Lowell Line - Winchester, Woburn, Wilmington Spottings

The lack of crossing protection does seem kind of strange. The doggos aren't going to like that. And isn't that going to be kind of a hassle to stop and flag both crossings pulling a long full gravel train?

Gravel train comes down the Haverhill line via Reading and does not use this track.

But isn't the plan to have the gravel train use this track once everything is finished?

You can't get over to Boston Sand & Gravel from that track and if you could you would have to cross over a bunch of commuter rail tracks which would be problematic.

So then what is the reason for bringing this track back in to service?

The Yard 9/10 lead from Mystic Jct to FX Interlocking was reinstated as a through track so PAR could have continued access to Somerville and points beyond (Everett, BS&G, Salem). All because GLX took over Yard 8 and couldn't host any PAR track (but the bike path was no problem I guess). In reality, DOBO/BODO using the Western Route via Reading is much more operationally easier than coming down the Lowell main into Tower A or having to do a zig-zag back/forward move to come off the Yard 10 lead. The ultimate plan was/is to reconfigure track at FX including closing the T Pad (the MW stuff within the wye).

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 9:08 pm You can't get over to Boston Sand & Gravel from that track and if you could you would have to cross over a bunch of commuter rail tracks which would be problematic.

You do realize that this crossover move was historically made, right? Pre-GLX, the gravel train ran Lowell Line to the old Yard 8 (now taken by GLX) out to FX, crossover to the BS&G side. The new route via the Yard 10 lead allows access via they wye at the T-Pad to the Yard 21 lead tracks, and then the train can shove out at FX, crossing over the same tracks. The difference is a shove move instead of a pull-through but either way the train has to cross the mainline and shove back from FX into BS&G.

AS GP40MC notes, the eventual plan is to try and restore a through connection from the Yard 10 lead to FX to head to the Eastern Route on a through-move, which was there with Yard 8 but is not currently possible via Yard 10 lead. A zig-zag is needed to continue east.

Can't they just add a diamond or two and just make the track cut across?

Trinnau wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 12:48 pm

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 9:08 pm You can't get over to Boston Sand & Gravel from that track and if you could you would have to cross over a bunch of commuter rail tracks which would be problematic.

You do realize that this crossover move was historically made, right? Pre-GLX, the gravel train ran Lowell Line to the old Yard 8 (now taken by GLX) out to FX, crossover to the BS&G side. The new route via the Yard 10 lead allows access via they wye at the T-Pad to the Yard 21 lead tracks, and then the train can shove out at FX, crossing over the same tracks. The difference is a shove move instead of a pull-through but either way the train has to cross the mainline and shove back from FX into BS&G.

AS GP40MC notes, the eventual plan is to try and restore a through connection from the Yard 10 lead to FX to head to the Eastern Route on a through-move, which was there with Yard 8 but is not currently possible via Yard 10 lead. A zig-zag is needed to continue east.

Yeah but why would you do all that if you could just run a straight shot to BS&G from the Reading Line? As far as the through connection to the Eastern Route, that of course would be highly beneficial and I have been wondering if there is going to be any consideration in the plan for the eventual reactivation of the Mystic Wharf Branch?

If the through connection is built no need to runaround the train before the shove. Pull down the NH Route, through yard 10 lead, north wye, crossover, and shove back. Also gives them flexibility to go straight out the Eastern with a preblocked train and skip Yard 21.

So the Haverhill Line comes in on the same side of the tracks as the Yard 21/Yard 8 yard track connections do/did. You still have to cross from the "west" side to the "east" side to get to BS&G. Plus if you pull in you have to then run-around within Tower A as the switch into BS&G is accessed from the north. Coming "around the horn" avoids the runaround move and is just simpler/cleaner in terms of freight operations if it's an option. The crew doesn't have to change ends on the locomotives either, which is always preferred if possible.

Think of it this way. You pull down, run around and pickup your cars to pull up (back toward Haverhill) to clear the switch into BS&G and you're physically in almost the exact spot you'd be if you came around from Yard 21/8.

The other argument is that the Lowell Line is just a better route into town. More capacity, better speed, better signals, fewer crossings. Less chance for the train to interrupt whatever MBTA has running for service on the inbound move.

Is there a diagram of the track in this area somewhere? I've never got a good look at it from ground level and you can't see it from space thanks to all the highways. It's hard to follow along with some of these conversations though because I can't see the tracks.

Google map view actually isn't that bad. Not a direct chart but let's see if this helps.

Great map, might help to show where track 645? is to get from the west to east side to perform the xover. Is that the one basically comes off the 3/4th iron under the highway, or is it the one between the highway and the NH route bridge?

You basically have the two yard-to-mainline crossovers in place, the 645 is the number assigned to one of those crossovers, I think the lower one. There is then a sequential crossover in each direction to go from Track 2 to 1 as FX has a set of universal crossovers in-line with the yard crossovers.

I put this together to show the difference between a Yard 10 move via Yard 21 (Green/Yellow) and a no-longer-possible Yard 8 move via the mainline (Red/Orange). The basically straddle either side of Sullivan Square.