Western Railroad Discussion > O&A, P-Dale to Milford, NE

...Out and About, that is.  With the combination of a very warm, sunny February day and a train show in Lincoln, NE, it was a perfect excuse to get out and about to see the recently-completed second main BNSF built between Pleasant Dale and Milford, NE.  I believe this was the last single-track section between Lincoln and Grand Island, NE, and has been a congestion spot for years with all the Powder River coal flowing into the midwest.  After stopping by the train show and meeting up with fellow TO members wpjones and twjurgens, I headed west to see what the new trackwork looked like.  I hadn't been out there since sometime last year when it was still under construction.

First off, a three-some of some Lincoln area trains:
1) the ZCHIDEN sails through Waverly, NE.  I barely got out of the truck in time to get this one.
2) a coal train passes under Hwy 6 near Havelock, NE
3) a couple of Boeing loads on the head end of one of the few manifests that travels on the Ravenna Sub, this one at Emerald, NE

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At Pleasant Dale, there is a county road bridge about a mile west of the elevator.  The single main ended just west of the elevator, and the county road bridge is a popular spot to hang out with minimal road traffic - although it can get dusty up there at times!

4) here's what a westbound used to look like prior to all of the construction.  This is from 2010, it was getting rather treed-in by that time, summer shots it was hard to see the elevator or the end of second main in the distance.

5) this is from yesterday, and although the grubbing and grading for the second main opened up the shot a lot, it also brings the new hazard of getting your westbound blocked by an eastbound as naturally would happen on the very first westbound I see at this location.

6) a view of the DPU's on the westbound showing the extent of the grading work done.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/17 09:51 by mopac1978.

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Eastbounds at Pleasant Dale are also likewise improved, although it was not as badly obscured as the westbounds had been.

7) here's what eastbounds looked like in 2010
8) eastbound yesterday
9) going away

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Between Pleasant Dale and Milford there is a large cut at the top of the hill between Lincoln and Milford.  There is a county road bridge over the tracks here, although it's always been a challenge to shoot since the vegetation casts shadows on the tracks most of the time.

10)  here is how it looked in 2015 just prior to second main construction.  An eastbound coal load has crested the grade in the background.

11)  I didn't get any eastbounds yesterday, but here's a westbound going away showing the extent of the grading work done on this cut.  Unfortunately, all the work was done on the north side of the cut so the vegetation still shades the now #2 main line through the cut.

12)  In this telephoto shot you can see the crest of the grade, along with the head end of the westbound train in the distance nearing Milford.

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Here's some views of westbound trains at the cut east of Milford.

13) here's a westbound in 2015, the silt fencing is in place in anticipation of grading that is soon to begin.

14) westbound shot yesterday.

15) a light engine move, not something you see out here every day

 

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At Milford, the second main ended just to the northeast of town, out of view around the curve through town.  There had been two tracks at the crossing, but the second one is just a house track, not part of the second main.  That all changed with the new construction, the biggest change being the closing of the one crossing in town.  Now the only way across the tracks is via the one railroad overpass at the east side of town. 

16) here's an eastbound coming around the curve back in 2015

17) same view yesterday. 
 

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A couple of going away views over the crossing in Milford that is now closed.

18)  2015

19) yesterday

That's all for now!

MAB

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great pics

Outstanding

Posted from iPhone

The bridge over the UPin Grand Island is still single track. Roughly 2.5 miles.