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Milford Junction, underrated railfan hotspot.

Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 1:58 pm
by arty flowers
Talks in the works of road extensions, crossing closures, and more rail served customers locating to the south side of the tracks on the north side of MIlford. Garrett will never go away as a flat switched yard and crew base.

https://indianaeconomicdigest.com/Conte ... 3u3NW2WMvY

Re: Milford Junction, underrated railfan hotspot.

Posted: Wed May 27, 2020 3:26 pm
by DaveO
So the railroad will now be an absolute barrier between the neighborhood up by the junction.
I'm sure pedestrians won't mind having to walking 1.25 miles in order to stay legal.
I hope the Kosciusko County Highway Department plans on building a really strong and tall fence to make sure the pedestrians stay legal.

Re: Milford Junction, underrated railfan hotspot.

Posted: Sat May 30, 2020 8:32 am
by bob durnell
Closing BOTH east west streets in Milford Junction is REALLY a head scratcher and poorly thought out. If I lived up there, I would be throwing an absolute fit over that one.

Re: Milford Junction, underrated railfan hotspot.

Posted: Sat May 30, 2020 3:39 pm
by justalurker66
It divides the neighborhood, but it cuts down on through traffic. Right now they have a lot of vehicles cutting through those two barely paved streets to get to old SR 15 on the east side of the tracks. A 320% increase in daily traffic over those crossings between 2011 and 2017.

Diverting most of the traffic over the tracks at CR 1300 will certainly help. If it were up to me I'd probably close CR1350 eastbound at SR15 since it is a dangerous intersection. Driving southbound over the bridge to find a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road waiting to turn left (east) is an accident that has happened often. The solution is to encourage through traffic to go another half mile south and use the new connection. I expect a lot of traffic will continue to turn left there to get to Main St (west of the NS railroad). Old SR 15 north of CR 1300 will become a road with no outlet - and until people read the new sign and learn that there will probably be a lot of U-turns on North and South streets.

Overpasses usually come at the cost of grade crossings - and usually at a cost of closing several crossings with one as the replacement. As stated by the planners, the crossings have poor sight distance with no warning lights. Lights and even gates can be added but they are expensive to install and maintain. The closure of two crossing south of CR 1300 (Syracuse St and 4th St) will affect traffic in Milford. Syracuse St traffic should use the new overpass to cross the tracks.

It will create a "quiet zone" in Milford Junction with no trains needing to blow their horns for the closed crossings or the overpass. Without any lights or bells at the crossings the horn is the only warning that a train is coming through. I'd like to see some solution for Milford Junction residents. Not so concerned for the railfans.

Re: Milford Junction, underrated railfan hotspot.

Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 1:14 pm
by bob durnell
Where are all of these people cutting through Milford Junction going? There isn't much of anything on old 15 worth cutting through for. I will agree that the 1350 intersection on 15 was NOT thought out very well, but I've seen other place just as bad or worse.

Re: Milford Junction, underrated railfan hotspot.

Posted: Sun May 31, 2020 7:54 pm
by justalurker66
Most of the new traffic seems to be going to TruHorizon. There is also an industrial park between CR 1300 and CR 1350 on old SR 15. The city would like to develop the area north of CR 1300 and south of TruHorizon to expand the industrial park.