Hoosac Tunnel Discussion & News

if they decide to undercut it and install a flowable fill base concrete panel track system, i don't see why any of the tunnel lining just shotcreted will have to be touched. if they stick to conventional track the only way out is up and that would end up removing a portion of the recently installed material in the west end.

BandA wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:09 pm

newpylong wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:09 am

BandA wrote: ↑Mon Apr 06, 2020 2:36 am Do we know if they did any work to prepare for taller clearance?

They didn't. That will require top and/or undercutting the east end and possibly additional undercutting on the west end. None of that was in the scope of the repairs.

So the work just done will have to be done over within a few years. Sometimes that's just the way it is.

The ceiling wont be touched. If you mean any track bed work that was done, possibly, most likely. But we're only talking ~3,000 feet. Yes significantly harder in the tunnel than out, but not the end of the world.

[attachment=0]Y Tie.jpg

Recently read that the plan for the Howard Street Tunnel was roof notching and removal of roadbed as much as possible and then rebuilding track with metal ties to lower the track height. Don't know if this is something that would work here.

Here is another idea:

This picture is of a "Y" tie used in Germany. It has a low profile and is supposedly very stable. I was not aware of this product.

Y-shaped ties - An unusual form of tie is the Y-shaped tie, first developed in 1983. Compared to conventional ties the volume of ballast required is reduced due to the load-spreading characteristics of the Y-tie. Noise levels are high but the resistance to track movement is very good.

Looks like flex-track that's been bent 1 too many times...
Interesting idea though

As of 0748/04-08-2020, ❊ NO ❊ Hoosac Tunnel Service Alert on NS website.

There's a video of 23K going west through Leominster on the evening of April 6 [Monday]. Fake news?

Given this one posted from Tuesday: https://youtu.be/U4evEkWFqR4

and another video of 23k posted by the same user from last night, probably not.

From the Greenfield Recorder:

Greenfield Recorder wrote:Although the tunnel has reopened, repair work continues at the site.

“We are still giving them a window to do some work,” Scarano said. “We’re running trains through and then we’re giving them some time in the tunnel to continue doing work there.”

Scarano said Pan Am Railways received support from CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway and Vermont Railway during the tunnel’s closure.

“Depending on who was shipping what, they were rerouting it for us,” she said. “We’re very thankful for all those railroads and their assistance.”

Approximately eight to 10 trains run through the tunnel on a daily basis, she added.

Read more at: https://www.recorder.com/Hoosac-tunnel- ... s-33757983

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 9:19 amY-shaped ties - An unusual form of tie is the Y-shaped tie, first developed in 1983. Compared to conventional ties the volume of ballast required is reduced due to the load-spreading characteristics of the Y-tie. Noise levels are high but the resistance to track movement is very good.

Those Y-ties look like they would be fantastic at holding the gauge and resisting frost; Looks like it is a flat strip with little to keep the whole track assembly from moving laterally or up & down. Wonder how long it would last in wet New England inside a wet tunnel though. Wood is more expensive in Europe and probably better environmental regulations on the wood preservatives.

newpylong wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2020 6:26 amThe ceiling wont be touched. If you mean any track bed work that was done, possibly, most likely. But we're only talking ~3,000 feet. Yes significantly harder in the tunnel than out, but not the end of the world.

I would have assumed lowering the floor would have already been done years ago if it could be, but it would seem like the easier of the two choices.

BandA wrote: ↑Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:24 pmThose Y-ties look like they would be fantastic at holding the gauge and resisting frost; Looks like it is a flat strip with little to keep the whole track assembly from moving laterally or up & down. Wonder how long it would last in wet New England inside a wet tunnel though. Wood is more expensive in Europe and probably better environmental regulations on the wood preservatives.

From the little info I have found the cross section of the ties is an I-beam.

one of the unfortunate conditions inside the tunnel is that the ever present water in the tunnel has electrolytic or similar characteristics which eats any steel in its' way. the rail base and components literally dissolve over time requiring the use of smaller and smaller tie plates to secure the rail and guage until such time as they have to replace the rail. you can see that steel ties which are usually set at preset/prepunched gauge and rail width configurations would be problematic in that environment.

Interesting. CSX is planning to use metal ties in the Howard Street Tunnel. Maybe it's not as wet?

supposedly, it's not just the fact that it's wet . it is very wet, which is why the track is slightly pitched down from the middle to facilitate draining the tunnel. i believe that they did a study a few years ago to find out why the rail was disintegrating so fast and found out that it has something to do with certain chemicals minerals whatever naturally found in that tunnel water. so, could they just coat everything that's metal with some super duper chemical polymer paint from the underside of the head down to the base of the rail and all the metal fastenings? i don't see why not.

But once you start venturing into that territory, you bring up the second issue, which is cost. Unless someone else pays for it, Pan Am will fix/bandaid it in whichever way is the cheapest.