Weekend in Grand Island, NE

Winter just seems to want to stick around and the weekend of March 23rd and 24th was a good example of that. The girlfriend and I headed over to Grand Island, NE for the state Womens Bowling tournament that she was bowling in and for me to spend a couple of hours or so watching trains.

We left the Omaha area in bright sunshine but a storm was getting its act together out west. The brunt of this early spring snow storm was supposed to impact Kansas with a predicted 2-4 inched in the Grand Island area. Thankfully this never occurred but we did get a chance to drive on some icy roads on Sunday morning.

Saturday March 23rd
I left the girlfriend at the Bowling center around noon and had about 3 hours to get out and explore. The weather was pretty bad at this time with really dark skies with light snow and rain. Not a good scenario or having too much fun but I made the most of it.

The first train I encountered was the ZG2SC as it passed through the yard and headed west. Figuring I would not be able to get ahead of it I detoured over to N Oak and E Front St to see what was going on. Under the BNSF overcrossing the Nebraska Central was doing some work on the west end of the Grand Island yard. NCRC 8118-8123 were switching out a box car that they eventually shoved down into the area of the yard that they park their power at. After watching them do this and taking a look at the signals and hearing no scanner traffic, I made an impulse decision to head west and see how far I could get before having to turn around.

While crossing over the UP mainline on the west side of Grand Island, I noticed that the z train was still in the area and moving west really slow.

UP 7990 and the ZG2SC from Hwy 30.

Not sure why this high priority train was basically crawling along at 45 mph but I figured it was a good opportunity to get some foul weather moody pacing shots. I was able to catch up to it between Alda and Wood River, NE and fired off a couple of shots that I knew would not be perfect but was hoping they would be salvageable. Power for the ZG2SC was UP 7990-7201-4376-4888-4055.

At Gibbon, NE an empty coaler was holding on the Marysville line for the westbound Z train and a loaded coaler was slowly rolling toward the jct. UP 6747-6621 DPU 6608 had the eastbound coal load while UP 5921-7121 DPU 7236 held on the Marysville line with the empties..

UP 6747 leads a coal load west of Gibbon, NE.

Having made some good time to Gibbon, I continued over to Kearney, NE to see if I could catch the ex BRC GP7 at the Peavey elevator. As my luck has been with this unit it was locked up in the elevator load shed. A drive by the UP yard did revel the UP 504-823 that are the local switchers based in Kearney. With just over a hour to get back to the bowling center, I headed back into Grand Island with only one more train seen for the day. The Grand Island to North Platte local was seen at Alda with UP 1645-1641-1593 and about 30 cars in tow. This train has been powered by three SD40-2's and SD40N's for the last 3 years or so and reminds me of the days when I would sit along side the tracks in Wood River watching the UP run trains like street cars.

Sunday March 24th
We woke up to some nice clear skies but a brutal north wind around 30 mph. A quick morning rush to get the gf to the bowling center by 0730 was needed before any train watching could occur and this allowed the sun to get a bit higher in the sky.

I was able to get about 3.5 hours of train watching in before heading back to the Omaha area. Since I was also out taking pictures of the old buildings and signs that are still around, I did miss a few trains during that time.

0740 - Westbound UP stack train
UP 8710-7613 DPU 7431

A drive around the yard to check out the local power and various MOW train power sets.
Switcher set - 518-508
MOW train - 4069-4658
Loaded grain train 6313-6398-7920
MOW train - 5184-9640
MOW train - 8248-5631
Nebraska Central - 8118-8123 and a set of two additional SD40-2's

Nebraska Central SD40-2's 8118-8123

After getting pics of the Nebraska Central units I took off to find some old and obscure items in downtown Grand Island. During this time I missed a BNSF westbound stack train that was followed by a westbound freight. The UP sent a coal empty and an eastbound stack train thru also.

0905 - Eastbound UP stack train
UP 6850-6743-6052-5072 DPU 6713

With the downturn in coal loadings formerly coal train only power is starting to become common on these higher priority trains.

UP 6850 leads a eastbound stacker into Grand Island.

0920 - BNSF Coal empties
BNSF 6340-6054 DPU 5856

BNSF 5856 passes over the UP QNPEL.

0922 - UP QNPEL eastbound
UP 8498-7736

0935 - UP ZSKGR westbound
UP 6451-6470-7097

UP 6451 leads the empty salad shooter out of Grand Island, NE.

0945 - BNSF Coal load
Missed the single headend unit but got the 6221 DPU

1009 - BNSF Coal load
BNSF 9272-5897 DPU 9835

BNSF 9272 leads a coal load south over the UP mainline.

1011 - UP Mid America coal empties
UP 5700-7195 DPU 7279

1019 - UP loaded grain train westbound.
UP 7920-6398-6313

Power had run around the train and departed westbound with the loaded train from earlier. While getting in position to photograph this train the BNSF sent a coal load over the departing train.

UP 7920 departing Grand Island with a loaded grain train as a BNSF coal load passes over head.

1050 -UP  ZG2SE westbound.
UP 8477-7607-7806-8778-8576

1052 - BNSF coal empties
BNSF 9277-9938 DPU 5729

1111 - BNSF eastbound freight
BNSF 4325-4169 DPU 6763

BNSF 4325 leads a southbound freight through Grand Island, NE

After this last train passed through it was time to meet the gf , have some lunch and head back to Omaha.

December Blair Sub Construction Update 21012

A week before Christmas I was able to get out and take a look at the construction progress on the Blair Sub. In short not much has taken place but there are a couple of items worth reporting.

Arlington, NE

The new double track bridge was cut in in late November. This involved replacing the current bridge with the construction of a new double track concrete deck bridge.

At the grain elevator in Arlington MOW crews were noted working with panel track sections. I do not know what they were doing or if these panels are going to be used in the area.

Kennard, NE

The biggest development is the relaying of the old Kennard siding as the second main track. This section was completely rebuilt and two new bridges were installed as part of this rebuild. The track had been laid and connected at the old West Kennard switch but had not been ballasted when I visited. Crews where noted moving ballast regulators and tampers into the spur on the west side of Kennard. Once this track is finished the line will be double tracked from CP Allen Creek to a mile east of California Jct, IA and then from CP Duffy on the southwest side of Blair to the west end of the old Kennard siding.

Fremont to Missouri Valley

From east Fremont, NE to Missouri Valley, IA no new work was noted. The new row that was created from west Kennard to the west side of Arlington is ready for ties and rail to be installed. The crossings that will receive flashers have had the new bases installed and signal boxes all wired for the installations.

A UP conductor was noted as indicating that the union announced that no new work would occur on the project until 2014. There was no indication that the current work would be finished in 2013 or if the project  will be dormant until 2014.

Spring weather and time will tell.

A cloudy Saturday

On Saturday, I was able to sneak away for a couple of hours to do some train watching making a circle from Omaha to Fremont to Missouri Valley and back to Omaha. This seems to be one of my  more permanent train watching patterns as I typically encounter a fair number of trains following this route.

During the overnight and Saturday morning we had our first rain in quite awhile.The 1/2 to 3/4 inches of rain made the back roads interesting to drive on later in the day while I was out on the Blair Sub. It also left the sky dark and full of heavy clouds. So making the best of it I converted the days images to black and white.

Heading out of Omaha, I didn't encounter any trains until the Dodge St/Hwy 6 over crossing near 144th where I spotted the tell end of a eastbound bare table. I was hoping that this wouldn't be the way the morning was going to go. By the time I got to Fremont I was really wondering if the day was going to be a bust as I hadn't encountered any trains until then. Just east of  Fremont while on old Hwy 275 I was greeted by the MNCCB heading toward Omaha behind UP 4935-2168-4721.

UP 6532 leads a train of company hoppers eb toward Fremont, NE.

Continuing on into town and crossing over the ex CNW yard on S. Bell st, I spotted a westbound booze train changing crews. I started to head over toward the BNSF/UP diamonds but noticed that the train had already started to head west so I drove over to Ridge rd to get a shot of the train with the town in the background. No sooner had I pulled up and an eastbound coal load of company hoppers starts blowing for the crossing. UP 6532-7255 DPU 6392 rolled out of the fog and misty low cloud to block my planned shot of the booze train. I was hoping that the booze train would slow down or stop but soon UP 5693-6189 rolled past me on the opposite side. Crap I hate it when that happens.

Coal loads and booze

Once the coal loads cleared the crossing I headed on up to Pappa siding on the BNSF to see if any southbound BNSF trains were holding while the UP trains cleared the diamonds. The siding was empty but the Fremont switch engine, BNSF 2828 was parked on the Frontier Grain spur.

With no action on the BNSF I headed back south and noticed a set of eastbound headlights on the UP from the N. Pierce st crossing. I pulled over and parked hoping to catch them as they pulled into town. After a couple of minutes the eastbound hadn't moved any closer to me so I started to head for the BNSF side of town.

Broken chatter on the scanner had a northbound BNSF train releasing the track warrant from Elk siding south to Ashland and BNSF 7356-6824 soon brought a north bound empty booze train across the diamonds.The radio chatter continued on the BNSF side with the dispatcher placing the northbound booze train into the siding at Pappa and moving a southbound from the siding at Elk down toYutan siding to meet another northbound out of Ashland who was to meet the southbound that the booze train sitting at Pappa is waiting for at Elk siding. Got that?

The BNSF was fairly busy but I wanted to check on the Blair sub double tracking and decided to head that way instead of chasing the BNSF. Before heading out of town I spotted the BNSF local power tied down west of the depot with BNSF 2809-2304 being the assigned power. Over at the UP depot the UP Fremont switcher power UP 517-833 were tied down in their usual spot.

Heading east and crossing over the ex CNW yard I noticed a green signal for a westbound to head off the Blair sub to the Columbus sub. While driving east on Morningside rd near the Fremont power plant, I spotted an westbound perishable with UP 8524-4111-7508 leading about 35 empty refers. As it went by me I also spotted a westbound mixed freight on the Omaha Sub. A quick u-turn was in order.

DPU 6757 passed the UP 4332 on the MCBNP.

Driving west on Morningside rd I spotted the eastbound train I had setup for earlier starting through town. UP 6510-6445 DPU 6757 had a NSPX coal load heading for Omaha and a run up the Sioux City sub to Minneapolis. I was able to catch the DPU passing a late MCBNP on the east side of Fremont. The tardy MCBNP had UP 4332-1976-8285 as power and was being held for the empty perishable.

With the back tracking done I headed back east out of town to Military Ave to follow the tracks over to the Elkhorn river.The overnight rain had turned this normally decent gravel road into a mess, ruts and soggy car tracks made for a fun drive. Gumbo really lets one know its time for new tires as I was spinning and sliding the whole time.

UP 6866 leads the MSSNP into Arlington.

No trains were spotted until Arlington where I encountered the MSSNP dropping down off of Arlington Hill on the east side of town. The MSSNP had the UP 6866-8139 DPU 6952 as power.

The next train I encountered was a westbound stack train between Arlington and Kennard. UP 8638-4759 DPU 7622 made good work of the climb up Arlington Hill. The train was mostly domestic containers with some maritime containers thrown in.

As I dropped down the hill on Hwy 30 into Kennard I spotted another westbound stack train with UP 7831-4526 DPU 5226-7524 as power. This train was made up of mostly maritime containers and may have been a Seattle bound train.

From Kennard to Council Bluffs I didn't encounter anymore trains which was unusual. At N. Council Bluffs the first coaler I had encountered in Fremont was holding at beanos for the MNPCH with UP 4346-8227-4975 to run around it.

While in Council Bluffs I was surprised to see that the CN/IC yard was empty. Saturday has been a day that the road train comes into CB but the road power was nowhere to be found. Scanner chatter did reveal that the CN Switch crew was out and over on the Omaha side.

Over in the UP Pool yard UP 536-511-512 were noted sitting in the middle of the yard. These units maybe the N. Omaha power as its unusual to see three GP38-2's together unless they are on this train. While checking these units out the NSPX train encountered at had pulled up to 9th street to wait for the two trains in front of it to head out of town. With nothing currently moving I headed over to get some gas and to check out the BNSF and IAIS.

The BNSF Island Park local was working at the S. Bartlett elevator putting its train of aboutr 5 cars together. Today's power was BNSF 9634-6797-3020 which was overkill for the amount of cars to be moved. The BNSF CB switcher is BNSF 8613 and she had about 25 cars tied on to her. These would be interchanged with the IAIS later in the evening.

The IAIS was quite. The CBBI was already made up and had two ES44AC's and a GP38-2 as power. With the opening of the new shop at Yocum the stored power has been slowly moving east. There was around 6-8 units still on the storage tracks though.

Before heading for home I headed back over to 9th Ave to catch an eastbound mixed freight. Power was UP 4104-8656-KCS 4615. Its unusual to see KCS power on the UP in this area so that was an interesting sight. The terminal yard master was giving the MCBDM permission to make a double over and to head out of town so I headed down to see what the power would be. A ratty GE was today's leader so I decided it was time to head for home.

Blair Sub Construction September Update

On Friday 21 Sept 2012 I explored the Blair Sub construction progress to see what was actually going on. Earlier in the month one of the local super foamers reported that all work was going to stop on this project, a rumor I could not find any confirmation of when I inquired on the internet. As I did the previous month I started out on the west end of the sub and headed east. The west end is were the most activity is currently occurring.

Arlington, NE
Contractors were actively driving piles for the new bridge over the creek on the east side of Arlington, west of CR P11. The sub grade work is completed through Arlington to the S 6th St crossing. No work has been started west from this crossing toward East Fremont.

Pile drivers and cranes at the new bridge installation in Arlington, NE.

Heading east from the CR P11 crossing the grade work is completed all the way to the west end of the old Kennard Siding.

CR P15 Arlington Hill
The short section of new ROW that was unfinished last month is now completed. A new drainage culvert was installed on the north side of the ROW under the road to allow run off from the hill to drain away from the new ROW.

Looking west the new ROW will cross the existing ROW and  be on the south side .

On the east side of the crossing the new ROW has been completed up to the crossing control box for the current main. The new crossing control box is located to the north (left in the pic) of the existing control box. The bases for the new crossing gates have been installed and the electrical work has also been completed from the control box to the gates.

Looking east at CR P15 the new alignment stops at the existing crossing control box.

CR P15 to Allen Creek
With the ROW construction nearly completed there is very little activity to be found from Arlington, NE to Missouri Valley, IA. This same lull in activities occurred with the first section of the double track over Blair Hill.

Contractors were noted adding rolls of soil stabilizers along the cuts on the east side of Arlington Hill. At the CR 121 crossing a set of new metal culverts have been positioned along with rip rap for installation in the area.

At the west end of the old Kennard siding, the contractor has completed the concrete wall on the south side of the Hwy 30 over crossing shoring this up for the new second main. The stagging area just south of the West Kennard switch has had a number of pre-stressed concrete bridge decks and metal pilings for a new bridge. These components maybe used in the replacement of the pile bridge on the main at this location.

Between Kennard and the Missouri River bridge no activity was noted.

When in Blair, NE be sure and stop by Fernadoe's and give the super foamer dish washer a shout out. It will put a smile on his face. 

On the Iowa side of the Blair Sub it appears that most work has stopped from the Missouri River bridge incline to the new junction on the east side of California Jct., IA. The ROW is completed but there has been no work on the installation of new crossing gate bases or electrical to connect those crossing bases to the control boxes.

The one bit of activity that was observed on the Iowa side was a track game working on connecting the third main to the existing main east of the Italy Ave crossing. The new main has also been connected to the existing main with the cross over that was just east of Italy Ave. Between Allen Creek and Italy Ave there is now a set of cross overs allowing movement between the two mains.

Until the next report.

An 844 Sunday

The decision to go out and catch the 844 on Sunday was just one of those spur of the moment wild hair type of decisions. After a lazy Sunday morning I was checking out the various railfan sources and stumbled on the realization that the 844 was heading back to Council Bluffs that afternoon. She was scheduled to have a servicing stop at Dunlap, IA at 1515, so the girlfriend and I made the decision to try and head out there to meet up and follow her back to CB.

Getting out the door around 1415, I thought it would be cutting it close to run the 50+ miles from my house in Bellevue to Dunlap but my concern wasn't needed. A check of the UP Steam twitter feed and the UP GPS tracking map showed that she was pretty far behind schedule and was still east of Carroll, IA when I arrived in Missouri Valley, IA. So with that knowledge (smart phones are nice for this type of tracking) I set out to find some spots to get a shot or two.

The back roads west of Woodbine, IA were scouted but I soon rejected the area as the main gravel road was pretty loose and wouldn't have been good to use as a chase road. The road condition and the spotting of BNSFrailfan - aka Allen Love, Jr. trespassing on the CN bridge over the UP convinced me to head further east with the Arion Ia area as a potential spot to setup. I wasn't in the mood for a UP popo encounter.

Checking the UP GPS tracking map showed that 844 was stopped near Carroll IA so I continued to head east until Denison, IA. I was thinking of going even further east but decided to stop and setup near the old CNW depot. After about 20-30 minutes of waiting, 844's whistle could be heard approaching from the east but ominously so could a air horn coming from the west. When I setup I was concerned about getting stuck on the wrong side if an eastbound came through and this thought kept getting louder as the steam whistle and the air horn keep getting closer to me. Well luck was on my side as 844 came into view before the eastbound did.

I packed up and headed west out of Denison to eventually catch up with the 844 as she made the servicing stop in Dunlap. By Arion I had caught the pace crowd who had Hwy 30 all gummed up while they paced the steamer. I absolutely hate these people especially on 2 lane roads that have impatient local drivers and foamers all mixed together. Its only a sneeze away from a big chain reaction wreck.

I was able to pass the line east of Dow City and get ahead of the chasers to setup at the Boyer River crossing west of Dunlap. I was the second person there and setup on the north side of the tracks to hopefully prevent getting blocked by another eastbound. In the 20 or so minutes I was waiting a couple of others showed up including a woman who was determined to stand on or near the tracks with her back pointed toward eastbound traffic. I was convinced she would be the next Darwin award winner as no matter what, she was going to get that shot where she wanted to stand.

844 got the highball at 1730 and the track and time was released allowing eastbounds to proceed which meant there was a good possibility of a meet at the bridge. Unfortunately this did occur and blocked a couple of people who had setup on the south side of the tracks.

After the stack train passed, I packed up and headed west to see if I could get one more setup for the day. The bridge construction on Hwy 30 east of Woodbine put an end to that though as all westbound traffic has to hold for a green signal to cross the single lane bridge. We were able to follow her into Missouri Valley and  was stopped at the Loveland IA crossing by the train before heading for home.

All in all a nice way to spend an Sunday afternoon.

August Happenings

August was a month to forget with the loss of a close friend and a work schedule that was less than conductive to a good life/work balance. Even with these challenges I was able to get out in the local area and capture some action.

With the month almost half over I was able to get in the first outing of the month. The late afternoon is a good time to catch the MCBDM out of Council Bluffs and its sometimes interesting power. The 14th brought some old friends in the form of two old Sierra dupes. These units followed me from California to be placed in the pool out of North Platte. Showing the scars of operating in the tunnels of Donner Pass, the flags have long ago faded into the soot and oil covering they wore for the entire time they worked the pass.

UP 5577 & 5564 head north out of Beno's along a field that was 10+ feet under water this time last year.

The MNPCCB or as the  yard master likes to call it the double B is a late afternoon arrival into the Council Bluffs terminal area.The double B is actually two complete trains that runs into CB as one long monster (typically 180+ cars) from North Platte. From this train the MCBVP and MCBSS trains are created when the double B is split up in the old CNW north yard.

UP 3958 & 6580 pause on the Big Lake under crossing in  CB as the MNPCBB is broken up into its two trains.

Last years flooding and the wash out of the CN/IC line into Council Bluffs changed the schedule and make up of the three times a week CB local when the line was restored last winter. Traffic appears to have recovered but the trains are now handled by single hp units were they used to be two units.

The North Omaha CN/IC switch job and interchange with the BNSF and UP still generates a fair amount of traffic The job was pushing over 30 cars down the UP main to the CN/IC connector switch on the 14th.

IC 1025 is pushing hard on a large interchange cut.

The UP Ak-Sar-Ben special is a August fixture and this year the Union Pacific used the E-units to power this train. On the 16th the units were run light over to Heritage Park to be positioned on the next days special.

Slowly heading down the switch off the main into Heritage Park.

I hadn't know about this movement, so I was surprised to see them round the curve heading to B0.0 for the run across town to the old CNW yard.

On the 21st I discovered that the IC SD70 had been replaced by the CN 2108. This old CNW C40 is in eye shot of the old GE shop at the CB CNW roundhouse where she and her sisters were maintained.

Old is new on the CN.

Having just pushed her interchange cars into the old IC yard the crew is adding them to the evening outbound train.

Typically the QNPSK is a late morning, early afternoon train but today she must have encountered delays west of Council Bluffs.

UP 5120 leads two CSX units at Beno's

UP 5120 provides needed ATS/CSS controls for the two CSX units as they leave the congested CB/Omaha terminal area.

With Berkshire Hathaway owning both Mid America and the BNSF the sight of an empty UP coaler from the CBEC complex may be rare in a couple of years. The contracts are currently being negotiated for haulage of the coal to the various Mid American plants and it will be interesting to see if its keep in the family of continues to be hauled by the competition.

UP 7251 leads the empty Mid America coaler past the CRI&P depot in Council Bluffs, IA.

The BNSF interchange train between the BNSF Gibson Omaha yard and the UP CB yard often occurs late in the afternoon and typically uses what ever is available in the yard to drag it over to the UP.

The interchange run on the 28th used the Bayard turn power in the form of two warbonnet B40-8W's and a GP 39-2. BNSF 517 is one of the best looking warbonnets I've seen in a very long time. An interesting note is the side says BNSF while the cigar ban on the nose says Santa Fe.

Backing through the yard the BNSF interchange train is heading up track 9 the yard to pick up its cars from the UP.

This train ended my month of observations

August Blair Sub Update

After a really busy month I was able to get out and explore what has taken place along the sub. Since most work appears to be concentrated on the west end, I started this trip from the Fremont side of the sub.

Fremont to Arlington
From the current end of double track at East Fremont to S 8th St in Arlington there has been no work started. With the Elkhorn River being down to a trickle with this summers drought I had anticipated crews starting work on the new Elkhorn bridge. Since the new alignment is to run through a couple of fields it looks like the UP may not start this segment until they are harvested.

Arlington to Kennard
On my last trip through Arlington crews had started to begin the grading of the new row. In the last month they have completed this and laid down the sub base fines that the new track will be installed on.

North side of row at S 8th St Arlington, NE

Looking northeast up the new row toward the LPG tanks in Arlington, NE

The grading has been completed up to the S 8th St crossing on the southeast side of Arlington. The row will be located on the south side of the main where an old siding was once located.Somewhere near the grain elevator the row will be shifted to the south on a new alignment, It will be interesting to see if the LPG facility along the new alignment will be relocated. Any derailment on the new row would result in a direct hit of the tanks.

CR P11 was the end of the grading last month but since then the row has been completed and an access road created on the south side of the row heading east toward CR 15. West of P11 the UP contractors have brought in a crane to start the building of the bridge over the creek on the east side of Arlington.

Looking east from co rd P11. New row on the left access road on the right.

Looking west from P11 toward the creek and the crane that will build the new bridge.

From P11 to CR 15 the row is not accessible without trespassing on the new railroad access roads. Glimpses of the new row can be seen from Hwy 30 and from those glimpses it appears that the row is nearly completed.

CR 15 area is still being worked on and will be where a dramatic shift in the row will occur. The new alignment will be shifted to the north about 20 feet and the s-curve to the west eliminated.

Looking west from co rd 15 at new row.

There is a short section of new row between the road and were the existing track curves away from the new row that still needs to be worked on. Stakes are visible were grading work will occur along with some railroad equipment that will have to be relocated. On the east side of the co rd 15 crossing the new row has been completed up to about 30 feet from the area where the new crossing will be.

The row at the top of Arlington hill is completed. Stabilization work was in progress on the new drainage areas to prevent brown water run off. Looking east the row is completed with sub base fines having been laid down.

Looking east down Arlington Hill.

The interesting note from this location is the name the UP has printed on the signal box indicating the crossing is named New Road.

Between New Road and CR 19 the row appears to be completed and ready for track installation. At the CR 19 crossing a tandem dump truck was observed dumping fines to be used when the road is cut and the row. The truck was working with a grader to distribute the fines on both sides of the crossing.

One of the benefits of this work is CR 19 has been rebuilt and widened from Hwy 30 to the UP crossing to allow these heavy gravel trucks a road capable of supporting there weight and allow them to pass each other.

East of CR 19 crews where noted working on the new bridge that is about half way between CR 19 and CR 21. No other work was noted between these two crossing except for a crew mowing the weeds along the row.

At the Hwy 30 over crossing at west Kennard a crew was observed installing a new concrete retaining wall to shore up the embankment under Hwy 30. This embankment was cut back to allow the new row to fit under the over crossing. The storage area at west Kennard also had large sections of a concrete bridge deck stacked up for future installation. I do not know if these are the sections for the new Elkhorn bridge of the new Missouri bridge.

From west Kennard siding to the location of the old east Kennard siding switch no work was observed. Since my last time at east Kennard there has been a section of track installed on the new/rebuilt row. I'm not sure how far west this section is installed as I didn't explore the area around the old CR 32 crossing.

New section of track installed at old east Kennard.

Kennard to Blair
This area has been completed and been in use since earlier this year.

Blair to Missouri Valley
From CP Duffy to about 1 mile east of the Missouri River bridge no work was been done. I also did not note any survey stakes or utility line relocation markings in this area. This will probably be the last section to be worked on as the new row will involve a lot of work within the city limits of Blair.

About a mile east of the Missouri River bridge the new fill and row work is in place from California Jct to this point. Crossing over the river on the Hwy 30 bridge the new row can be seen briefly. Since it is being built on the north side of the existing row it is not a section that can easily be observed.

Significant progress has been done at the Corning ave crossing area. The new row appears to be completed and a new access road has also been installed. Crews have also installed a new fence along the south side of the row to separate the row from the existing fields.

Looking west at MP 338 at the new row and access road at Corning Ave.

At Austin Road the highway has been cut and asphalt placed in the section where the new crossing will be installed. There was a lot of activity will graders and gravel trucks laying fines for the new crossing in piles on either side of the crossing.

At California Jct, the area looks dramatically different. The old CNW search light signals are now completed gone with the new signals that control the jct to the Sioux City sub moved about 1/2 east of Fremont Ave. The only signals that are still in the area of the wye are from the Sioux City sub to the Blair Sub.

The last area to explore was the Italy Ave crossing. When approaching the Italy Ave signs where up indicating the road was closed. From a distance it could be seen that the UP was working on the crossing. Without not being able to directly see what was occurring I can only assume that crews where cutting in the crossing for the third main.

Until next report.

Blair Sub Construction Update

Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to get out and explore the work being done on the new double track the UP is building on the Blair Sub. Since my last report there has been some significant progress made on the Iowa side as well as the area from Kennard to Arlington, NE.

On the 7th I as able to do some exploring on the Iowa side of the project. At that time the new second main had been ballasted and the new cross over switch east of Italy Ave had been installed installed. The main had been extended as far as Allen Creek but had not been cut into the existing second main. Westbound movements still had to take the switch at Allen Creek to access the single track sub.

MKCVP passing through Allen Creek by the end of the new double track.

New second main looking west toward California Jct., IA

On the 14th one of the areas infamous mentally and socially unstable super foamers reported that the new double track section from Allen Creek to just east of California Jct was now open. Interestingly (probably telling of his status) no one replied to his notice.

During my trip to this area on the 20th it was observed that the new second main was indeed completed and being used. While looking over the area west from Italy Ave, I noticed that the old main had a MOW mobile welding truck on it and the third main contained around 20 ballast cars parked on it. A curious observation on the third main is that the eastern most 20 feet of track had been cut and stacked on top of  the continuous track.

UP 6747 leads a eb empty auto rack train on the new second main at Italy Ave west of Missouri Valley, IA.

At California Jct., IA the old CNW search light signals have been retired and pointed away from the main in favor of the new UP Darth Vader signals. Track sub grade work has stopped short of the west Fremont Ave crossing. Utility poles are being installed that will clear the new ROW both horizontally and vertically. Once this is completed the little bit of remaining ROW work should be finished rather quickly.

Looking west from Fremont Ave at California Jct., IA.

Current junction for the end of double track east of California Jct., IA.

Old CNW search lights have been replaced by new signals at California Jct., IA.

On both sides of the Austin Ave crossing I noted that the UP had laid down asphalt on top of the sub grade fines. I had only seen this done once before by the BNSF in western TX on the double tracking of the transcon. I am guessing this was done to add more stability to the row as this is old river bottom land and can get water logged during wet times.

Another interesting item was noted on the east side of the Austin Ave crossing. Four corrugated pipes around 12 inches in diameter are sticking up about a foot out of the ground in a square grid pattern. I'm not sure what these are for and can only assume its for signals.

The bridge over the slough between Austin and Corning Avenues is completed and ready for ties and track to be laid. The row is also completed up to the Corning Ave from the east.

Asphalt sub base west of Austin ave crossing.

West of Corning Ave there has been another dramatic change in the past two weeks. On the 7th I noted that grading of the new row toward the river had started. On the 20th this work had progressed to the point were the new row has the sub base fines laid down. On the north side of the existing row grading is occurring and trucks hauling in dirt were noted dumping there loads about half way up the incline to the Missouri River bridge.

A look out sits on the freshly built row as grading continues on the northwest side of  the Corning Ave crossing.

It is difficult to see what is actually occurring on the north side of the row west from Corning Ave as roads are not readily available. There is a county road that does go under the Hwy 30 bridge to the north side but is it closed except to construction crews. A grader and trucks dropping loads were seen across the fields along the southwestern running tangent but no real detail could be seen.

From the Blair, NE side of the river I could not see any activity on the Iowa side. I did notice that there is excavation work and pilings be positioned just north of the public boat ramp. I do not know if this is work being done by the city or part of the UP project. A curious note is this work does line up with the old SC&P row that lead to the river ferries back in the late 1880's.

West from Blair no other work was noted until Kennard, NE. The bridge work that had been reported previously is now completed on the old Kennard siding. The old row has been regraded and sub base fines laid down and compacted. Ribbon rail has been laid next to the new row and the row is being prepped for ties and the rail to be installed.

Looking west along the old Kennard siding.

From the area of the old West Kennard siding to Co Rd 21, the row grading has been completed and the sub base fines laid down. Culvert and bridge work is also completed and the row is nearly ready for ties and rail to be installed. Looking west from the Co Rd 21 crossing the new row is clearly visible with the white rock sub grade laid down. It appears that the existing track will deviate into the new cut and the new track will cross the existing line. When the time comes for this cut over it will result in the line being shut down while for awhile. These typically occurs on Mondays when traffic on the sub is low.

Looking west from Co Rd 21 at new row.

Looking east toward Kennard from Co Rd 21.

On both sides of the Co Rd 19 crossing the row grading is completed and the sub base fines have been installed. At the top of Arlington Hill the excavation work on the cutting back of the hill to the east has been completed along with the installation of the bridge east of the hill. Grading and sub base fines have been laid and the row is nearing completion for ties and rail to be installed.

Looking up grade west from Co Rd 19.

The area around Co Rd 15 is still under construction. It is here where the line will be dramatically changed, The s-curve west of the crossing will be removed and the line shifted to the north from its present location at the crossing. Some of the sub grade has been completed west of Co Rd 15 heading down grade toward Arlington, but this section is not complete.

The s-curve west of Co Rd 15 that will be eliminated.

At Co Rd P11 heavy equipment was seen working the new row up to the creek. West from the creek up to the grain elevator on the east side of Arlington, NE, row work has started. 

From Arlington west to Fremont no work has begun.

Heavy equipment working west of Co Rd P11.

Blair Sub Construction Update West to East

On June 4th I took the day off to explore the construction progress on the UP Blair sub and for a change of pace started in Fremont, NE and headed east to Missouri Valley, IA. A map of the various observation points is below.




View Blair Sub Changes in a larger map


Fremont to Arlington, NE
Currently there is no activity from east Fremont to the east side of Arlington, NE.The various survey stakes that I have noted in the past around Arlington and near the west side of the Elkhorn river have disappeared again after being placed back out over the winter.

Arlington, NE to Co Rd P34
ROW Grading has progressed up to the creek on the east side of Arlington. 

Looking west at Co Rd P11 at new ROW.

The west side of Co Rd P11 appears to be nearly ready for the laying of the sub base aggregate. The ROW east from Co Rd P11 also appears to also be ready for sub base aggregate work.

Looking east at Co Rd P1.

Foliage is now blocking any views of work being done between Co Rd P11 and Co Rd 15. At the Co Rd 15 crossing UP crews were noted digging trenches to be used for new signaling and crossing gates. The foundations for the new crossing gates have been installed on the east side of the crossing and are awaiting the installation of electrical and signal wiring.

The ROW looking west and east from the crossing appears to be near a state were the aggregate sub base can be installed.

Looking west from Co Rd P34 toward the old narrow cut at the top of Arlington Hill now revels a wide and gently sloping hill on the south side with the north side having remained untouched and fully covered in trees. 

Looking west toward the summit of Arlington Hill. The old cut has been significantly widened.

The ROW west from the Co Rd P34 crossing to Co Rd 15 appears to be in a condition where aggregate sub base could be poured after a little bit of grading working.

Co Rd P34 to the Hwy 30 ovc

Some of the more dramatic work being done is on the east side of Arlington Hill. The area to the east of Co Rd P34 has been dramatically changed and is still being worked on. Most of these changes will allow for more photography opportunities once this project is completed as the hill is being trimmed back and sloped.

Overlooking the curve to the east of Co Rd P34

Crossing view looking east from Co Rd. P34

The once prominent hill side has been cut back along the existing main. This has also cut into the farm land in this area.It will be interesting to see if the field is replanted after the project is completed of if the UP now owns this land.

Eastbound stack train crossing through the work area.

Currently the side of the hill to the east of the curve where Co Rd 17 and Co Rd 34 combine is being cut back from the existing mainline. The cut back process is occurring in stages resembling a stair case. I was able to watch some of the activity but this area has heavy truck traffic and was a beehive of activity while I was there. Be careful if you visit this area during the week as the loaded and empty trucks are moving trough the area at a pretty good clip.

Further down the east side of the hill crews are busy installing a new open deck concrete bridge. This bridge is located between Co Rd 17 and Co Rd 19.

An eastbound stack trains DPU passes the new bridge construction zone on the east side of Arlington Hill.

Current the best viewing spot for this activity if from Co Rd 17 looking down the field toward the creek. The work can also be seen from Co Rd 19 looking west.

Co Rd 19 has had some more ROW work done since I last visited, but there was no activity noted there other than the bridge work to the west of the crossing.

Co Rd 21 east toward the Hwy 30 over crossing is now active, with grading progressing at a pretty good pace. Since I was last out here the ROW has been graded and work is progressing at a fast pace.

Looking east toward Hwy 3o from C Rd 21

The ROW has been graded up to the grade crossing at Co Rd 21. Tractor pulled scrappers were noted working from the Hwy 30 ovc toward the middle of this stretch of ROW but there was no activity near the Co Rd 21 crossing.

Grading work as seen from the Hwy 30 bridge.

At the Co Rd 21 crossing it appears that the alignments will do a swap. The existing main appears to be poised to move to the new ROW that was carved into the side of the hill over the winter, while the existing ROW will be used for the new second main. Time will tell if this is what occurs or not.

Hwy 30 ovc to Kennard, NE
The embankment under the Hwy 30 bridge has been cut back and contoured to allow for the second main to fit under the current bridge. This will create a narrowing of the ROW as it goes through this area.

Westbound stack about to cross under Hwy 30.

Bridge work still continues on the west end of the old Kennard siding. The center line of this bridge has been moved over around 3 feet to allow for a wider distance between the two mains once completed.

West end of  the old Kennard siding bridge work. 

Pilings have been driven for this bridge and the end plates for the abutments are onsite and ready to be installed. Sheet piles have been driven along the existing mainline to add stability while the dirt is excavated for the abutments to be installed.An interesting side observation is the existing bridge on the main is a wooden pile and deck bridge. It will be interesting to see if it is also replaced during this project.

The ROW has been partially graded for the new main along where the old Kennard siding was located up to the Papio creek bridge near the center of the old siding. The old road that was once Hwy 30 is a staging area for the various concrete bridge components for the new bridge over the creek.

Bridge components staged for installation.

Partial grade work on old Kennard siding.

To the west of Linn st in Kennard, the ROW has been "cleaned" up and appears ready for the installation of the cross-over from the existing main to what will be the new second main.

Looking west from the Linn st crossing in Kennard, NE.

From Kennard to CP Duffy the new main has been in place and used since earlier this year.

Corning Ave IA to California Jct. IA

Work is nearing completion on the new bridge over the slough between Corning Ave and Austin Ave. west of California Jct., IA. Crews where seen working on the bridge decking and the west end of the bridge is being prepared for fill work where the bridge will meet the new ROW.

New bridge over the slough east of Corning Ave.

On the east side of the slough the ROW is being worked on with sub grade aggregate being dumped from the bridge to Austin Ave. East of Austin Ave. the sub grade aggregate has been dumped and extended to about the west leg of the wye from the Sioux City sub to the Blair Sub.

Looking west from Austin Ave at the new ROW.

Looking east from Austin Ave at the new ROW.

I did find it interesting that the new ROW appears wide enough to support two additional tracks. My speculation is there will be a third track located here to allow for crew changes to occur much like the third track on the east side of California Jct.

Looking west from Fremont Ave in California Jct., crews where noted working on signal and communication cabling and some ROW grading. This area will be dramatically changed once this project is completed.

Looking west from Fremont Ave in California Jct.

California Jct., IA to Missouri Valley, IA

East from Fremont Ave in California Jct, the UP has laid the new main and the third main east toward Italy Ave. On the 4th there was a string of about 20-25 ballast cars tied down on what will be the new main and a number of track MOW machines parked on what will be the third main. Both of these tracks are not tied into the existing main at Italy Ave, though. Both sets of tracks stop just west of Italy Ave and there is are no tracks laid on the east side of Italy Ave. The new switch that was built earlier in the spring is still located to the east side of Italy Ave.

New third main looking west from Italy Ave.

Italy Ave looking east with the new switch for the main.

New second main track looking west from Italy Ave.

In Missouri Valley there was no work noted except at Canal st where crews were noted preforming maintenance on the cross overs located there. The crossing was also shut down at Canal St making it difficult to observe what was occurring.

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