Tolleston Discussion
Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
The new turnout at Tolleston was installed on Wednesday. Looks lime this may be a new route for K182/183 Coke Express trains
- justalurker66
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
Is this the switch on the north side of the diamond that will allow trains to continue west from the CFER across the diamond to the CSX line (restoring the PRR)?9xs wrote:The new turnout at Tolleston was installed on Wednesday. Looks lime this may be a new route for K182/183 Coke Express trains
It has been so long since I've seen progress that I stopped looking.
Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
right now it looks lime you can only go to/from Kirk Yard city line connection from Porter Branch. A diamond has not yet been installed and there is no evidence of construction on the old Wabash or the PRR. The South Shore freight now has the city line from the Curtis switch eastward where K182/K183 come from CSXjustalurker66 wrote:Is this the switch on the north side of the diamond that will allow trains to continue west from the CFER across the diamond to the CSX line (restoring the PRR)?9xs wrote:The new turnout at Tolleston was installed on Wednesday. Looks lime this may be a new route for K182/183 Coke Express trains
It has been so long since I've seen progress that I stopped looking.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
The connection between Kirk Yard and the Porter Branch has been open for a while. NS trains routinely use it.9xs wrote:right now it looks lime you can only go to/from Kirk Yard city line connection from Porter Branch. A diamond has not yet been installed and there is no evidence of construction on the old Wabash or the PRR. The South Shore freight now has the city line from the Curtis switch eastward where K182/K183 come from CSX
The photographs earlier in this thread show the NE connecting track at the diamond location. North of there (PRR west) there is a switch that would allow a train to continue on the CSX (PRR) or divert over to the NS "Sugar" track (which once ran to the east north of the high line but now has been removed with a new connection for Indiana Sugar off of the Porter Branch). North of the Calumet and east of Clark Rd the CSX and NS alignments shift with the NS track connecting to CN at Clark Rd (just east of the switch for the old CN City Track) and CSX taking the former NS ("Sugar") alignment from Clark Rd to the west (the former CSX PRR alignment west of Clark Rd was sold to the airport).
The last time I looked CSX had not completed their track for the shift over to the Wabash. Work was done on the PRR between the Calumet and Tolleston (signals posted earlier in this thread plus new crossing gates at US 12/20 and the crossings to the PRR east). The pictures earlier in this thread show the work in progress at Tolleston potentially restoring the diamond.
Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
The connecting track to the CN is no longer used as the trains that went there have been replaced by CN. trains A440 and A441 from Elkhart. The Indiana Sugar train goes to Calumet now via the IHB at Osborn and no longer uses the B&O CT. There is also a CN yeard transfer that goes to Barr via tbe new Cline Avenue connection
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
I visited the area this afternoon. The the 9th Avenue crossing has been blocked off and the asphalt torn out, exposing all the rail.
I say seems because to my eyes the track looked brand spanking new. That could just be the result of the ballasting work and new ties, but using the old rail. However, there are old track segments lined up across 9th Avenue, under where the G&W crossed the Ft. Wayne Branch. I don't know where they came from. Maybe some of those segments came from Taft Street, there was some grade improvement work happening at Taft about a week or two ago. There are too many segments for them all to have come from Taft. Possibly these segments are from the old north turnoff, even the part of the turnoff that came across 9th Avenue. The picture below is the Porter Branch, looking SW at the Ft. Wayne. The little segment that should be connected to the diamond has been aligned into more of a straight line.
Justalurker66, your prediction about the old north turnoff being moved to the new connector across 9th Avenue seems to be correct. I say seems because to my eyes the track looked brand spanking new. That could just be the result of the ballasting work and new ties, but using the old rail. However, there are old track segments lined up across 9th Avenue, under where the G&W crossed the Ft. Wayne Branch. I don't know where they came from. Maybe some of those segments came from Taft Street, there was some grade improvement work happening at Taft about a week or two ago. There are too many segments for them all to have come from Taft. Possibly these segments are from the old north turnoff, even the part of the turnoff that came across 9th Avenue. The picture below is the Porter Branch, looking SW at the Ft. Wayne. The little segment that should be connected to the diamond has been aligned into more of a straight line.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
Beyond the G&W (northwest from 9th Avenue) there is no construction happening that I can see. I don't think work to move the Ft. Wayne over to the Wab ROW at Clarke has been started yet, or if it has been started, they are keeping to the immediate area. I was back there in May and there was no sign of any work happening. Three months is a long time but I've seen no evidence that such work was underway. I took a lot more photos but I'll just post a few more.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
There were some older panels in the area earlier this year (they can be seen in the Google Maps aerials). It certainly looks like new construction on the new curve (perhaps reusing old rail) and the old connector track pulled over to the west on 9th St. Perhaps they will do new ties and reused rails to extend the track down to the diamond location. Then slap in the diamond and run trains!
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
From Elkhart to Kirk? If they are not using this connection what route are they taking?9xs wrote:The connecting track to the CN is no longer used as the trains that went there have been replaced by CN. trains A440 and A441 from Elkhart.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
Yes, there are brand new track segments that can be seen from Google Earth but the segments I saw were not those. The new segments that can be seen were stacked on top of one another (there were 2 segments). They have now been separated, with one sat across 9th Avenue, but it's not aligned or connected to anything.justalurker66 wrote:There were some older panels in the area earlier this year (they can be seen in the Google Maps aerials).
The older segments I saw under the G&W are caked in dirt, with very old ties and coated in rust. They are also cut with torches and cut into very small lengths - no more than a few yards or less. These are not photographed with Google, as they were recently placed in the spots where they sit. I don't think it's a big deal, I just wondered where they all came from.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
I would like to know this as well. I've noticed the lack of activity on the Wab from the north turnoff ever since this spring. The only traffic I saw on the line were what seemed like a MoW train hauling flat cars and empty gondolas. It was once parked and obstructing the Wab at Clark Road for about three weeks.justalurker66 wrote:From Elkhart to Kirk? If they are not using this connection what route are they taking?9xs wrote:The connecting track to the CN is no longer used as the trains that went there have been replaced by CN. trains A440 and A441 from Elkhart.
“...what thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places.”
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
Finally, I just wanted to add to the record for this thread - the crossing work done at Taft Street along the Porter Branch. I went there August 11th. The work was completed in the next week after this date.
Also went to Tolleston that morning and nothing was happening.
“...what thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places.”
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
They're working on track today. A 2014 vintage track panel is ready to be slaid straight into the diamond area.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
I assume a new diamond panel will be dropped off some day. The old one can be seen southeast of the diamond location in the aerial photos. It is good to see progress!
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
That's great news. I might have to slide through there tomorrow morning.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
There are no more loose track segments at Tolleston except for the diamond panel. These photos were taken today.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
The CN trains from Kirk to Elkhart (and vice versa) take the EJ&E to Griffith, then the GTW east to South Bend where they get on the NS for the last 10 miles or so to Elkhart.GaryIndianaRailFan wrote:I would like to know this as well. I've noticed the lack of activity on the Wab from the north turnoff ever since this spring. The only traffic I saw on the line were what seemed like a MoW train hauling flat cars and empty gondolas. It was once parked and obstructing the Wab at Clark Road for about three weeks.justalurker66 wrote:From Elkhart to Kirk? If they are not using this connection what route are they taking?9xs wrote:The connecting track to the CN is no longer used as the trains that went there have been replaced by CN. trains A440 and A441 from Elkhart.
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http://flickriver.com/photos/conrail680 ... teresting/
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
That was the path before the connection was added at Tolleston. NS Elkhart to Porter, CSX Porter to Tolleston, NS connection Tolleston to CN (connection at Clark Rd) to enter Kirk Yard was the new path. It is good to have alternates.SD80MAC wrote:The CN trains from Kirk to Elkhart (and vice versa) take the EJ&E to Griffith, then the GTW east to South Bend where they get on the NS for the last 10 miles or so to Elkhart.
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
No change from last October ... (pictures taken Saturday)
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Re: Tolleston & High Line Questions
The diamond has still not been installed. There also have been no changes to the west end of the line where it crosses Clark Rd.