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  • Inverted Worcester Line?

  • Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.
Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.

Moderators: sery2831, CRail

 #1605781  by l008com
 
I did a little filming at Wellsley Farms today. Apparently a section of this line is currently inverted. Outbounds are on the inbound side and inbounds are on the outbound side. Why is this? I can't think of a logical reason why they would be doing it backwards. All on one side I can see, but using both sides reversed I cannot figure out.

Also while I was there, two trains went by without stopping and they weren't on the live map. Were they just equipment moves or are there express trains with broken GPS or was there some other thing going on?

Also at Wellsley Farms, it looks like there used to be a center track that was recently removed. Is that the case?

Lastly, is there any freight activity through this stretch any more? Or is it MBTA only since the Allston container yard closed down? Do all of the trains to everett etc come down from lawrence now instead of in from CSX from the west? (since it's all CSX now)
 #1605791  by charlesriverbranch
 
It's not consistently inverted; signs warn that trains in either direction can appear on either track. But unlike Amtrak's station in Ashland, Virginia, which has a similar problem, there's no easy way to cross the tracks at Wellesley Farms if you guess wrong. You have to run up to Glen Road, across the bridge, and down to the other platform before the train leaves. I managed to do it, but I'm in reasonably good shape. Most people who guess wrong will miss their trains, I think.

My understanding is that trains that stop at any of the three Newton stops can only do so on the "inbound" track, and that is the reason things are messed up at Wellesley Farms.
 #1605796  by l008com
 
Has it always been like this? It looked like it was a temporary problem from the way the notice was posted on the website. Also there did seem to be some confusion among people arriving to get on a train. Also not having a crossing is probably for the best. The two trains that went through without stopping were going awfully fast. Little old ladies would not be getting out of the way in time!
 #1605797  by MBTA3247
 
l008com wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 9:08 pmAlso at Wellsley Farms, it looks like there used to be a center track that was recently removed. Is that the case?
The Worcester Line was once 4 tracks from Boston to Framingham, but 2 of them were removed in the 1950s or '60s as passenger service collapsed.
 #1605798  by l008com
 
What about more recently? At Wellsley Farms, it looked like there was a center track somewhat recently removed. Maybe thats just the way the gravel ended up.
 #1605799  by johnpbarlow
 
Track #2 is the preferred track for outbounds as well as inbounds (especially when there was an evening rush hour) between Framingham CP-21 and CP-12 interlocking near the rte 128 bridge. I imagine this is because track #1 at W Natick and Wellesley Hills stations can only be accessed by crossing track #2 and the T is trying to keep outbound crowds from needing to cross track 2 which can be busy with opposing traffic.

Also there is a plan to add a 3rd track as an express track on the line between Framingham and CP-12.
https://patch.com/massachusetts/framing ... ck-project
 #1606037  by wicked
 
l008com wrote: Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:57 am Has it always been like this? It looked like it was a temporary problem from the way the notice was posted on the website.
It is every day during the evening rush hour. Otherwise the three Newton stops would not have service.
 #1606080  by MBTA F40PH-2C 1050
 
evening rush hour westbound run Track 2 because of the cut out sections at Wellesley Hills and West Natick. Much easier and safer for passenger rail operations to unload on track 2 instead of having 1000+ folk cross an active track if had unload normally

As for the other tracks, someone with greater detail can answer, other than the current 2 tracks, everything else has been gone for quite a long time
 #1606083  by BandA
 
So why do they allow passengers to cross over active track 2 to Track 1 in the Wellesley stations, but not in the Newton stations?
 #1606085  by MBTA F40PH-2C 1050
 
I don't understand the question being asked. The Newton stations technically can be accessed when needed by trains operating on track 1 via use of the wooden platforms that can support 2 working doors, a "double". Only Wellesley Hills and West Natick have this availability of passengers being able to cross tracks via wooden platforms. A "cut-out station"
 #1606093  by BandA
 
In Auburndale and West Newton, they destroyed the Track 1 platforms. In Newtonville, there is a Track 1 platform but they destroyed the shelter and removed the stairs and the platform is covered with random ballast & tree trunks, missing manhole cover & a big divit, although that circa 1890 cement platform is actually in better shape than the circa 1962 asphalt track 2 platform. So, in order to board a train on Track 1 in any of the remaining Newton Stations you would have to climb from ballast level while standing on active Track 2.
 #1606095  by l008com
 
So there appears to be a crossover between wellsley farms and auburndale. So why would anything going through wellsley farms need to be inverted? Why not just run trains on the normal track and have everything outbound cross over after auburndale? Theres also a crossover east of the three newton stations. So I really don't get why anything is running wrong-iron anywhere except through those three specific stations?

Also why not fix those stations? It looks like there would be room to simply restore the far side platform at at least 2 of the 3 stations, if not all 3. Also is there zero freight through here now? If so, that would seem to help simplify things even more.
 #1606096  by BandA
 
I believe at Wellesley Hills you have to walk across both tracks to get to a Track 1 platform as there is a steep cliff & houses behind the station. Don't remember what Wellesley "Square" is like. I see from photos of Wellesley Farms there is now a chain-link fence between the tracks so I have no idea how you get to Track 1. I assume the 3 Wellesley stations have platforms on both tracks.

Adding a third track through Wellesley should trigger a full ADA rebuild.

Why does the MBTA blow billions on new service or building Taj Mahals elsewhere but nothing here? Someone else will have to say.
 #1606120  by johnpbarlow
 
The "outbound" platform on track 1 at Wellesley Farms is accessed via a short path from Hundreds Rd on the west side of the tracks (circled in green) which are aligned north/south at this locale. To get to/from the parking lot (circled in red) at the Farms station one has to use stairs from the inbound platform to walk over the tracks on the Glen Rd bridge sidewalk.

As far as the Wellesley Square station is concerned, platforms on tracks 1 & 2 can be accessed via steps up to the Crest Rd overpass at the west end of the station.
Attachments:
MBTA Wellesley Farms station stairs to Glen Rd.JPG
MBTA Wellesley Farms station stairs to Glen Rd.JPG (312.72 KiB) Viewed 2152 times
MBTA Wellesley Farms station track 1 platform.JPG
MBTA Wellesley Farms station track 1 platform.JPG (340.4 KiB) Viewed 2152 times
 #1606132  by nomis
 
l008com wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 6:26 pm So there appears to be a crossover between wellsley farms and auburndale. So why would anything going through wellsley farms need to be inverted?
The scheduling of traffic in the evening rush make using CP-11 (between wellsley farms and auburndale) very troublesome with meets happening at that time. In addition the timing of some of those express evening inbound trains to Boston from schedules past would be close to the time outbound trans needed the cutouts for large amounts of crossing passengers.

In addition, changing tracks after Framingham lets you use 3 different interlockings to manage traffic flow, verses just one at CP-11.