Amtrak Detours over METRI RI District

On Dec. 14 a fire at Lockport closed down CN's Joliet Sub., bringing about detours of Amtrak's TEXAS EAGLE and a combined 300/302 over the Rock Island District. My question - how does one get from the former GM&O onto the RI? As I recall when I was in Joliet several years ago, there was not a connection at UD Tower near the station.

Thanks!

Andy

At one time the RI main at Joliet may have been 2 track. At some point it was reduced to 1. There is a connecting track SE corner from Joliet Station. The Metra Heritage corridor trains use this connection to get to the Metra coach yard. AFAIK the 2 Metra Heritage trainsets are stored there overnite.

What I don't know is how Amtrak would reach the RI from CUS. I don't see why some trains were re-routed while others were annulled. A strange route may be if somewhere there is a connection for the SouthWest or Wabash/NS line service onto RI rails.

They would have to go up the St Charles Air Line. At 16th St. Tower, there is a connection track between the SCAL and the Rock.

There is no connection between SWS/RI, as SWS goes over RI in the area of New Lenox. Amtrak detours over RI until 16th Street as mentioned previously. Also mentioned, there is a connector track in Joliet from RI to UP rails that the 3 Heritage Corridor sets use to/from RI's coach yard. The current track alignments may be changed in the near future as construction starts on Joliets new station, which include new platforms for RI east of the BNSF/UP diamonds. Amtrak that travels on RI is also limited to running 30mph due to cab signal restrictions.

To reach RI trackage, could Amtrak take NS toward Indiana until the Englewood crossing, then connect to RI there?

I'm guessing in Joliet the trains pull through the connector and back up the UP into the station.

Tadman wrote:To reach RI trackage, could Amtrak take NS toward Indiana until the Englewood crossing, then connect to RI there?
I'm guessing in Joliet the trains pull through the connector and back up the UP into the station.

The only connection at Englewood between NS and RI, is one that goes into NS' yard in the area.. not a direct link from main to main as in Joliet. I'm not sure if one existed in pre-Metra days. Construction has also started on the flyover seperating Metra from NS at Englewood. As for Joliet, thats probably exactly what they do. The reverse move may not be needed after the Joliet project, depending on where platforms will be located.

I figured it would be easier to reroute Amtrak to the BNSF from Joliet to 21st Street?

Well, the ex-Santa Fe does not go all the way to 21st Street, or even to Bridgeport, anymore. It basically ends at Corwith, although there is a track that goes up to Ash Street to connect with the NS (nee Panhandle).

A connection is possible at Corwith, but a push-pull consist, or a very lengthy back-up move all the way from CUS, would be required.

Of course, getting up on the Air Line requires a back-up too, but when it comes to backing up, one mile is much preferable to six.

Most connections between BNSF/UP were also removed in Joliet some years ago, making a BNSF re-route more of a challenge. The RI route has been used for at least a couple years for various detours.

Any photos or videos of the detours?

Scotty Burkhardt wrote:Any photos or videos of the detours?

Here is the only video I have seen of the recent detours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXfhp02CTA