary asphalt platform at the station and laying new track remains to be seen.
 
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The third main track project (more of a glorified siding for the next few years until extended) in Auburn is proceeding rapidly. Subgrade is being dug, compacted, laid and recompacted all along C St. SW this week; looks like track-laying could commence soon. I guess ties will be laid and rails installed, then ballast put down and track aligned and tamped. The Boeing turnout is finished, with concrete ties and a very linear ramp from the grade crossing to track level, spaced away from the third track and quite close to the road. I wonder if there are any rules regarding the spacing of mainline track to an adjacent highway?

No sign of activity in-town or north of there, does anyone know the construction schedule and when it'll be completed?

Also spotted a rare A-B-B-A engine consist in Auburn Yard this week; I seldom see B units any more. No easy place to stop and take photos in this busy area, alas.
 
It needs to be completed before September 2017 to allow the new two south end round trips to be run which would meet the schedule put out by Sound Transit.
 
New third main cut in from CP Kelso to Kelso South this last week. This is a 1.9 mile section. The rest of this third main down to Longview Junction South will have to wait for the bridge to be finished over the Cow... river.
 
The main 2 to main 3 switch at Longview Junction South has been installed. That will be the south end of the main 3 that starts at CP Kelso. Bridge work is going on over the Coweeman River north of Longview yard for main 3. The main 2 to main 3 switch has also been installed at Toteff, which is the control point near the Todd Road exit off I-5 in Kalama. Toteff will be the southern end of main 3 through Kalama. Fill work is still going on north of there to build up the roadbed for main 3 past the grain elevators at Kalama, up to the Peavey control point, which will be the northern end of main 3. It seems to me that, other than building a bridge over the river that is just north of Peavey, it wouldn't take much to connect the two main 3 segments between Peavey and Longview Junction south. I wonder if that is planned for the future?
 
Similarly, the Auburn third main progresses steadily if not rapidly. Switch panels have been dropped off in several locations along C St. SW and conduit is being installed for those and signaling. Excavation and grading north of Auburn appears to extend nearly up 277th. There's a siding at that location for a grain/feed operation. Past that, there's about a couple of miles of double track in Kent separating the existing third main; this'll require a bridge over the Green River, so joining the triple main segments may be a few years yet--unless someone knows differently.
 
Can't help but wonder if they'll ever do anything to the Stampede Tunnel? The ways of BNSF are often strange, so who knows.
 
Currently there are requests from Sound Transit to increase the frequency of the Sound Line commuter trains and they hope to have ST3 money to buy the equipment for it but BNSF will need triple track all the way from Seattle to TR Junction. When you mention the expense of a new bridge for a couple million dollars the ST people think is that an expense we really need. Now consider the ST3 is for about 54 Billion dollars, 2 million dollars per bridge is a drop in the bucket. Yes it is an expense we really need otherwise you just create more bottle necks with triple track going to double track and back to triple track.
 
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Increasing the clearance of Stampede Tunnel and Tunnel 4 has been planned before and not acted upon. If they go to directional running of all intermodal trains east on Stampede Pass and west on Stevens Pass then they would improve the clearance. That might happen sooner than we think. You could run from Hauser to Everett when not waiting for opposing traffic if the East Pool was moved to Everett. And they already run regular freight to Pasco from Auburn on the Triangle Pool. Would have to deadhead crews to Hauser. Not sure you could run straight through from Auburn and on to Hauser after getting to Pasco since there is a lot of westbound traffic out of Hauser down the Lakeside Sub.
 
Lots of steel, tie and ballast work, surfacing and the like on both sides over the past couple of years. Tunnel is what it is,but it works for EB oil cans and the like.
 
Ribbon rail has been dropped along the southern two miles of the Auburn third main project; will the new track use wood or concrete ties. The Main St. crossing will be closed for a week, starting the 13th--if I recall correctly. Most if not all of the two downtown crossings will have to be rebuilt to reflect the new alignments. I had a look at a switch being installed, possibly for the LPG vendor turnout and it appears to be a standard gapped frog; I was hoping to see moving point frogs. I'm wondering if the moving piece has its own motor or is being driven mechanically from the main switch motor. That's such a safety critical thing...

Pile driving up north to shore up the soft ground for the new track. A >lot< of new fill will be required eventually when the new main is extended further south past Ellingson Road and the White River bridge. That's going to be an expensive segment, I would think.
 
The moving point frog has its own switch machine that looks just like the one at the switch points. They will not install an expensive moving point frog on an industry spur switch that only gets opened up once a night. I would guess they'll put in a "lift frog," where the flange of a wheel rides up and over the top of the main line rail. They are commonly used on industry switches that don't get heavy use.
 
The moving point frog has its own switch machine that looks just like the one at the switch points. They will not install an expensive moving point frog on an industry spur switch that only gets opened up once a night. I would guess they'll put in a "lift frog," where the flange of a wheel rides up and over the top of the main line rail. They are commonly used on industry switches that don't get heavy use.

Oh, even better. I'll look for that after it's installed.
 
It is indeed a "lift frog" with a substantial 'fence' on the other rail to corral the opposite flange/wheel. Not quite the design I was visualizing and I'd be interested to see what the wear patterns will be like in a year or so. Fading light resulted in crummy pictures, so I probably won't bother posting any.e
 
I'm working on a Seattle Sub territory for Train Dispatcher 3 and since Google hasn't updated since 2014, I was wondering if someone had a track diagram of Kalama with the new construction that I could use? Thanks!
 
If you look at some of the pictures I took from last year (pages 12-13 of this post) you can build your own diagram by adding the new crossover at the south end at a control point called Toteff MP 109.7. MT2-MT3. 109.6 MT1-Storage 3. 109.7 MT1-Industrial track. 109.8 Crossover turnouts MT1-MT2 and turnout MT2-MT3. CP Harvest MP 108.0 MT-Drill Track. CP Kalama MP 107.1 crossover turnouts MT1-MT2 and MT1-Drill Track (Storage 3). Peavy MP 105.7 crossover turnouts between MT1-MT2 and turnout MT2-MT3. Signals for this crossover for southbound movements are on the north side of the Kalama River bridge.
 
Don't know where else this would fit, but what does BNSF do to prepare for this storm, and expected rainfall, especially Bellingham, Seattle, Scenic and Stampede subs? Each certainly has known vulnerable areas. Reroutes, extra MOW, etc?
 
Trains may be running at reduced speed so as to be less likely to run into fallen trees, poles, etc. There may be full stops for the peak and post storm winds while while inspection hi-rails check out tracks. I imagine MOW crews could be on standby.
 
Don't know where else this would fit, but what does BNSF do to prepare for this storm, and expected rainfall

Generally, the track inspectors were put on 12-hour rotations. Some machine operators were standing by during the dark hours as well. Above that, the NW Division Command Center was activated to keep track of any issues in the field and to keep in communication with Ft. Worth if any operating changes had to be made. With the exception of a few fallen trees, I didn't hear of anything too exciting this time.
 




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