Passenger Trains > New Stockton ACE Maintenance Facility

Work continues on the construction of a new locomotive and passenger car maintenance facility for Altamont Commuter Express in Stockton, CA. The $61m project on a 62 acre site is shoehorned between the former SP and WP mainlines just north of El Pinal on Stockton's north side. This new complex will replace space that ACE has leased from UP at the former WP yard and shops south of downtown. Target date for completion is the end of this year. Yes, they even have a construction web cam:
http://acerail.com/Home/SJRRCBoard/MaintenanceFacilityWebCam.aspx

Two views taken this past Saturday look north from El Pinal. The former WP Sacramento Sub mainline will be relocated about 75' to the west just north of El Pinal with the existing line to be rerouted into the new shops to serve as the south lead into the facility. In the first photo we're standing on what will be the future Sac Sub mainline with the old line behind it. The red structure in both shots is the wash rack. The aerial look at the future shows that there will be a connection to the Sac Sub at the north end as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/13 07:47 by shed47.

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Additional track capacity will occur outside the immediate shop area as well. The spur that serves the ACE Stockton station platform(former SP depot) will be extended north(approx. one mile) and tie into the Sacramento Sub at El Pinal. This will allow ACE deadhead trains between the shops and station to make these moves without any conflicts to UP freights on the Fresno Subs' two tracks. The California Transportation Commission this past fall allocated $11m for this project.

These two photos(again from this past Saturday) show a southbound UP OISST loaded iron ore train at the Stockton ACE station two tracks over from the spur that at present ends at a bumper post and that will be extended north to El Pinal. Amtrak's Sacramento San Joaquin services presently board passengers directly off the grade crossing seen in the final photo.

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All of this for 3 trains a day? Why not use the CalTrain facilities in San Jose?
Will the Sacramento San Joaquins use the ACE track and platform in Stockton?

joemagruder Wrote:
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> All of this for 3 trains a day? Why not use the
> CalTrain facilities in San Jose?
> Will the Sacramento San Joaquins use the ACE track
> and platform in Stockton?

It is actually 4 round trips a day now and they are looking to expand the schedule, plus they are exploring a couple of new routes, including trains to Pittsburg / Antioch and to Modesto.

The facility is planned for future growth.

Using the CalTrain facility wouldn't work with ACE's schedule. The layover at night and the time for work on the equipment is on the Stockton end.

Z

joemagruder Wrote:
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> Will the Sacramento San Joaquins use the ACE track
> and platform in Stockton?

The reconfigured El Pinal control point will hopefully allow this to happen but I've seen no detailed track plans.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/13 14:07 by shed47.

Hopefully they will go to to Pittsburg and Modesto over the UP and not tie up BNSF, already at the mercy of Amtrak. (Sorry to be negative)