ripple Posted March 7, 2011 Share #1 Posted March 7, 2011 Section of Danbury Branch track washed out near Bethel. (image from MTA's facebook page) Busing in Effect on the Danbury Branch Due to Weather-Related Damage to the Right-of-Way. Bus service will replace train service on the Danbury Branch March 7th & 8th due to weather-related damage to the right-of-way in the vicinity of Bethel. On Monday, March 7th buses will operate according to train schedules with the following exceptions: The 5:10 PM train departing Grand Central is canceled. (Customers should take the 5:26 PM train to South Norwalk for bus service.) The 5:16 PM shuttle from Stamford is canceled. Customers travleing from Grand Central should stay on the 4:15 PM train to South Norwalk, and customers boarding at Stamford should take the 5:10 train from Stamford to South Norwalk. Bus service will operate from South Norwalk to Danbury. The 5:50 PM departing Grand Central is canceled. (Customers should take the 5:57 PM train from Grand Central to South Norwalk for bus service.) The 6:28 PM train from Grand Central will operate to Branchville, where customers for Redding, Bethel and Danbury may transfer to bus service. The 7:43 PM shuttle from Stamford will not connect with 6:55 PM train from Grand Central. Customers should take the 7:05 PM train from Grand Central instead and connect to bus service at South Norwalk. On Tuesday, March 8th buses will operate according to train schedules with the following exceptions: For the 6:49 AM train from Danbury, bus service will be provided from Danbury, Bethel and Redding, and will connect with a train departing Branchville at 7:10 AM. Customers should anticipate delays of up to 15 minutes on all substitute bus service. Customers please note: Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART) will honor Danbury and Bethel monthly & weekly commutation tickets on their existing Danbury - Brewster and New Fairfield - Southeast bus routes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracamonte Posted March 8, 2011 Share #2 Posted March 8, 2011 Is there nothing supporting that track? :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NX Express Posted March 8, 2011 Share #3 Posted March 8, 2011 So how are they planning to fix that by Wednesday again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aemoreira81 Posted March 8, 2011 Share #4 Posted March 8, 2011 That is not a washed out bridge---the soil underneath it got washed away. I have to think that it may be worse that the track wasn't washed away, because now it has to be shored up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted March 8, 2011 Share #5 Posted March 8, 2011 Is there nothing supporting that track? :eek: Yep. There was no bridge or other support there before the storm, except a soil fill. Also, according to Railroad.net, the Danbury train sets are all trapped in Danbury yard with no way out except via MA (Beacon's washed out too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova RTS 9147 Posted March 8, 2011 Share #6 Posted March 8, 2011 So how are they planning to fix that by Wednesday again? The grace of god and non-stop backbreaking labour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted March 8, 2011 Share #7 Posted March 8, 2011 Whoa... That looks scary... reminds me of: copyright of oldnyc.com. This is even scarier :eek:: (I know thats not a washout but that would definetly stop service if that happened! :eek:). Those photos are from the abandoned LIRR rockaway branch. (Im a big fan of it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexis4Jersey Posted March 8, 2011 Share #8 Posted March 8, 2011 Yep. There was no bridge or other support there before the storm, except a soil fill. Also, according to Railroad.net, the Danbury train sets are all trapped in Danbury yard with no way out except via MA (Beacon's washed out too) The Beacon line got washed out to? What about the Waterbury line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted March 8, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 8, 2011 There has been no report of washouts on the Waterbury branch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INDman Posted March 8, 2011 Share #10 Posted March 8, 2011 Looks like that might be a problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortline Bus Posted March 8, 2011 Share #11 Posted March 8, 2011 Assuming they have a car best bet for Danbury area customers to get to GCT is just take the Harlem line trains in Brewster, NY. In this situation, i think Danbury's HART shuttle bus between Danbury Mall and Brewester which runs rush hours only should be increased to running at least every hour during middays/off peak weekdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted March 8, 2011 Share #12 Posted March 8, 2011 http://mta.info/mnr/html/danbury.htm The size of the washout gap is large--150-feet wide by 20-feet deep and will require a major reconstruction effort by Metro-North forces of up to two weeks. The location can't be accessed by train or existing roadway. Therefore, we also started to build a 150-foot roadway from a nearby Bethel Dept. of Public Works parking area in order to bring equipment and riprap (large stones used to build the track foundation) to the washout location. We estimate that we will need 100 truckloads to fill the washout. A local stone company started to deliver two truckloads of riprap on Monday afternoon and is continuing delivery every day. To ensure solid and safe support, we are building a pyramid-shaped foundation of riprap for the 8-1/2-foot-wide track. The foundation will be 50-feet wide at the base, narrowing to 12 feet at top where we will lay down a foot of ballast (smaller stone). Once this is done, we must resurface and align the track several times to ensure it is in sound and safe condition for train operations. 2 weeks of more pain. Meanwhile, according to Railroad.NET, 2 6-car trains from Danbury have been sent down the Beacon Line at 10MPH to get them back into service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripple Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share #13 Posted March 8, 2011 Indeed MTA has stated on FB: CLL: Is it true that they are thinking about moving the 25 cars and five locomotives over to Brewster via the old Beacon Line? At least that way they can get the trains back in revenue service. MTA: That is the game plan. We are working on it now. And one more washout shot from FB: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTAFan Posted March 8, 2011 Share #14 Posted March 8, 2011 This reminds me of an episode of Thomas and Friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bracamonte Posted March 8, 2011 Share #15 Posted March 8, 2011 http://mta.info/mnr/html/danbury.htm 2 weeks of more pain. Meanwhile, according to Railroad.NET, 2 6-car trains from Danbury have been sent down the Beacon Line at 10MPH to get them back into service. First, it was the Waterbury Branch that had problems during the winter, now the Danbury Branch has this to deal with? Looks like Metro North is starting the year not very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted March 9, 2011 Share #16 Posted March 9, 2011 Is there any more washout pics? what about the one they said in Beacon? I'd love to see them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted March 9, 2011 Share #17 Posted March 9, 2011 I wonder if they are going to replace that track, surely its ruined from such flexing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckie Posted March 9, 2011 Share #18 Posted March 9, 2011 I wonder if they are going to replace that track, surely its ruined from such flexing... Good question! I know in previous washouts on the Hudson Line they've dumped rip rap, fill and ballast over the track and used a crane to hoist the track in place. I can say if this will be the case this time. And yes, there was an equipment move from Danbury to Dykemans on the Beacon line today. There is also one scheduled for tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutgers Tube Posted March 9, 2011 Share #19 Posted March 9, 2011 First, it was the Waterbury Branch that had problems during the winter, now the Danbury Branch has this to deal with? Looks like Metro North is starting the year not very good. What are these Waterbury Branch "problems" that you're referring to? Bussing substituted for normal branch, which had it's designated fleet reassigned to mainline operation because of the EMU equipment shortages for about a month, and normal train service just resumed this week. There was a big tie replacement project that took place in 2009 or 2010 (I forget which year). And branch ridership has increased over the past few years, resulting in more frequent service. You're also off-target with your statement regarding Metro-North's service thus far in 2011. True, the New Haven Line equipment shortage was a serious miasma, but a fair amount of good resulted from the problem: 1. The equipment failures provided the final push in approving CDOT funding to exercise the final option for a grand order of 380 M8 cars. 2. The first M8 consist has entered passenger service, and to great fanfare. Additional railcars are now undergoing testing, and delivery of the production cars is scheduled to begin in the very-near future. 3. Metro-North's customer relations department has done a phenomenal job in providing regular service advisories that are very easy to understand, and riders have really taken notice and demonstrated their appreciation of this aspect, and especially the outstanding work performed by the mechanic, M.O.W. and operations departments in maintaining the absolute best level of service possible, given the circumstances. 4. Ongoing rehab and infrastructure improvements, such as the NHL catenary replacement and the grid system upgrading have continued as well as possible. 5. Metro-North entered 2011 as the busiest commuter railroad in the country. Aside from the Harlem River Bridge fire in September, which caused EOH service to be disrupted for only a few hours, Metro-North has had not nearly the amount of delays, schedule changes and suspensions that the LIRR has had. The winter storms that caused system-wide commuter railroad service suspensions saw Metro-North cancel their service after the LIRR and still resume it earlier. In my opinion, which many others will agree with, Metro-North is the best railroad in North America in every aspect. If you feel that Metro-North has had a rough start to 2011, commute via the LIRR. You'll notice the difference before you even leave the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vistausss Posted March 9, 2011 Share #20 Posted March 9, 2011 "The winter storms that caused system-wide commuter railroad service suspensions saw Metro-North cancel their service after the LIRR and still resume it earlier." 'Cause there was more snow on the tracks and 3rd rail on Long Island then on the MNRR-side. So it's logical LIRR resumed later. But I do get your point. MNRR is doing a better job than the LIRR. I don't see why. LIRR is way older than the total lines of MNRR (I mean before they were MNRR), so you should expect better from LIRR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripple Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share #21 Posted March 9, 2011 Is there any more washout pics? what about the one they said in Beacon?I'd love to see them Found some more great shots here: http://www.goacre.com/Danbury_Washout.htm Now who's got the Beacon line movement shots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted March 9, 2011 Share #22 Posted March 9, 2011 Have a look at the last several pages of this thread: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=79811 All the equipment is out of Danbury now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted March 10, 2011 Share #23 Posted March 10, 2011 It looks like there is a street lamp in the background... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4P3607 Posted March 10, 2011 Share #24 Posted March 10, 2011 One question: how high are the tracks suspended in the air? the undercut looks only about to be 8 feet max... And sources say its 30... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted March 10, 2011 Share #25 Posted March 10, 2011 Metro-North foaming. The last LIRR problem I heard of were those cuts they announced... around this time last year. My only problems are getting TO the stations rather than with the railroad itself. Even the old M3s have been trucking on without any problems. Though the conductor of the Babylon train I was on did get smacked by an M7 door, he laughed it off and I got home just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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