Fullertography

Metro's Silver Line construction (June 13, 2011) - or "We brave Tyson's so you don't have to."

2011-06-28T22:33:00.002-04:00

It had been six months (October 4; see Archive) since my last visit to the Metro construction site at Tyson's Corner. I've been procrastinating big time; I just couldn't bring myself to wade back into that traffic hell-hole. Finally, on June 13, I "screwed my courage to the sticking place" (Macbeth) and headed west from Rosslyn on I-66.

The Silver Line begins as an elevated turnout off the main line a short distance before the Beltway, curving north along VA route 267. When 267 reaches the Beltway it becomes the Dulles Toll Road, but just before that, the Silver Line turns southwest and follows VA route 123, aka Chain Bridge Road, towards Tyson's Corner. Let's take a look [CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE]:

Here's where the elevated track turns north along VA route 267:

The Silver Line's route through this area is highlighted below in yellow. Notice what happens at Tyson's Corner. See the broken red line? That's the cut-and-cover tunnel along route 123. The tunnel begins just east of International Drive, exits at the intersection with route 7, then follows 7 northwest toward the Dulles Toll Road:

Below we're off I-66 onto route 7, letting the Silver Line proceed along 267 without me, and am now approaching Tyson's Hell:

These giant orange-and-blue things were not erected by Gator fans from the University of Florida. They appear to be precision-aimed supports that hold the forms into which concrete will be poured when building a support pier:

Note the detail in this form, tailor-made for all kinds of hardware and stuff to fit neatly in--or not:

Steel forms are being readied for a major serving of concrete:

A close-up look at the steel forms into which concrete will be poured to create the T-shaped pier:

Steel forms lying on the ground. Clamp 'em together like clamshells:

Now let's move to route 123, Chain Bridge Road. Climb the hill going west, turn around, and look back east. Notice the guideway entering the hill at the east portal of the cut-and-cover tunnel. Going away into the distance, the line curves to the left for a short run along 123 before moving over into the middle of route 267 on its way east back to the mainline switch in I-66:

For a better view of the east portal, I walked out onto the second-floor patio of the Courtyard by Marriott on route 123 and pointed the camera east. The Metro line is in the center, and off to the right is a new highway bridge across the Beltway:

After the line dives into the hill, where does it emerge? Where's the west portal? I drove west and parked in a car dealer's lot at the corner of route 123 and route 7. Here's the scene at the back of the hill, where I figured the west portal should be. Just a lot of equipment (and a really tall weather radar tower)--but no portal:

So I stood there for a few minutes and watched the crane operator lifting containers:

And then I noticed this peculiarity to the right of the crane. What are those things that look like a pile of rusty pipes?

A tight zoom revealed (drum roll) this was the west portal. Those pipe-like things are steel beams holding the framework around the portal. Look closely and at the back wall you can even see the wooden planks covering the entrance:

Finally, I headed back east to review progress along the east end. Here's where it bends east along route 123:

Now we're on route 123 driving east toward route 267, the way back to I-66:

"Return of the Giant Killer Grasshoppers from Uranus!" No, it's a lifting gantry, used to move long sections of concrete guideways into place:

Now we're looking east toward the line's sweeping curve back toward 267 and eventually I-66:

And here we part company with the elevated track as it curves southeast toward 267 and back to I-66:

That's it for this tour of Metro's Silver Line project in the Tyson's area. I'll check to see what's happened and post an update in, oh, another six months. Maybe.

John

Building the D.C. Streetcar System, or Watching Grass Grow (June 26, 2011)

2011-06-28T22:32:00.012-04:00

This is the fifth in a series of progress reports on the District's new streetcar system, based on a tour of the two lines Sunday afternoon, June 26, 2011.

Since my last report (October 19, 2010; see Archives), some progress was evident but there's more to be done before streetcars can roll. There are two line segments: H Street NE from 3rd Street (near Union Station) to 14th Street, then down Benning Road just past 21st Street, where the line ends in the middle of the street--2 miles in all; and the very short Anacostia "initial line segment" from Firth Sterling at Suitland Parkway down South Capitol Street to a point where it runs out in the woods, near nothing inhabited--0.75 miles in all, currently nowhere to nowhere. Eventually (no doubt pending funding) it will connect the Navy Annex to the Barry Farm area and then the Anacostia Metro station.

H Street trackage is now continuous over the line's entire length. Since my October visit, the gap at 14th Street NE has been closed, all right-of-way concrete has been poured, and the catenary/lamp poles are all installed. Except . . . there's no catenary yet. Some asphalt is being poured along one or two blocks to bring the street up to grade level with the concrete in which the tracks have been laid.

Ditto for the Anacostia line. All the rail is down, all the right-of-way concrete poured, the spur is completed that leads across South Capitol Street into the empty lot where a shop is to be built. And no catenary. But they saw to it that grade-crossing signs were put up. That's optimism.

[CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM]

The H Street Line

Across the street, young women hang clothing on an old brick wall painted with a Uneeda Biscuit "ghost" sign:

On our last visit to the H Street line, work on this area--near 14th Street, where five roads converge--had barely begun. Now it's a wrap:

We're now following the tracks onto Benning Road:

The tracks end about two more blocks down this hill, just before the barely-visible Metro overpass:

The Anacostia Line

This is the southern terminus of the line, on South Capitol Street. This streetcar will need a lawn mower on its plow:

The turnout into the shop--well, where one day there'll be a shop--on South Capitol Street:

We've all seen grade crossing signs left standing long after a rail line has been abandoned. Here's a grade crossing sign put up well before the line is activated, which should make a few motorists' heads snap:

Facing south toward the end of the line:

Finally, we drove north on South Capitol Street, turned north onto Firth Sterling Avenue, and followed the line to its current northern terminus at the intersection with Suitland Parkway:

Meanwhile, near Howard Street and Firth Sterling, a block north of the streetcar line's end-of-track, rails from the abandoned CSX (B&O) Shepherd Branch host a convention of weeds off to the right:

DDOT had said in a presentation last fall that these lines would open in 2012, but WTOP, in a bit of old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting, interviewed officials and announced June 29 DDOT is now looking at "late 2013." Quoting from the report, "'In terms of over the next several months, we hope to finalize a contract on the design-build portion of H Street,' says [DDOT spokesperson John] Lisle. In the 'design-build' process, things like power substations and overhead wires will be set up along H Street. In addition, D.C. is still in negotiations with Amtrak about constructing a storage facility under what is known as the 'Hop-Scotch' bridge on H Street behind Union Station.'The goal is to start building early next year,' says Lisle.

And while those negotiations and contract details get figured out, the District still has another issue on its hands: It needs more streetcars. Right now, DDOT has three streetcars, but Lisle says H Street alone will need five or six. The three streetcars the city purchased years ago cost roughly $10 million total.A source also tells WTOP that the Anacostia segment of the streetcar system -- which was supposed to be the first segment running -- has now moved in back of H Street. An environmental review process is currently underway on the Anacostia line segment, and service on that line now isn't likely until somewhere nearer 2014, or possibly even later."

Stay tuned for future reports . . .

John

Bye, bye, Georgetown streetcar tracks (June 2011)

2011-06-08T17:28:00.000-04:00

The District of Columbia's Dept of Transportation has begun removing previously paved-over streetcar tracks in Georgetown's west end. According to the Greater Greater Washington newsletter (June 8 article by Topher Mathews), these are not the well-known and loved tracks set in the cobblestone pavers on O and P Streets between Wisconsin Avenue and 35th Street, but tracks that have been covered for decades. Comments from readers of this article said there are actually miles of track buried around the city; this is just one little piece. Removal, said the article, is scheduled for the segments on 35th Street between Prospect St NW and P St NW; 36th St between Prospect and P St; P Street between 35th and 36th; and Prospect between 35th and 36th.

Today (June 8) I paid the work crew a visit and found them working only on the block of 36th St NW between O and P Streets. Photos below depict the work in progress there:

The article that led to this photo shoot can be read at
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/10775/dc-begins-removing-old-streetcar-tracks/

John Fuller

Metro builds a "Silver Line" (Oct 4, 2010)

2010-10-05T18:25:00.002-04:00

Metro has a new line under construction, the first since the completion of the Green Line (1985-2001). Construction began on the "Silver Line," aka "Dulles Rail," in March 2009. Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed in late 2013. This initial segment will run 11.5 miles from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue on the eastern edge of Reston. It will include four stations in Tysons Corner: Tysons east, Tysons Central 123, Tysons Central 7, and Tysons West.

Phase 2 is projected to get underway in 2016. When finished, this last phase will extend the line another 11.6 miles from Wiehle Avenue in Fairfax County to Washington Dulles International Airport and on to Route 772 in Loudoun County. New stations will be built at Reston Parkway, Herndon-Monroe, Route 28, Dulles International Airport, Route 606 and Route 772.

Source for the above: http://www.dullesmetro.com/

If you've driven the Dulles Toll Road, Tysons Corner, or VA 123 through McLean recently, you've encountered massive construction that has you gripping the steering wheel for dear life, daring not to steal a glance at the astonishing machines, piers and guideways along your route. On two recent trips out that way, I had camera on hand and was able to take a few shots so you don't have to risk your neck. Let me tell you, it's hard to get close to the work sites. Many places, especially along the Toll Road, are simply inaccessible. I had more luck in McLean by walking along Route 123 near the Beltway.

Last August 21, while returning from Sterling on the Dulles Toll Road approaching the Tysons Corner area (facing east) as wife Sheila handled the driving, I got off the following shots through the windshield. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT:

Hello, what's that thing up ahead, that big yellow thing?

It's called a truss, and is used to "lift large concrete segments into the air to create several miles of the aerial guideway spans in Tysons Corner" (quoting the April 2010 Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project newsletter). There are several of them currently in use on this project, and let me tell you, they're huge:

On October 1, I then made a special trip to McLean, Virginia, where route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd) crosses the Beltway westbound and enters Tysons Corner. On an errand several days earlier, I had spotted a carnival of construction equipment there and wanted to document as much as I could. For orientation, I've provided a map of the area covered by these pictures. In the upper right-hand corner is the Dulles Access/Toll Road. The Silver Line will branch off from its route along I-66 and come this far, then turn southwest along route 123 and head for Tysons Corner--all above ground. On the other side of the Beltway, however, it dives into a tunnel for a short distance. This aerial photograph was taken before construction got underway:

In this picture we're standing alongside route 123 near the Beltway, facing east toward the Dulles Toll Road. In the distance you can see another yellow truss for lifting guideway sections into place. That's where the track will turn to the right (southeast) and run to a junction with the Orange Line along I-66. The construction seen on the left appears to be a station platform, as the concrete piers are wider and have more reinforcement than ordinary guideway piers:

Let's reposition to a point halfway between the Dulles Toll Road and the Beltway. The picture below, which faces east, shows a parade of standard track piers marching off toward the Toll Road:

Here's a finished pier of the tall variety:

And a shorty:

We're in the station construction area now, near the intersection of 123 and Scotts Crossing Road:

And now we turn toward Tysons Corner, visible in the distance:

Farther west from the station work site, the piers change back to the standard track-only type as the line moves toward Tysons:

Backing up a little here to get a west-facing look through the station-support piers:

Walking toward the Beltway, we glimpse yet another yellow truss high in the air. You have to wonder what tourists bobbling along the Beltway must think on spying that beast. "Henry, look out! It's one of them science-fiction things!":

Actually, it's like a giant mother opossum. See the "babies" (concrete guideway sections) clinging underneath?

Finally, I hopped back in the Jeep and drove across to Tysons, where the cut-and-cover tunnel is being built. Here's a recent aerial showing the work zone. Two tunnel sections are plainly visible:

The best I could do for a photograph was to walk out on the second floor porch of the Courtyard Hotel on the corner of International Drive and Route 123. In the two pictures below, you'll see the west end of the tunnel work area where the contractor has set up a concrete-mixing shed:

On the west side of Tysons Corner the line will come back into the sunshine, turn north, and reconnect with the Dulles Access/Toll Road, continuing westward on its way to the airport.

And that's a wrap for this visit to the Silver Line. In a few months we'll revisit to see if there's been enough change to warrant a new blog entry. If so, we'll once again swing into action, fulfilling our mission to cover the Washington, D.C.-area's railroad construction projects.

D.C. Streetcar Construction Update (Sept 19, 2010): H Street/Benning Rd Line

2010-09-21T13:12:00.000-04:00

While the Anacostia streetcar line is, so far, a line that begins nowhere and ends nowhere, the H Street line is smack-dab in the heart of a busy commercial district in Northeast Washington. From its western terminus at 3rd Street NE near Washington Union Station, the two-track line proceeds east to a junction with Benning Road and then continues almost to the Anacostia commercial district. Work has been fairly steady on this line, thus on this visit progress was noticeable since our last (May 2, 2010).

The city is also gussying-up this corridor with new sidewalks, a park (to be constructed in the lot on the left in the photo below), and modern sculpture here and there. The east end of the line is completed, and the west end has one track finished and another under construction. The only remaining gap is the block bounded by 13th and 14th Street, where the line must cross a five-way intersection to reach the completed segment on Benning Road.

For this report, I shot pictures (as I have for past reports) on a quiet Sunday morning. The photos below depict the H Street NE streetcar line as of September 19, 2010, starting at its western end (H and 3rd Streets NE) and proceeding east. A few were taken while on foot but most were shot through the windshield of my Jeep, dead bugs 'n' all. In the first photo, the overpass across Union Station's yard is directly behind me:

I was surprised to find this relic standing to the side of the streetcar right of way, evidently a very old police call box. I've since learned the city is preserving these old fellows. More at http://www.washingtonhistory.com/?q=content/call-box-project :

In this view between 3rd and 4th Streets, I turned around facing west:

Facing east again:

And here is where nothing has happened yet, the H Street block between 13th and 14th Streets. Straight ahead H Street encounters a busy five-points intersection with Bladensburg Rd, Florida Ave, Maryland Ave, and Benning Rd. Streetcar tracks have been installed just to the west of the intersection, then continue to their eastern end near the Anacostia River (Oklahoma Ave):

Hello, what's this? Ah, good old H Street, where it's never dull:

In the photo below we're approaching five points to show where the tracks resume. We won't go any farther on this trip, however, as the line has been completed from here on and we've shown it already in the May report:

Turning around and heading back west now:

And we're back to our starting point at H and 3rd Streets:

Off to the right are several interesting new decorative features, starting with these retro-style streetlamps hung with fancy red signs proclaiming "H Street NE":

Even the new sidewalk got special treatment. The sign to the right announces, "Rehabilitation of H St., N.E. from 3rd Street, N.E. to 14th Street, N.E.":

Behind the sign above is an empty lot in the process of being converted into a park. So far, several pieces of outdoor sculpture have been planted, including this unexplained creation that appears to depict someone escaping out the apex of the Washington Monument:

That's it for this report, which I hope you found interesting. I'll be back with an update when there's something worthwhile to report . . . John

D.C. Streetcar Construction Update (Sept 19, 2010): Anacostia Line

2010-09-21T13:11:00.000-04:00

Source: www.bing.com

Construction on this line has been oh . . . so . . . slow. For awhile last winter, nothing happened for weeks. I checked again May 5 (see archived blog for that date), and yet again found very little new. I began to wonder if they'd finish in time for the Tricentennial.

This time, however (Sunday morning, September 19), I found something had moved. There was actual, perceptible progress. Let's take a look. Below is the north end-of-track on Firth Sterling Avenue. At my back is Suitland Parkway. I'm not sure what's being done in that hole on the left, but the second track, on the right beyond the Jersey walls, is now finished:

I'm straddling the Jersey wall so you can see the completed track on the west side of Firth Sterling. Last May, they had just started work on this track:

And directly behind me, just beyond Suitland Parkway, the CSX ex-B&O Shepherd Branch lies buried in the weeds. This is the route, I believe, that the streetcar line will eventually follow en route to the Anacostia Metro station:

Now, let's reverse direction and head south down Firth Sterling to see the finished parade of street lights, which we're guessing will one day support catenary:

The two tracks form an S-curve as they negotiate the gap under I-295. They're completed now and tidy-looking--well, except for the center of the road:

Crossing under I-295 we were pleased to find work had pretty much been wrapped up on the curve that turns the line down South Capitol Street. This view is from the west side of the interstate, looking back north:

Now, dear reader, turn 180 degrees and you'll see the two tracks continuing along South Capitol Street and then merging into a single track in the distance:

Let's zoom in a bit. The junction itself is still under construction and switching equipment remains to be installed:

Walking south down the now-finished tracks, we spot something new--a turnout being built to take a northbound trolley across South Capitol Street into a yet-to-be-built maintenance shed on the left. The turnout is off to the right, and directly in front of the camera is a gash carved into the southbound lane of the highway that will one day accommodate a track over to the shed:

The next few shots examine the turnout in some detail. In the background you can see a metal box between the rails that apparently houses a motor for shifting the switch points:

Now we're looking north at the turnout:

And here is where the turnout leads toward across the street--at present, to an empty lot:

We wrap up this report by turning back around to the south (Getting dizzy?) and staring at the same end-of-track in the weeds we've been seeing since the project began:

Let's hope the next report will contain a bit more drama. Meanwhile, be sure to see my separate report on the H Street NE streetcar line's construction, which is seeing real progress.

Grand finale: Installation of the new CSX RF&P bridge at Cameron Run (May 28-June 1, 2010)

2010-06-03T17:48:00.005-04:00

CLICK ON ANY PHOTOGRAPH TO ENLARGE IT FULL FRAME

CSX and their primary contractor, Skanska, had planned for the new railroad bridge over Cameron Run to be slid into place over the Memorial Day weekend. The huge construction project, begun last October, met that deadline and is now completed.

When I had first come upon the work site at NS's "CR Tower," where the horn track from CSX meets the NS main, it was November 6, 2009. Work was just beginning and the scene looked like this, which is to say, not much of anything:

A lot happened in the ensuing seven months. The final phase, the move of the bridge that was assembled atop a framework of pilings and beams, is depicted in the photographs below starting Friday and continuing through Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday. In the interest of safety, all my shots had to be taken from a dirt service road that ran along the horn track on the north side of the project, which prevented me from seeing clearly into the project and often had me shooting into the sun. Many pictures had to be taken by aiming through the scaffolding, as will be seen. That said, herewith is a day-by-day account of the grand finale to this huge project:

Friday, May 28

Skanska's crew spent this day busily setting up the last of the pilings (aka towers) and "roll-in" beams. Piling bases had already been driven into the ground. Now it was time to install the above-ground portion by bolting the square base brackets of one section to the other. A wooden crane mat was carried into place by forklift so the big Manitowoc crane could "walk" back and forth as it lifted heavy materials into place:

VRE 303, bound for Fredericksburg, toots its way past the work site on RF&P track 2:

Saturday, May 29

With CSX's track 3 and NS's yard tracks shut down for the bridge move during the long weekend, it was time for the fellows with cutting torches to dispatch the old bridge. According to former RF&P executive, William E. Griffin, Jr., the deck girder bridge was installed in 1904, then widened in 1947 to accommodate--Ready for this?--a third track. That track was actually installed but was later removed (year unknown). The old bridge was cut into several sections and lifted out by the crane one at a time, an awesome sight that had many of the Skanska people whipping out pocket cameras.

Amtrak 67 en route to Newport News rolls by as the crane prepares to lift out a section of track from the old bridge:

Here comes a Kobelco Excavator to arrange the fill:

Amtrak 20, on the horn track, is dwarfed by the new bridge:

As the crane ambles along the now-extended crane mat, Amtrak 88 passes above the busy job site:

A Wacker RT trench roller is hoisted in to pack down the fill dirt:

A welder (background, right) trims the bracket for a roll-in beam:

Prepping the fresh concrete supports:

And now, ladies and gents, here she comes--Miss Railroad Deck Girder Bridge of 1904!

Sunday, May 30

We had thought Sunday would be roll-in day, but no. There were still too many details remaining to be taken care of, including finalizing the pilings and roll-in beams, taking transit readings, making additional welds, yadda yadda. Borrowing a favorite bumper sticker about "momma's" effect on family tranquility, "If the Professional Engineer ain't happy, nobody happy!"

Looking for a little excitement were my friends and fellow rail enthusiasts, Mike Schaller (ever prepared for a good photo angle with ladders, boards, parachutes, jet packs, you name it) atop his car, and out-of-towner Vic Stone (Union Pacific environmental manager, Omaha):

Monday, May 31--It's"show time"!

Memorial Day dawned sunny, hot and steamy--but at least there were no storms in the forecast. Supervisors were telling us today would be the day. We double-checked our film, uh, pixel supply, and waited.The photos below represent two visits to the site, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, when things at last began to happen:

Amtrak 20 again:

Here's a significant player in this project, one of the hydraulic jacks that will be bolted down to the bridge support and connected by cable to the new bridge. Once activated, it will drag the bridge toward it, two feet per move:

One of the extreme heavy-duty nylon roller assemblies on which the bridge will glide:

This gap reveals there are actually two spans to the new bridge, the shorter one to the right being Span 1. It will be moved first:

Returning to the site after lunch, I discover an American flag flying above the project, a nod of course to the holiday:

Around 1:30pm the supervisors call a "come to Jesus" meeting under the bridge. All crew members reported in and sat down for what we can surmise (without being able to hear what was said) a lecture on safety and a review of procedures for the move about to begin. After the meeting broke up, workers scrambled to move equipment out of the way and get themselves into position:

A jack sits cocked and loaded, awaiting the "pull of the trigger":

At 2:17pm, it moved! Just two feet, but . . . and then all those civil engineers, supervisors, technical types and other workers began hopping around checking, checking, and checking again. Can't have those nylon rollers pulling off plumb with such a monstrous load bearing down on them. The move was deemed A-OK, and the roll-in resumed:

By 5pm, Span 1 was almost "home":

As the span approached its "final resting place," Amtrak's new Lynchburg train (#17) rips through the site blasting its horn. With that, I called it a day:

Tuesday, June 1

Crews worked through the night. Next morning when I arrived, Span 2 had also been rolled into place. Workers spent this day tweaking, attaching, welding, whatever was required to make fast those enormous steel assemblages:

And lo, the job was finished, and it was good. Currently (June 3) only one track is operational on the new bridge but the second will be completed this July as an element of CSX's third-track extension project. The job site closed down this afternoon for a long weekend of deserved rest for all involved. Next week begins the dismantling of piles, roll-in beams, scaffolds, crane mats, equipment, you name it as a convoy of large trucks arrives to haul it all away.

We now have, courtesy of Jack Carter, Estimator/Superintendent at Skanska, a unique, dramatic shot by Dave McDonald of the railroad's opening across the new bridge. Amtrak 67 is approaching a waving construction crew Wednesday morning, June 2, at 0757:

With thousands of commuters to be hauled into D.C. on Tuesday, after the holiday, VRE developed a safety-first plan that kept passengers far from the bridge site. For VRE's Manassas line, shown below, trains terminated in the Norfolk Southern yard near Van Dorn Street in Alexandria--in the midst of NS's ethanol transloading facility. The city's DASH buses provided complementary transportation to/from the Van Dorn Metro station on the Blue Line, two blocks to the right. In the photos below, VRE 329 is shown loading for its 1650 departure:

With that, we conclude this report on the CSX Cameron Run bridge project. I hope you found it interesting. Earlier reports can be found in the archives section of this blog site, upper left-hand corner.

Finally, my thanks go to Kathy Davis and J.J. of the Skanska job site office and Randy McLawhon of Norfolk Southern, all of whom were generous with their time, patience and friendship as a stranger plied them with simplistic questions. And to Kent Bishop, a young Skanska field engineer who on his own last winter took me into the office and walked me through their astonishing plans, I wish to extend a special thanks for hooking me on documenting this massive project.

Comments? Corrections? Write me at jwfuller@verizon.net.

Update (26 May 2010) on CSX RF&P Track 1 Extension Project

2010-05-27T17:57:00.000-04:00

For several weeks it's been difficult for me to report on the laying of the RF&P Track 1 extension south of AF (CFP104) because work has been in hard-to-reach locations. At present, all I can witness is at AF, where crews have now gotten the rail, concrete ties and ballast in place from the signal bridge up to Cameron Run.

These photos, taken 26 May, include this one of a tamper/liner parked on the new Track 1 extension across from the former grade crossing at the end of South Quaker Lane in Alexandria. This is adjacent to the Seminary signals (junction with the NS horn track) directly behind me:

VRE 309 rolls south of AF (the interlocking is north of the signal bridge in the background) on Track 2. New Track 1 is barely visible between the locomotive and the gray box:

Inexplicably, this pile of wooden ties has appeared at the foot of South Quaker. The new track is being "shoed" with concrete ties, and AF was totally rebuilt within the past decade, so this is a minor mystery:

VRE 338 with cab car V722 in charge comes up the NS north passenger track during the afternoon commuter rush. The new RF&P track is the last one inside the signal bridge near its left leg. Look closely and you'll see it's thoroughly buried in new ballast:

VRE is approaching a junction called "VAL," where it will move onto CSX and proceed to Alexandria station.

Cut-in of the Track 1 extension (AF/CFP 104 to its junction with Track 2 across from the Franconia-Springfield Transportation Center at CFP 98) is still, as far as I know, scheduled to take place over the July 4 weekend.

Update (26 May 2010) on CSX RF&P Cameron Run bridge project

2010-05-27T17:23:00.001-04:00

With only a few days left before the big move, contractor Skanska has most--but not all--of the heavy scaffolding in place. A job site supervisor told me that sliding the new bridge into position may not happen until Monday, even though the four-day shutdown of the railroad begins Friday (28 May) after all evening VRE trains have passed.

Below is a brief photo review of the site as of 26 May.

In the photo below, note the heavy steel beams lying on the RF&P right of way, plus more on the ground:

The steel beams near the railroad are very apparent in this shot. How will they be used? Supporting framework for the new bridge's "final resting place"?

Amtrak 171 is southbound for Lynchburg on the NS horn track as it passes a pair of steel workers:

Peeking via telephoto lens under the new bridge, a new concrete column and steel supporting structure are visible:

The "railroad north" end of the new bridge, revealing this end of the heavy "slide scaffold" (my term):

Lying off to the side are several scaffold pylons that have yet to be driven into place:

A closer look at the "slide scaffold":

VRE 331 gets a wave from a worker as it rumbles through:

As VRE 331 bounds toward a cluster of construction workers, they watch with possibly a little apprehension as they're standing quite close to the horn track. The white car between the horn track and a yard track is occupied all day, every day by a guard who sees to it that no one crosses the track into the work site. I asked him if he wasn't a little queasy about parking so close, but Mr. Invincible just harumphed:

My next post, I hope, will report the actual installation of the new bridge . . .

Update on Cameron Run bridge construction (CSX CFP102)--May 14, 2010

2010-05-14T17:53:00.001-04:00

We now know the new bridge will be installed over the Memorial Day weekend. Friday through Monday and possibly a little longer will be given over to the project as CSX shuts down the RF&P through this area. Commuter trains and Amtrak are making alternative plans involving Metro and shuttle buses. Freight rerouting is not known at this moment. The contractor, Skanska, is pouring on the heat to be ready in time. Here's the latest photo report, which reveals at last how the bridge will be slid into place. This was not evident at the time of my last report (April 18).

First, here are a couple of shots from May 1, when the contractor had begun painting the bridge:

Now, here's the May 13 gallery. From this wide angle, the only change apparent is that fresh coat of white paint, perhaps primer; it's hard to imagine leaving a railroad bridge painted white:

The old bridge, still in use, is set for removal by "demo" (demolition), per one of the contractor's employees. Under the bridge you can see writing in orange:

Here's a closer look at that orange writing:

Now, we've been wondering what this feature is. Midway through the new bridge there's this hinge-like apparatus. Does it allow for articulating the two sections of the bridge? It's going to be on a slight curve, so maybe that's its purpose:

At last we can see how the new bridge will be slid into place. In previous reports you saw there were no columns or horizontal I-beams reaching from the new bridge over to the old bridge. Now there's this one, which begins atop the column nearest the NS horn track (foreground) and runs against the old bridge in the distance:

The new horizonal I-beam can be seen more clearly from this perspective:

That's the only one erected so far. However, more were arriving on May 14 when I paid an impromptu visit to the site. Three flatbed trucks, each with an I-beam like the one above, were queued up to enter the job site as I was leaving. Two weeks from today till "show time." More later . . .

D.C. Streetcar Showcase (May 5, 2010)

2010-05-05T18:30:00.000-04:00

The District's DOT brought one of their Czech-built streetcars, which have been in storage the past few months in the Greenbelt, Maryland Metro lot, into downtown Washington for public inspection at an event they're calling the "DC Streetcar Showcase." They've put the streetcar plus two "DC Circulator" buses and even a bicycle on display (the city now operates a bike rental service) in the "City Center" parking lot at 9th and H Streets NW. The Showcase runs through Saturday, May 8.

Your scribe was there when the Showcase opened this morning (May 5) along with a squad of TV reporters including NBC4 (WRC-TV), the Spanish-language network Univision (a Latino viewer's treat for Cinco de Mayo), cable Newschannel 8, and various others with not-so-sophisticated-looking video cameras. I also chatted with the fellow who runs the "Greater Greater Washington" blog site, which has also been covering the progress of the streetcar lines' construction.

Without saying more, I'll let the photos and A/V materials tell the story:

Update on D.C.'s streetcar projects (May 2, 2010)

2010-05-05T10:00:00.003-04:00

March 9th of this year was my last report on the Anacostia streetcar line's construction; January 28th was my last on the H Street NE line. It was time for another look, so on Sunday, May 2, camera in hand, I hopped in the Jeep and headed for the District.

First stop was South Capitol Street at the intersection with Firth Sterling Avenue, Anacostia. On my last visit there had been no progress on this line. Alas, there was only slightly more this time: Work had begun on laying the second track in Firth Sterling. That was a revelation in itself; past observation had not convinced me the digging in the street across from the finished track was not utilities work. Happily, I was wrong.

What puzzled me was why the line had not been advanced southward beyond its end on South Capitol Street, nor north at the opposite end where Firth Sterling crosses Suitland Parkway. Not one shovelful of earth had been picked up in either location. A possible explanation may be that in a period of tight budgets, funds may have been diverted to speed completion of the H Street line. It's in a much busier part of town, with one end near Union Station, not far from Capitol Hill. The chance of it receiving more, faster patronage--not to mention notice by politicians--seems pretty likely. And yet, an inquiry made to a city official at the DC Streetcar Showcase (May 5) got the response that they both would be finished by 2012.

Let's get started. We begin with a half-dozen shots in Anacostia along Firth Sterling Avenue. I skipped South Capitol Street since nothing had changed since my last report:

Sigh. If only the Jeep were a high-railer:

Okay, time to head downtown . . . After visiting the moribund Anacostia job, I made my way across Capitol Hill to H Street NE at the intersection with 3rd Street, the western end of the line. After taking a few shots while on foot, I got back in the Jeep and began driving east on H Street, shooting pictures through the windshield. (Don't be surprised if you see bug smears in the pictures.) When I reached the eastern end of the line, I reversed and drove back to the beginning. Track-laying is substantially finished at the opposite ends of the line, partially finished in the H Street blocks between 8th and 13th, but nil in the block between 13th and 14th. There are new streetlight poles along the route; I'm wondering if they'll be used to support catenary.

And here we are at my usual starting point: H Street and 3rd NE, these pictures taken on foot. After the first three I'll be back in the Jeep headed east on H Street:

4th and H Streets NE:

6th and H Streets NE:

7th and H Streets NE:

8th and H Streets NE--two shots:

10th and H Streets NE:

11th and H Streets NE. Gotta love that hot-pink building:

13th and H Streets NE, the only block on this line where there's no construction yet:

14th and H Streets NE. Note the construction halfway up the block, on the right-hand side. It's coming from the east, of course, and has crossed through the five points intersection ahead. How will they cross it over to the left side in the block between 13th and 14th to join the trackage on the left (north) side?

A closer look at the construction in the 14th and H block. Man, the colors on some of these buildings just about cook your retinas. Good thing the sun wasn't out:

16th and Benning Road NE. We've now crossed eastbound through the five points intersection and bent slightly southward to follow Benning:

17th Street and Benning Road NE. "Dude! Look out for the trolley!" Just kidding:

24th Street and Benning Road NE, where the line is completely finished and prettified:

Oklahoma Avenue and Benning Road. The end is near--well, end of track, at the bottom of the hill near the Metro bridge:

Okay, kids; we've seen the end of the line--and it's not near nothin'. Let's turn the car around and head back west. This is 23rd and Benning, certain to be a popular spot for fried chicken fans who'll hop aboard the streetcar and wipe their greasy fingers on the straps and poles. Bring your own spray can of Mr. Clean:

21st and Benning Road NE:

20th and Benning Road NE:

17th and Benning Road NE:

We're still on Benning Road and are approaching where it runs out: the five points intersection with H Street, Bladensburg Road (off to the right), Florida Avenue, and Maryland Avenue. The track will continue through the intersection, as mentioned earlier, and continue west along H Street:

Hello, what's this? We've just crossed through five points and out the window of the Jeep, near Florida Avenue, I spied what appeared to be an old piece of streetcar rail jutting out of the asphalt. Could this be a ghostly remnant from D.C.'s original streetcar system, which really did run down H Street?

Getting ahold of myself after that bit of historical excitement, I proceeded westward into one of H Street's numerous colorful commercial blocks, this one between 13th and 14th Streets, where shovel has yet to meet pavement:

13th and H Street NE, where construction awaits the final join to the track one block east, behind me:

12th and H Streets NE:

8th and H Streets NE:

7th and H Streets NE:

6th and H Streets NE. The overpass crossing Union Station's yard is visible in the background:

3rd and H Streets NE, the west end of the line--for now. Go to my May 5 posting on the DC Streetcar Showcase and look at the poster with an artist's future conception for this location. It shows a tunnel where the white car is in the picture below, projected to run into Union Station. My understanding is that's 'way down the line, not Phase 1:

And we're done. Comments, thoughts and observations from these pictures are welcomed. Hope you enjoyed the tour. I certainly had fun preparing it. It's exciting to see streetcars returning to a city that once had one of the world's finest systems.

John

Update on new CSX RF&P Track 1 construction on Franconia Hill (Sunday, April 18, 2010)

2010-04-20T11:36:00.000-04:00

At last, installation of the new Track 1 has been completed in the Franconia Hill area of the CSX RF&P Subdivision (CFP 99). A visit on April 18 revealed a tidy roadbed and perfectly-aligned rails either side of the Franconia Road overpass. As mentioned earlier, CSX erected a new signal bridge immediately south of Franconia Road, faced for the benefit of northbound trains. The old bridge on the north side is now configured so signals are only seen by southbounds. There are no crossovers between the two bridges.

Also completed was the new and improved set-off track that's been near the old signal bridge for many years, visible from its south end in the photo below:

Facing south, the newly-completed track is plainly visible as Q410 approaches:

As Q410 rolls downhill, P195 shoots upgrade like there's nothing to it:

I don't know what it is, but since first seeing it, I haven't slept well at all:

Here's P091 ripping along by the rebuilt set-off track. Note the strange track apparatus, apparently a derail. I recently saw one like this at Georgetown Junction on the B&O in Silver Spring, Md. and assumed it was old-fashioned. Now here's one that's brand new:

I then moved to the south side of Franconia Road, where the northbound signal bridge is located. Track 1 is completed here, too, and ready for use. The choo-choo is Q703:

As well as I've been able to tell, Track 1 has been completed from its south end (CFP 98) to the west side of Cameron Run signal bridge (CFP 102). Between Cameron Run and the current end of active Track 1 at AF (CFP 104), a work crew has begun to lay ballast. Of course, the new track can't be activated until the new bridge has been put in place at Cameron Run, so the two projects must be coordinated:

In this last picture, which faces RR north at the Seminary signals, a pile of crushed rock (Is this ballast? Seemed too small) awaits the crew that operates the heavy equipment on the set-off track (left background). Off to the right can be seen the partial results of the crew's efforts to prepare the bed for the Track 1 northward extension. At present, Track 1 ends at the AF signal bridge (deep background):

Update on Cameron Run bridge construction (CSX CFP102)--April 18, 2010

2010-04-19T22:39:00.000-04:00

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM TO FULL SCREEN

My reports on the CSX bridge being erected at Cameron Run in Alexandria have, until now, featured photos taken from the industrial-park side of the site (actually, NS's CR Tower area)--the Wheeler Avenue side. On April 18, after taking a few pictures from that side and not noticing much change since my last report, I went around and approached from the Eisenhower Avenue side of the tracks.

These two views are from the Wheeler Avenue side:

And these two were taken from the opposite side of the tracks, the Eisenhower Avenue side, which afforded a better look into the space between the new and old (current) bridges:

In the last photo (below), we now have a mystery: There's a wide gap between old and new bridges. On what will the new bridge be slid on to put it into position on the concrete supports after the old bridge has been removed? Will more piles be driven into the ground? Will some enormously-strong scaffold be erected?

Update (April 2, 2010) on construction of new CSX bridge at CFP102, Cameron Run, Alexandria, Virginia

2010-04-03T16:50:00.000-04:00

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The pace has picked up on construction of the new RF&P bridge at Cameron Run. In the short time since I last updated this story (March 9), the bridge "kit" has arrived (by rail, I understand) and is now being assembled on the framework seen in my earlier reports. Scroll down for pictures taken Friday, April 2, 2010.

VRE301, shown below, was running 3.5 hours behind schedule because CSX had shut down the railroad owing to a "police action" near the tracks in Alexandria:

I asked one workman when the new bridge would be shoved into place and he claimed he didn't know. Clearly, however, it won't be much longer.

Return to Georgetown Junction (March 19, 2010)

2010-03-21T22:11:00.001-04:00

It had been years since I visited the infamous site in Silver Spring, Maryland where outbound Amtrak 29, the "Capitol Limited," had collided with inbound MARC #286 during a snowy afternoon rush on February 16, 1996. Eleven people died in that collision, three MARC employees and eight MARC passengers. The MARC crew, apparently inattentive, ran a stop signal at Georgetown Junction just as Amtrak 29 was crossing from track 1 to 2 to avoid a stopped K951 ahead. MARC 286 collided with the nose of the lead Amtrak engine, which raked down the side of the MARC cab-control car. The rest is a horror story that's best read in the Washington Post, or better, the NTSB report, available on their Website.

My interest on Thursday, March 19, 2010 was simply to see if anything had changed at Georgetown Junction since my last visit some half-dozen years ago. As it turned out, little had. There were still CPLs at the interlocking between the junction and the 16th Street highway overpass, where the 1996 collision had occurred. I discovered after getting home and studying track charts that since the accident, CSX had moved the Georgetown Junction switch from the interlocking (near 16th Street NW) to a point some 200-300 yards west, specifically, about 50' west of the one-lane Talbot Avenue overpass.

The track that ran from the Junction down to Georgetown, D.C., i.e. the 11-mile-long Georgetown Subdivision, was pulled up several years ago and has been made into a hiking and biking trail. What remains of the original track is 0.3 miles long. It runs from the Junction switch to an industrial area near Kansas Avenue.

While driving around the Beltway in Maryland I spotted a rare sight, an eastbound coal train crossing above all the traffic on that railroad bridge near the Georgia Avenue exit. I don't think I had seen a train on that bridge since moving to Washington in 1976, so I considered this a good start to my visit. By the time I arrived at the junction the head end had already passed, so all I got was a going-away look of V842. There were to be three other trains during my visit, however: Q751, the rock runner; inbound P030; and an outbound MARC train. These three gave me a bit of a shiver as their predecessors had been involved in the 1996 accident.

V842 heads east through the Georgetown Junction interlocking.

Q751, the rock runner, westbound through Georgetown Junction interlocking.

P030, the "Capitol Limited," on track 2 eastbound. The Georgetown Sub track is on the left.

MARC 871 passes the switch for the Georgetown track.

Those were the trains I saw. Now, let's look at what remains of the old track down to Georgetown, now called the "Georgetown Industrial Track" by CSX. First, here's an east-facing telephoto view of the interlocking at BA8.3 (CSX Metropolitan Sub). That's the 16th Street highway bridge in the background. The Georgetown Branch switch tied in here at the time of the 1996 collision:

Today, the switch is west of the above location by 150-200 yards (my guess), and can be seen here, camera still facing east. The bridge, a single-lane affair, carries Talbot Avenue left (north) to Grace Church Road. Note the dwarf signal, not illuminated, and the unusual derailer (?):

Now, spin around on your heels and face west. The CSX Metropolian Sub curves off to the right toward Kensington as the old Georgetown Branch heads off into the weeds on the left. Let's walk it and see if we can find the end of track:

This switch controls a spur that leads into a junky warehouse or storage yard straight ahead. The Georgetown Branch continues off to the left:

End of track for the Branch (left):

The gravel road below is the former Georgetown Branch right-of-way. It leads to that parking area in the distance:

Next, I walked around the warehouses to that distant parking lot in search of the north end of the "Crescent Trail" (named for the crescent shape of the branch line) and found its entrance on Stewart Avenue:

As the trail continues toward Georgetown, we spin around and head back to Stewart Avenue. The parking lot across the street is the one we saw from that end-of-track location above:

With that, it was time to go home. On my next visit, I hope (He said, ambitiously) to take the bike along and ride the trail in search of railroad structures. Whew!

Update (March 9, 2010): CSX bridge replacement project on RF&P Sub at CFP102, Cameron Run

2010-03-15T12:54:00.001-04:00

[CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT]

On my most recent visit to this site (March 9) progress appeared to have slowed, probably from several successive winter snow storms. Even though this was a sunny, mild day free of snow, for some reason there were only a few men working. The most obvious change was crossbeams had been laid across the steel columns of the framework on which the new bridge will be assembled. For comparison, see my previous posting on January 29. Trains shown are Amtrak 92 and Q406.

And then there was this rig, stationed on the railroad about 50 yards RR north of the bridge:

Any idea what this is, or what it's for? Through the trees it looks like a pile driver, but . . .

Update on Anacostia, D.C. streetcar project (March 9, 2010)

2010-03-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

Repeated snow storms this winter played havoc with rail construction projects in the D.C. area. Thus, little progress was evident when I revisited the track-laying project for the new Anacostia streetcar system on March 9. Near as I could tell, all they had finished was the S-curve track under I-295 where Firth Sterling runs into South Capitol Street:

I could not see any progress, however, along South Capitol Street. These scenes look much like my last posting on January 29:

Moving under I-295 to Firth Sterling and looking back southwest, the finished portion can be seen from this side of I-295, where the contractor has begun installing "retro"-style lamp posts:

In the opposite (northeast-facing) direction on Firth Sterling, however, there had been no progress pushing the line beyond the intersection with Suitland Parkway:

I did see a newly-posted sign, however, announcing with hopeful precision that the project is to be completed August 17, 2010:

Update (January 14, 2010) on the CSX RF&P Subdivision third-track installation project

2010-02-08T15:17:00.000-05:00

CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM

This is a brief photo update (January 14) of the third-track project through Franconia Hill (signals now called "Fleet"). In the picture above, it's become plain that CSX intends to keep the old siding, which appears to be getting a switch into new Track 1. This siding is very short, suitable only for setoffs.

In the following photo, plans for the siding are evident as a rock train in the distance lays ballast for new Track 1:

This crane is fitted with a pile driver for whacking iron beams into the ground, which will support for a new wall to hold the cliff where it belongs:

What, pray, is that camera on the shanty for? Is the CSX timesheet department now online?

Here comes S415 grinding up Franconia Hill:

For previous reports on construction at this spot as well as end-of-new-track at the Franconia-Springfield Metro/VRE station, see below.

CSX RF&P Subdivision: Update on the bridge replacement project at Cameron Run (CFP102) as of January 29, 2010

2010-02-08T13:25:00.001-05:00

Work continues apace at Cameron Run on the RF&P to replace the old two-track bridge with a new one having wider clearance between track centers. As of January 29, huge pilings had been driven into the ground--apparently about 45' deep apiece--and welders were preparing them for the framework that will go across their tops. When completed, the new bridge will be assembled on the framework, a crane will left out the old bridge, and the new bridge will be slid horizontally into place. Then, presumably, the pilings will be removed.

Fyi, my previous report on the Cameron Run bridge was dated December 2, and can be found below.

H Street NE streetcar project update (January 28, 2010)

2010-02-08T13:20:00.001-05:00

Here's the latest on one of Washington's two new streetcar lines, in this case, the H Street NE/Benning Road line, under construction since early last year. My previous report (see below) was shot and uploaded October 26. The date for this report is January 28, 2010, my birthday, incidentally--and a fun way to enjoy it. I started at the line's west end (photo above), the intersection of H Street NE and 3rd Street. I'm standing on the highway overpass that crosses Union Station's yard, facing east. On the left, where the man is crossing the street, one of the two tracks has been finished here.

The following series of photos begins with a close-up of the scene above, then proceeds east. When you come to the shot of Metro crossing above the road on a flyover, I have reversed the car and am heading back on Benning Road toward H Street in a westerly direction. As you'll see, this line is being completed in bits and pieces along its route:

The last photo marks my return to the intersection of H Street NE and 3rd Street, end of track. I'm facing west toward the bridge over Union Station's Yard.

Update (December 16, 2009) on the Anacostia Streetcar Project

2009-12-17T22:33:00.068-05:00

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO OR MAP TO ENLARGE IT

They're here! The three Skoda-Inekon (Czech Republic) streetcars purchased several years ago by the District of Columbia's DOT floated into the Port of Baltimore Saturday, December 12, 2009. According to a DOT press release (and a Dec 16 story in The Washington Post), the three were offloaded to flatbed trucks and taken for storage to Metro's Greenbelt, Md. yard until the streetcar line is completed.

In the picture below, two of the cars are shown resting on ACLU-marked trailers of a type that apparently has tires and axles that fold flat underneath until needed for the highway:

Greenbelt, here we come!

The DDOT photos above plus about a dozen more were posted to the Department's Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/ykfnymx but you need an account to access them. The page also has a video of the unloading, plus another of the similar Portland, Oregon streetcar system. A press release with a couple of pictures is available at the DOT's public site:

http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/ddot/section/2/release/18802

What about tracks on which to run these new cars? They're currently under construction in downtown D.C. along H Street NE, and in Anacostia. On Tuesday, December 15, I paid a second visit to the Anacostia project. (A report on my first visit, on September 29, can be found farther down this blog.)

This recent visit revealed little had changed at the north end of the line. Driving north up Firth Sterling Avenue revealed trackage has been installed no farther north than the intersection with Suitland Parkway. (I did not drive the rest of the projected route up MLK, Jr. Avenue on this visit, however, so I can't say for sure if construction has begun there.)

The construction I did see has been focused instead on the southern end, which bends south from Firth Sterling under the I-295 overpass onto the west side of South Capitol Street and proceeds south until it runs out in the bushes. The following map shows the area I covered during this visit, highlighted in bright yellow and marked at each end by a red "X":

The photo below shows the north end of the new streetcar trackage, so far as I know. The camera is looking north from Firth Sterling Avenue at the intersection with the west end of Suitland Parkway. The old-looking tracks in the street are, in fact, the new streetcar tracks. The true "old" tracks, those of the ex-B&O/CSX Shepherd Branch, had been a few feet to the right but have been pulled up. Note to those clinging to faint hope that the Shepherd Branch may one day be reactivated: Nuh, uh. It exists only in pieces today.

Backing south from the intersection with Suitland Parkway and shooting north again:

Turning around and shooting south on Firth Sterling at the Sumner Road intersection. Construction work to the right of the Jersey wall appears not to be rail-related:

A closer look at the same location:

Backing even farther south along this stretch and shooting back north toward Sumner Road and Suitland Parkway. At first I thought that "pole line" on the right was put in for catenary supports, but it looks too raggedy and unreliable. At some point we'll probably see steel structures going up and poles coming down:

And now, imagine spinning around in place and shooting in the opposite direction. The highway overpass is I-295. As the tracks pass underneath they turn south, cross South Capitol Street, and continue on the west side of that highway along a new right of way isolated from traffic:

From the opposite side of the I-295 overpass, looking back at ongoing construction--although for the life of me I can't figure out what's it for. The streetcar trackage appears to have already been completed here:

Zooming back reveals a trackage gap in the middle of South Capitol Street:

Walking across South Capitol Street, one comes upon the continuation of the line that came to an end in the photo above. This view looks due south--right into the sun, unfortunately. Note the heavy asphalt base:

In this picture I've continued south down South Capitol Street and will continue to do so in the remaining photos. The line of plastic barrels provided an excellent, safe barrier and parking space for my Jeep, which I simply kept moving south. This view, looking back north, shows rail supported by finely-adjustable jacks at their final, pre-determined height:

Two phases of track construction are visible here, the first being the rail supported only by jacks (top half of picture). The lower half, however, shows the next phase, where a cage-like structure made of rebar has been inserted under the rail and between the jacks just prior to the pouring of concrete:

"The end is near." So far, the southern end of the line peters out at the end of this picture:

Looking back north from the south end of the line:

And here it is: The end. Where will it go from here? It appears the line will go even farther after some brush-clearing and embankment reinforcement. I had hoped to find construction underway for the car barn that's to be built in this vicinity, but not yet.

Walking back to the car I noticed the old Shepherd Branch across the way:

I had first thought the streetcar line would run atop the Shepherd Branch right of way, but that hasn't been the case anywhere along the route thus far. Hmm, an opportunity for speeder enthusiasts?

And with that, we conclude this progress report. My next (TBD) will revisit the H Street line.

Update (December 3, 2009) on the CSX RF&P third-track extension

2009-12-11T11:41:00.020-05:00

Here's a brief photo review of progress at Franconia Hill (CSX RF&P Subdivision, CFP99). On this visit to view trackwork either side of Franconia Road in Alexandria, Virginia, I noticed the contractor's name on the side of a truck: Polivka International, whose specialty (from their Web site) is railroad jobs. A list of current projects proclaimed contracts with all the Class Is. Home office is Charlotte, N.C.

In the two weeks since my last update on this location (November 17), progress was not easily apparent. For one, the south end of the new Track 1 at the Franconia signal bridge had yet to be joined to the north end of the new track only a few hundred yards to the south. Emphasis apparently has been on preparing the track bed, which was still ongoing.

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT FULL SCREEN

Looking north from the Franconia Road highway overpass. Sorry about that bare tree in the middle; it was that or fall off the cliff!
Track bed preparation continues with roller packing at the skilled hands of a woman operator:

Looking south from the highway overpass via long lens revealed new Track 1 still has a gap here as well as north of the overpass:

Here's why any railroad places train-control employees at construction sites. Wouldn't want to encounter that beam at 60 mph or that operator wouldn't stop spinning until next Thursday:

The overall scene looking south from the highway overpass. At this time I was expecting P094 so I pulled out my scanner to check his progress.

And here he comes, right on schedule, rolling by the worksite at reduced speed as construction crews stand by. Minutes later I was visited by three (3) Fairfax police officers. Someone had spotted my scanner antenna and, of course, the camera. As usual they were polite as could be, and frankly, I don't blame the citizenry for calling me in. We currently (December 11) have five young men from Alexandria arrested in Pakistan for possible terrorism preparations.

That "suspicious-looking" scanner also alerted me to the approach of Q173, shown below easing past the worksite on the north side of the overpass, up the RF&P's ruling grade :

I then returned to the south side of the overpass to catch VRE301, the midday southbound, the cab of which can barely be seen behind the crest of Franconia Hill. The track gang backs away for the commuter to pass:

Update (December 2, 2009): CSX RF&P girder bridge replacement over NS in Alexandria

2009-12-02T21:46:00.013-05:00

That huge Manitowoc crane has now been fully assembled and is being put to work moving big stuff around the work site here in Alexandria, Virginia, where the CSX RF&P (near the Cameron Run signals, CFP102) crosses above Norfolk Southern (CR Tower). Today I spoke with Pete, a member of the contractor's team supervising the project. The contractor, Skanska, one of the world's largest, is headquartered in Stockholm. Pete invited me into their portable office and stepped me through a set of plans.

They're replacing the old two-track girder bridge with one that's wider, giving CSX trains more clearance between Tracks 2 and 3. They're also going to make it and the single-track bridge on the opposite side, which carries Track 1, a little higher to give NS more clearance. (One wonders for what: Stack trains?) Finally, they're shoring up each end of the CSX railroad's high earthen fill with steel piles because the new bridge will be longer and heavier.

The shoring-up has begun. You can see it in one or more of the pictures below. To replace the bridge, they're going to erect a kind of heavy-duty "scaffold" framework parallel to the old two-track bridge, the one next to the crane. Once the scaffold is completed, they will begin assembling the new bridge on top of that scaffold. To move the finished bridge, bogeys will be slipped under it so it can be rolled sideways along the steel framework, which will be grooved to provide a guideway. Portable, gas-powered (I think) hydraulic machines rigged with cables will be used to tow the new bridge over.

On D-Day ("T-Day"?), scheduled to take place next April, both CSX and NS will shut down their affected tracks above and below for four days, leaving one track per railroad in service. The monster red crane will lift the old two-track bridge out of its supports and place it aside. Then the new bridge will be rolled into its new spot. Once there it can be jacked up, bogeys removed, and jacks eased off so the bridge can settle into place.

Finally, the old single-track bridge will be jacked up to a new altitude, but I don't recall what will be done next. Something will have to be inserted under it to keep it in its higher location.

After work site clean-up, Pete said, "We can all go home."

After my meeting with Pete in the construction office, I came outside to discover a couple of CSX "suits" (black suits, to be exact--probably accounting types) had shown up for a tour:

Shoring up the north end of the bridge approaches in preparation for the new, longer one:

The scene at CR Tower has lost a bit of its allure with the arrival of contractors and their "necessities":

Update (November 17, 2009) on the CSX RF&P third-track extension

2009-11-17T21:46:00.052-05:00

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Work continues apace in Alexandria to extend Track 1 south from AF (CFP104) on the CSX RF&P Subdivision to CFP98, where Track 1 ends by tying into Track 2. I am now monitoring progress at four locations between these points: Franconia Hill north of the Franconia Road highway overpass; the new Fleet signals south of that overpass; the south end of Track 1 where the Franconia-Springfield Parkway crosses above the railroad; and at approximately CFP105, where the RF&P crosses above NS as it approaches the Cameron Run signals.

In the latter case, a huge crane has been assembled for moving the trestles. One, I understand, is to be replaced with a new, two-tracks-wide trestle, which must be assembled on site. This phase, however, is huge and won't be completed until next spring. For a good overview of this project, see the article at http://tinyurl.com/yfsmfah. Now, the photo update:

1. Track work north of Franconia Road near the FRANCONIA signals. If you review my previous post (November 5) on this site, you'll notice wayside signals adjacent to this long-standing signal bridge. I thought they were replacing the bridge. It turns out the wayside signals were temporary and have now been removed. This signal bridge, however, while back in service, now sports signal heads only for southbounds:

2. Track work south of Franconia Road at the new FLEET intermediate signals. When I was there November 17 it displayed approach limited (yellow over green), but the green signals were constantly flashing, something I've never seen before. This signal bridge is for northbounds only:

Looking south from the FLEET signal bridge:

Still looking south, this time with the FLEET bridge included:

The taggers didn't waste any time, did they? Has anyone ever seen these characters in action? Do they work after dark? The cops regularly nab us "terrorist" railfans, but they never seem to nail these clowns:

This shot looks toward the railroad from inside the Fleet Industrial Park (named for Fleet Road), where tracks once led out to a switch on the main. The steel I-beams are being driven into the ground to shore up a hillside next to the new third track:

Looking north toward the FLEET signals:

The new track is being assembled in pieces here and there. Let's hope they all fit one day ;-)

High-railer guy rolls in to check something south of the FLEET signal bridge:

Looking south from the industrial park with a long lens. Interesting that CSX is using concrete ties for 100% of this project:

Building up that embankment with those steel I-beams:

3. New cantilever signals for the south end of extended Track 1 (CFP98). This is a few feet north of the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. The signal controls southbound movements. There's another signal south of the parkway for northbounds, where Track 1 ties back into Track 2:

Looking south at the end of Track 1 and the new wayside signal controlling the turnout. In the background is the Franconia-Springfield Metro and VRE transportation center. On this visit I was not able to enter the station for a view of the "business end" of the signal, so I can't say for sure if it's illuminated. However, you can plainly see its head is turned toward oncoming trains, so presumably it's lit:

Amtrak P094 breezes by the new turnout:

4. Trestle replacement ~CFP103, where CSX's RF&P Sub crosses above NS's Washington Sub near CR Tower. The following aerial photograph, which shows the current work area, is 2-3 years old and was obtained from http://www.bing.com/. The track at the top is NS's "horn track," connecting CSX (Seminary signal) with the NS main line at CR Tower:

On November 6 I paid my first visit to this site. First, here's a view looking compass east/railroad north while standing next to the NS Washington Sub. The CR Tower signal bungalow is ahead to the left, and the horn track can be seen branching off to the left. The CSX trestles are straight ahead:

Looking compass west/railroad south at CR Tower (for orientation):

As of November 6, little had been done other than to construct a firm base of crushed stone on which the crane could be placed. The rock base is directly in front of the center support of the trestles:

Now, here's the scene as of November 17. The mammoth crane has now been assembled:

Coming off the horn track, VRE 325 rushes through the site at 1335, right on schedule:

And minutes later, CSX Q171 crosses above on its way south:

That's all for now. I'll provide further updates as things change . . .

Update (November 5, 2009) on the CSX RF&P third-track extension

2009-11-05T17:19:00.038-05:00

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Last August on this blog I reported on work underway on the third-track extension of CSX's RF&P Subdivision (from CFP104, the current end of the three-track line, to CFP 98) in Alexandria. That report is still available at the bottom of this blog. Now, here's an update showing progress at two locations (Franconia Hill--marked "1" in the map above--and at the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, marked "2") as of November 5.

The photo below was taken from the Franconia Road highway overpass, looking north. Apparently work has been completed on the ballast, and now two lengths of ribbon rail have been dropped--although it escapes me why one rail is between the two tracks and the other is on the outside of track 2. Indications are that the track 1 extension will go where track 2 is today, while track 2 will be shoved left, closer to track 3. (Track order, from left to right, is 3, 2, and eventually 1). Incidentally, since my August report, Dominion Virginia Power has begun replacing the old four-legged towers along the railroad's right of way with monopole towers.

As a Metro train races north, Q409 grinds south to the summit of Franconia Hill:

A telephoto view of the roadbed work as Q409 rolls past. The picture reveals two more things: The erection and activation of wayside signals--note the signal bridge's heads have been turned--and the remaining four-legged electricity towers beyond the signal bridge:

An open view of work completed so far on the right of way:

The base of one of the new monopole high-tension towers--less aethestically pleasing than the four-legged towers, in this writer's opinion:

We now move a few blocks south of the Franconia Road highway overpass, where a large construction crew has been working for months to shave off the hillside to the right to make room for the new track. The steel I-beams will be pile-driven against the cut to provide support. Fleet Street runs along the top of the hillside to the right:

Loaded coal train U306 rumbles by the work site:

The huge I-beams. (For scale, I propped up my scanner on one of them.) They must be expecting a 7.9 earthquake:

The construction site as viewed from inside the Fleet Industrial Park. Note the industrial lead, severed last summer when work began:

Now let's move to location #2 on the map. This view looks down from the highway overpass where the Franconia-Springfield Parkway crosses above the RF&P. U306 has come to a halt because Q409 is ahead of them attempting to set off a bad-order car. It was my good luck to arrive just as concrete ties were being dropped into place for the new track. The cantilevered signal bridge, of course, is not yet in service:

Photography here is not made easy by this extravagant chain-link fence along the sidewalk above the railroad, identical to the one on the former US1 bridge over Pot Yard. The construction crew is working to the right of the Metro tracks:

Amtrak #94 rips through the work area northbound for a station stop in Alexandria as U306 sits and waits:

In the short time I spent at this location, the crew laid concrete ties all the way to the left of the signal bridge. The actual end of the new track will be only a few feet farther, just south of the highway overpass, where a new switch has been installed. Stenciled on the side of the signal control shanty is "Franconia Remote CFP 98.09":

A lone worker taps ties into place:

Now, all we need to do is attach that ribbon rail!

Stay tuned for future reports on this interesting CSX project . . .

New streetcar tracks being laid along Benning Road and H Street NE in Washington, D.C.

2009-10-27T16:54:00.027-04:00

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The District's Department of Transportation has launched two construction projects for returning streetcars to Washington, only this time with catenary. (Power on the original system, which ended in 1962, was carried through an underground conduit and accessed through a slot centered between the rails.)

We reported earlier on work that began this summer in Anacostia, mostly along Firth Sterling Avenue. Now we have photos taken October 26, 2009 while driving along the downtown project, which runs from Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue NE on a westward course to the intersection of H Street NE and 3rd Street, near Washington Union Station. You can see this route on the map above, highlighted in bright yellow.

My wife, Sheila Wexler, drove while I shot through the windshield or popped up through the sun roof with my camera, like a prairie dog. Given the congestion, which you'll see below, we had no illusions about stopping repeatedly as I hopped in and out of the car! This was all done "on the fly."

We began our rolling photo adventure at the east end of track, where Metro crosses above Benning Rd at the intersection with Oklahoma Avenue. Most pictures were taken looking west. In the background you can see construction barricades, where the line begins:

A closer look at the east end of the line, platforms plainly visible:

End of track at this same intersection:

A close-up of track construction. This is a two-track line, but at this end-point it wasn't clear whether the two came together into one, or not. As stated above, I never got out of the car:

An overview of this final stop on the east end. The Oklahoma Avenue sign is visible on the pole on the right (background):
This is one of my prairie-dog shots taken through the sun roof and shooting behind us (looking east). The intersection is Benning and 20th St NE. Note that at this end of the line, vehicular traffic moves on both sides of the streetcar tracks:

Facing west again, this was taken at Benning Rd and 19th NE:

Benning Road and 1uth Street, looking back toward the east:

Benning Road becomes H Street NE at 15th Street and continues west. This westward view is at H and 12th. Note that construction had not begun between the previous photograph and this one; the project apparently began at each end and is working toward the middle. On the other side of the street beyond the turret, however, you can see where construction resumes--now on the north side of the street instead of the middle:

A view of early work at H Street NE between 9th and 8th Street:

Here's where they're going to it full tilt at the west end of the line: H Street and 8th Street:

Looking back east at H Street and 4th Street NE:

And here we reach the western end of track, at H Street and 3rd NE:

The same location (H and 3rd) in September, 1947:
It was not clear, however, when this line will be finished. Mayor Fenty has asked that the H Street line's work be accellerated. Originally the city's plans called for this and the Anacostia line to be done in "3 to 5 years" (from 2009). Time (and funds) will tell . . .

Anacostia Streetcar track construction begins

2009-10-06T21:56:00.016-04:00

The map above reveals the plan for the D.C. Department of Transportation's new streetcar system, intended to demonstrate the viability of such a system and return streetcars to downtown D.C. Given the state of the economy in 2009, however, expansion will surely have to wait.

Meanwhile, the city is proceeding with the first phase of the "Anacostia Initial Line Segment." This short line runs mostly on the right of way of the former B&O/CSX Shepherd Branch, mostly along South Capitol Street, Firth Sterling Avenue, and a short piece of the Suitland Parkway, where it will terminate at the Anacostia Metro station. The southern terminus will be a short distance south of where Firth Sterling crosses under I-295. A maintenance facility will be erected at that point.

Phase two will extend the north end by running tracks through the middle of the historic Anacostia business district in the middle of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and terminating at the intersection with Good Hope Road.

Construction began in spring 2009 but it's not clear when it will conclude. When it does, three new streetcars purchased from a company in the Czech Republic will be brought to Anacostia and service will begin.

For reference, here are aerial shots of the area under construction. These maps, from Microsoft's www.bing.com, appear to have been taken about two years ago. CSX's Shepherd Branch rails are clearly visible in all four photos.

The first photograph is of the Anacostia Metro station, the north end for phase one. The contractors have not put one shovel in the ground at this location yet. Phase two will bring the tracks from the station over to MLK Jr Blvd (lower right corner) and run them north:

Just south of the Metro station, where Suitland Parkway crosses Firth Sterling, is as far north as construction has reached. This picture was taken, of course, before construction began. Note the railroad in the middle of that boulevard-like right of way:

Here's the next section proceeding south, where Firth Sterling runs under I-295. Construction has made it south only to a spot under the interstate highway:

This last aerial shows Firth Sterling passing under I-295 for a T-junction with South Capitol Street. The Shepherd Branch is clearly visible, running at a diagonal where it once crossed S. Capitol. We're not sure if the streetcar line will do exactly that, but it will definitely turn left on S. Capitol and head south a few blocks to its southern terminus and shop:

Our curiosity sufficiently piqued, Mike Schaller and I grabbed our cameras and went to see for ourselves on Tuesday, September 29. The photo below looks toward the I-295 overpass where Firth Sterling passes underneath:

A closer view of construction near I-295:

Same location, with a closer look at the concrete road bed and rail being installed:

At the corner of Firth Sterling and Stevens Road, we looked north at the crew pouring what appeared to be a concrete sidewalk next to the concrete rail bed:

A closer view of the crew along Firth Sterling between Stevens and Eaton Roads:

New lightweight rail awaits installation:

Looking north where Firth Sterling crosses Suitland Parkway. The streetcar tracks will apparently turn right here toward the Metro station. The fresh asphalt reveals where the Shepherd Branch rails had been:

From that same intersection, this view turns around and looks south past a vestige of B&O days--a grade crossing signal control box:

Mike stares wistfully at Shepherd Branch rail yanked from the right of way and grade crossing. He had documented on film and published an article about CSX's last run on the branch, shut down in mid-December 2001 for security reasons following 9/11.

That's all for now. We'll revisit the scene in a couple of months to check progress . . .

CSX RF&P third-track extension at Springfield-Franconia VRE station (August 2009)

2009-08-24T11:25:00.026-04:00

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Track Work on North Side of Franconia Hill (August 22, 2009) CFP 99

G880 creeps up Franconia Hill southbound, the RF&P's ruling grade. Notice the new ballast between Tracks 3 and 2. That's where the center passing siding had been (1947 to the mid 1970s, per Bill Griffin and others) and the new third track is going. Or, more likely, Track 2 (right) will be shoved left into the gap, and new Track 1 will go where Track 2 lies now.

Trailers 'n' empty juice reefers on the Q741.

Maybe 75 feet south of the Franconia Road highway overpass, CSX has installed this new signal bridge to await completion of the third track.

Backing away a bit, and nearly falling off the cliff, one can see the relationship of the new signal bridge to the highway overpass. Obviously the signals will be for northbounds only.

P079 rushes by the site of the former switch, turnout and industrial siding into the Fleet Industrial Park. A favorite prop of mine at this location had to go to accommodate that third track, alas.

Looking toward the railroad from inside the industrial park.

No more trains for this park. Once the big customers were Xerox and Premium Distributors.

Looking south where the industrial lead had been.

Trackwork at the South End of the New Third Track (August 23, 2009)

Behold the VRE station at the humongous Springfield-Franconia Transportation Center, looking north from the south end of the station. The rest of the facility is off to the left and consists of a Metro station, a bus station with Trailways and Greyhound logos on it, and the biggest parking garage I've ever seen. A hundred yards north of here is the south end of the triple track installed by the RF&P in 1947 (per Bill Griffin) and torn out in the mid 1970s.

In this view (above) you can almost make out the place under the highway overpass (Springfield-Franconia Parkway) where Tracks 3 (left) and 2 (right) had been spread apart to make room for the passing siding. The siding began there and ran north to AF (CFP104). The new track will go in the same space. A new turnout has now been installed, off to the right. As I said above, Track 2 will likely be shoved left into the old gap and new Track 1 will go where Track 2 had been.

Note the cantilevered signal bridge on the other side of the highway overpass, which will only be visible, of course, by southbounds.

P099 rips through the station and across the new switch.

P080 flies north through the station.

The same view. Where is the new signal for northbounds when the third track is installed?

P099 clearing the station beneath the passenger walkway connecting the transportation complex's third floor with the VRE platform.