Tehachapi Double-Track Project

[ednadolski]

Very interesting info for Tehachapi foamers.   Anyone know any more details/status about this?

http://www.tehachapinews.com/lifestyle/x2017259052/Ed-Gordon-On-the-Rails:

At a public meeting held in August of this year, Union Pacific, BNSF and Caltrans described their plans to double-track five segments of the tracks totaling 8.1 miles between Bakersfield and Tehachapi. The project is known as The Tehachapi Rail Improvement Plan and is to be completed in phases between 2013 and 2020. In the areas where there are tunnels, the second track will bypass the tunnel by cutting away the mountain to run the track. The track through tunnels would remain as is.

The first segment, Walong to Marcel, is expected to be completed in 2013, followed by the extension of Cliff Siding in 2015. Rowen to Woodford, Caliente to Bealville and Bena to Limon would follow in 2015, 2017 and 2020 respectively. Along with this expansion of the double track, the capacity of the tracks would increase from the current 50 per day to 65 per day over the 10-year period, along with the length of the trains. Currently, the average number of trains is 40 per day, 6000 to 7000 foot in length. By 2020 this number is expected to increase to an average of 50 per day, with all trains 8000 feet long.

Look for more and longer trains through Tehachapi in the coming years to help the railroads reduce operational constraints and improve capacity. This, of course, will bring more railfans to our area to see the loop and visit our museum at the depot.

Also:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2463655

(Heads-up, large .pdf file)
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist6/environmental/envdocs/d6/draft_tehachapi_mnd.pdf


Ed

[3DTrains]

"Bena to Limon"

Never heard of the place. You would think a Ed Gordon and the news org with "Tehachapi" as part of its name would get this one right. I'm sure they meant Ilmon, however.

Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

Edit: Geewiz - after all that I goofed on spelling "Ilmon"!

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks for the link Ed.  There has certainly been a lot of chatter about this for a long time, but these seem like pretty detailed plans.  Fortunately, only 1 of the 3 sections of single track on my plan are listed in that schedule (Caliente to Bealville), so I may be able to keep up and model the changes. 

[ednadolski]

Found this link, looks like construction will not begin before Feb 2013.  Projected cost is currently $108 mil.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/transprog/ctcliaison/2012/0312/PPT_Tab29_Techachapi_Corridor.pdf

Ed

[ednadolski]

Looks like the project to remove tunnel 10 is now under way:



Ed

[James Costello]

Looks like the project to remove tunnel 10 is now under way:
Ed

Well that's a bit devastating..... It just won't be the same.

[C855B]

Well that's a bit devastating..... It just won't be the same.

No kidding. I grew up in the area, and this was my playground. [sigh] Yet another reason not to go back home to visit. I'd rather bask in the memories rather than the modernized reality. The beginning of the end was when the old searchlight signals hit the ground a couple of years ago. Progress, technology and all that, but...

[ednadolski]

The beginning of the end was when the old searchlight signals hit the ground a couple of years ago.

FWIW, the Walong signal bridge is now sitting on the property just south of the Loop.  Hopefully it will one day be restored and put on display some place near by (perhaps with the rest of the signals at the Depot, but that's just speculation).

Yah I am a bit torn form the nostalgia side, but otoh it is necessary to keep moving forward.... otherwise, we could have said the same thing about wood ties, concrete tunnel liners, water towers, and so on.  The end of one era is also the beginning of the next one.


Edit: BTW, isn't this the 100th year, since the start of construction of the concrete tunnel liners?  (Tunnel 15 was first, right?)


Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

Yes Ed, double-tracking is way better than the converse: a petition for abandonment.   That said, Tehachapi BC will remain single-tracked for the forseeable future. 

[basementcalling]

Yes Ed, double-tracking is way better than the converse: a petition for abandonment.   That said, Tehachapi BC will remain single-tracked for the forseeable future. 

That's just because you don't want to hand paint all those pantol clips.

[ednadolski]

Yes Ed, double-tracking is way better than the converse: a petition for abandonment.   That said, Tehachapi BC will remain single-tracked for the forseeable future. 

Good point Gary.  The era on my Loop ends with the Walong signal bridge -- but then again I have wood ties and notched tunnel portals (for double stacks) which strictly speaking locks me in to 1995-1998.   

Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

That's just because you don't want to hand paint all those pantol clips.

So true!  But mainly b/c it is much more interesting/challenging, operationally.  Ironically, all of my most recent construction on TBC has been triple track:



but it is underground, so it doesn't really count. 

Ed, I hope a full trip report will be forthcoming!  I am hopeful that I can make it down the weekend of Aug 1....

[jagged ben]

This is why we model, right?  (At least some of us.)  So we can be sticks in the mud and never let things change.   

[ednadolski]

all of my most recent construction on TBC has been triple track:

Triple track...?   Isn't that for Cajonies...?   

Ed, I hope a full trip report will be forthcoming!

I think "saw lots & lots of trains" should about cover it 

It's been pretty hot here and quite  dry (with the big drought of course) so the whole place is looking really parched.   The Loop hill looks browner than I've ever seen it. Seems hardly any grass is left, and that which remains is baked to straw.  Train-wise tho it's as busy as ever, with the mix of about 3:1 of BNSF to UP (at least during the times I was around).   I saw a few trains at Caliente which was something new for me -- very cool to see the lead end going by, with the rest of it draped around the horseshoe curve while the tail end is still way high above on the distant hillside.   Also saw trains at Tunnel 2, another new thing for me. (Looks like no one has started any serious excavations there, at least not yet).  The BNSF trains were the typical combo of grain trains, manifests, stackers/trailers, and a coil train.  UP trains were mostly manifests, a few stacks, and what looked to me like ballast hoppers.  Power was almost entirely ES44s and C44-9Ws. One of the BNSF trains had a candy-apple red CP GEVO as the lead unit with a blue CEFX second, which was quite the color combo. There was one UP unit that looked like a freshly re-painted Dash-8 with a standard cab.

Photography wasn't a big goal for me, so I took only a few pics and a handful videos.   I didn't go all-out since my camera really isn't very good (other folks frankly are way better at photography than me -- esp. some of those aerial drone vids on youtube, amazing how steady they can be!).   My camera battery was an issue, it would only hold out for ~30 minutes of video which was just enough for a couple of trains. (My bad not to have a spare battery!).  Plus I only had a feather-weight travel tripod which wanted to blow over on a few occasions.  One good thing, I got a 32 GB SD card capable of sustaining a higher write speed.  I previously had issues with the video recording stopping because the card was too slow to take the data stream.

The weather turned out to be a challenge at times, with rain on Sat & Sun afternoons.  (Drought?  What drought...?  )  But the mornings were nice. Getting to the Loop ~ 6 am is best for seeing the most trains in a short time.  By noon, it's hot enough (or raining as in the case of this trip) to want to go into town & check out the Depot or the train store.

So even tho the weather & battery weren't always cooperative, it still was a fun trip and good inspiration for doing some modeling! 

Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

Triple track...?   Isn't that for Cajonies...?   

Indeed it is.  In this case, the item under construction is the staging helix.  Tedious work, but very necessary.

I was down there in summer 2012 and again in 2014 and the vegetation difference was dramatic: much browner in 2014.  I imagine it is pretty dire this year.