Yesterday -- Wow! What a Super Weird Day!
On Saturday, July 30, 2016 K.P. was in Nevada, in a little less area than the planned Nevada, Arizona and Utah trip, the latter two states being forsaken for the lack of time. As the forum knows the LA&SL (south of Las Vegas) had the signals all converted to Positive Train Control compliant new signals and they are all active. That was checked out, and some real surprises were seen. One surprise included a boneyard type collection of Cima Hill old signals at Kelso, CA!
The new, activated type signals on Cima Hill K.P. believes will ultimately show up on the remaining single-track on the Sunset Route in Arizona. Also, a City of Industry (CA) mystery might have a possible answer now. A posting series is hoped to be posted on all this sometime in the near future.
It just so happened in Nevada I was attempting to photograph a problem situation on a UP branch, but found it was NOT a problem at all, but was done on purpose, and NOT by UP. And, what timing! A source just happened to inform me that something unbelievable is brewing with Metrolink (in Southern California) that is sort of related to that Nevada case! Those matters indirectly relates to branch lines off the Sunset Route! There is a lot to digest and post about, hopefully soon.
Some replies also are in order for recent posts, and they will be posted hopefully soon too. A reply to desertdog was single out, however.
desertdog (7-29):
About the future Maricopa, AZ Amtrak stop, and some type of future depot, being on the south, Main 2, side on a separate south side siding, the absence of visual diagraming because of the problems now with the TRAINS Magazine website, those website problems might have compounder your confusion. ALSO, your description is opposite to the biases in that area, at least as how I understand them being here in California. (When the Sunset Route in Arizona is all two-tracked, those biases will be more pronounced and obvious, but presently trains seem to be routed according to the whims of the dispatcher, though it is only a matter of time if not already that dispatchers will figure out how to NOT make extra work for themselves and use the biases mentioned below).
Picture, John, an eastbound Amtrak No. 2 which theoretically should be biased to Main 1 approaching the new Amtrak station stop It likely will have to crossover at CP SP887 ENID from Main 1 to Main 2 and travel eastbound a number of miles on a track usually used by westbounds. If there is a bunch (“bunch”) of westbound trains they will get hung up by that Amtrak No. 2. Those westbound freights could in theory crossover at CP SP899 MARICOPA, but if there is a bunch of eastbounds on Main 1 also following that eastbound Amtrak (eastbound to CP SP887 ENID), a severe delay situation arises. That is where a crossover just WEST of the new depot would act as an escape route and ease congestion and conflict.
But, since it is unlikely that Amtrak has the money for an added crossover, that conflict situation will continue and UP would thus have ammunition for continuing UP’s requesting Amtrak to only schedule tri-weekly service for Amtrak Nos 1 and 2.
The big difference with the BNSF, and I am sure diningcar will attest to this, is that many Amtrak stops on the Transcon, at least the western part, have crossovers on each side of the Amtrak stops, so a DAILY Nos. 3 and 4 have little conflict to deal with. Of course, there are so many Transcon freights going each direction Amtrak often gets bogged down in not being able to get around freights.
Anyway, desertdog, it is hoped that explanation makes more sense and I didn’t make the confusion worse …
Best,
K.P.
