Last week i was in romulus by the airport watching planes, i saw lots of new rail and cross overs on the ns Detroit district, is there more traffic coming or track improvements being done Just curious
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NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
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- David Collins
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Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
I hate to bring this theory to the table, but could it because of the CP/KCS merger?
Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
No, it started last year long before the CP/CN battle over KCS was settled. Some of those grade crossings had gotten really bad. The one I cross frequently at Hannan/Huron River was (and still is on one of the 2 tracks, in process of being repaired right now) awful.David Collins wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 8:21 pmI hate to bring this theory to the table, but could it because of the CP/KCS merger?
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Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
From what I've heard and based on the cuts in the road near the tracks, they are going to be re-doing the crossing and getting prepared more CP KCS action. A CP police officer was down in Romulus the last time I and a few other railfans were there. The officer was talking to one of the guys about it and told the rest of us the plans for the crossing to be re-done. And supposedly, (NOT 100% CONFIRMED) they may be closing off the diamond to make it harder for railfans to get close to it or something. Again as I said that part is not 100% confirmed.
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Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
I heard from another source that the ex Wabash mainline was due for a substantial maintenance blitz this year, so I might think this is all part of that. State of good repair for an important main line, and all. If they're cutting the pavement at crossings, then I wonder if they're going to lay CWR straight through the crossings instead of installing panels?
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Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
He was talking to me and he said the diamond is completely closed off. Not really relevant in this case, but I thought I'd throw that out there.RoyalKingoftheRails wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 7:28 pmThe officer was talking to one of the guys about it and told the rest of us the plans for the crossing to be re-done. And supposedly, (NOT 100% CONFIRMED) they may be closing off the diamond to make it harder for railfans to get close to it or something. Again as I said that part is not 100% confirmed.
Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
That’s exactly what they’re doing. Finally drove over it in daylight hours and there’s a line of CWR on either side of one of the mains waiting to be installed.
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Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
Typical reinstallation of rails. I have seen new rails buried in the asphalt on crossing approaches routinely. Using a panel track at a crossing then splicing in the CWR is possible, but it seems much easier to simply lay rail through the crossing.
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Re: NS Detroit District New Rail and Cross overs
The biggest question is tie age under the crossing. Buried ties last a good long time, so it’s very possible if the ties are only 10-15 years old for them just to be run-through with new rail, and probably the anchors and plates too, due to salt wear.justalurker66 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:44 pmTypical reinstallation of rails. I have seen new rails buried in the asphalt on crossing approaches routinely. Using a panel track at a crossing then splicing in the CWR is possible, but it seems much easier to simply lay rail through the crossing.
But if you’re not doing a wholesale CWR change, a panel is usually the best bet for getting it done fast.