gprimr1 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:04 pm
As I remember, the Cardinal once ran with Superliners, so Superliners can fit in the Capital Street tunnel.
That means if Amtrak rebuilds the Baltimore tunnels to Superliner clearance, are there any other height restrictions to prevent a Newark NJ AutoTrain? Platforms wouldn't be an issue since it would be using it's own dedicated station. There is a ton of land near Marion Reach and South Kearny yard that could be used for parking.
Assuming the Fredrick Douglas Tunnel will be built to handle Superliners and double-stack freight (24 feet from rail to caternary)... you have to clear (from WAS up to Newark)...
- DC: US 50 New York Ave NE
- DC: 9th St NE
- DC: Montana Ave NE
- DC: US 1 ALT Bladensburg Rd NE
- DC: US 50 New York Ave NE *AGAIN*
- MD 201 from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD 295).
- A CSX railroad bridge.
- Colombia Park Rd.
- MD 202 Landover Rd
- MD 410 Veterans Pkwy
- US 50 John Hanson Hwy
- I-495 Capital Beltway
- MD 459 Annapolis Rd
- Carter Avenue
- MD 193 Glenn Dale Blvd
- Lanham Severn Rd/9th St
- MD 197 Laurel Bowie Rd
- MD 175 Annapolis Rd
- MD 32 Patuxent Fwy
- MD 174 Reece Rd
- MD 100 Paul T. Pitcher Memorial Hwy
- MD 176 Dorsey Rd
- Stoney Run Rd
- BWI Amtrak station pedestrian bridge
- MD 295/I-195 interchange
- I-195 Metropolitan Blvd
- I-895 (Baltimore Harbor tunnel south section)
- CSX tracks (MARC Camden Line)
- US 1 ALT Washington Blvd
- MARC Halethorpe pedestrian bridge
- Francis Ave
- I-95
- I-695 Baltimore Beltway
- US 1/MD 372 Wilkens Avenue
- S Hilton St
- MD 144 Frederick Ave
- Edmondson Ave
- Lafayette Ave
...and THEN the Fredrick Douglas Tunnel as planned.
You also have to clear the catenary, and I forget our previous conversations about that in other threads about how close that caternary can be w/o affecting people inside. All the cars are 16' 2" from what I can tell, and the minimum IMO would be 18' tall caternary... but I'd be more comfortable with 24' tall caternary.
There is one other consideration: are you going to go diesel all the way up? Because I doubt a train that long and that heavy is going to hit 100 MPH on the NEC... or anywhere period.