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.

The passing of a friend

As me grow older there are certain events that are inevitable and the lose of a friend is just one of those events. Very early this morning I lost one of the few people I have considered a friend.

I first met Mark back in 1981 when I was a first being introduced to the world of model railroading and railfaning. Though we became separated by my leaving the area, getting married and raising a family we still stayed in touch and remained friends for over 30 years.

Mark with Milw SD10's March 1986

Mark was a very skilled model railroader and amateur photographer with a love a fare with the Milwaukee Road. His pseudo home town of Sioux City, IA lost the Milwaukee in 1980 but during the 80's we often made trips to Sheldon, IA for a rare glimpse of his railroad. Those trips were always full of adventure and camaraderie.

Mark shared many diverse interests with others in his life. I am glad I got to share his interest in trains, model railroading and local history. His knowledge will be sorely missed in these areas.

In late summer 2011 Mark was diagnosed with lung cancer. It looked like he had it licked in October but had a set back with pneumonia in December and a relapse early this year. Unfortunately he wasn't able to recover and was quite frail from this. In the end the cancer did not claim him as it has so many others. Unfortunately a simple accident was to blame. He said the cancer wouldn't get him and with a bit of irony he was right.

Mark sitting in the engineer seat of a Milw F7 fall of 1986.

You will be missed my friend. You pain is over and you can enjoy a well deserved rest. Your memories will live with me forever. Until we meet again, good bye ole friend sleep well.

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.

BNSF Plattsmouth bridge update

On Friday June 29th, I ventured over to the Pacific Jct, IA - Plattsmouth, NE area to check on the progress of the BNSF's new Missouri River bridge. Due to some issues this will be my last report on this construction project.

Starting in Pacific Jct we headed west on old Hwy 34 toward Plattsmouth. The first stop was the crossing on 190th st to take a look at what the BNSF has been doing. Looking east from the crossing crews are working on the ROW preparing it for the second main.

Looking east toward Pacific Jct from 190th st.

This area had been built up last year to protect the line from the Missouri River flooding. The ROW is now about 6 feet taller than before the flooding, but the extra levees that were built on both sides of the elevated main have been removed. Looking west from the crossing the extra dirt appears to have been leveled and used for the second main ROW.

View west from 190th st toward NE.

From 190th st I turned left on Kane Ave which parallels the main on the north side for about a minle. At the creek crossing I noticed a new double track bridge had been installed since last year. A review of Google earth shows the bridge was under construction on the 03/07/12 imagery.

New double track concrete bridge.

Looking east toward the new bridge from 180th st. There is an usual kink in the track closer to the bridge.

Kane Ave is closed at 18th st and to get back to the tracks I turned south. At the 180th st crossing crushed rock and dirt trucks are entering the ROW and making dumping runs toward the new bridge. There was a construction contractor staging the trucks and taking their paperwork at the crossing. He was more concerned about the trucks that me which as we will see is not always the case.

Rock truck heading to the current rock dumping spot.

The elevation of the new fill is nicely shown in this shot from Hwy 34

A rock truck that has come off the fill to head west  across the river.

Back on Hwy 34 I headed over to the east end of the Plattsmouth toll bridge and parked on the south shoulder of the road. Taking a look at the amount of progress that is occurring there must be a bonus if the construction companies complete this project ahead of time.

Iowa side work area

Iowa side bridge footing and pier area.

The earth work on the NE side is still ongoing and I was not able to see to what level the work was at other than dust and truck activity. What was a nice suprise was the completion of the west side bridge footing and first pier. The first spans were also noted having been installed on the west side. The east side of the river showed that the piers where being built or closed to being finished but there was no indication that the peir that will be in the river was being constructed yet.

The other contractor.

As soon as I stepped out of my vehicle this individual jumps out of his truck and wants to know what he can do to help me. I replied nothing and that I was taking pictures. His immediate reply was that the BNSF does not want or allow anyone to take photos of this construction project. I was determined to get my photos and to stand my ground as I am on a public highway, so I asked him since when did the BNSF but Hwy34. His short reply was that its illegal to take photos and that I was trespassing and to leave the area immediately. Hmmm...nope not going to happen. I continued to take my photos while the contractor was taking video and photos of me.

BNSF Contractor 

The contractor followed me across the bridge and when I parked in the parking area across from the toll booth to get some more photos, he was observed having an animated conversation with the toll booth collector. As I return to my vehicle the toll booth operate runs out of the tool booth shouting and swearing for all he was worth that i was to get off the public road and get out of there.

Contractor at the tool booth

The short version of the ensuing conversation and threats from the tool booth operator was the BNSF did not want me there and that I was trespassing; on a public highway. Well the individual finally disengaged from me and I proceeded into Plattsmouth. As I was driving into the town, the contractor was observer following me until I turned into the area were the county law enforcement center is. Needless to say the day ended with me filing out a police report for harassment and sharing my photos with the county sheriff and my girlfriend being less than impressed with the whole situation.

As I indicated above this is my last report on this construction project.

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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