Western Railroad Discussion > What is happening at Bealville?

My son and I found our way up to Tehachapi Pass today.  As part of the trip, we headed over to Bealville to get a picture of a long northbound BNSF intermodal.  We were surprised by the construction going on there.  It looks as though the siding has been moved almost a full track width north from just east of Bealville Rd to well past the curve on the west side of the road.  Why is there such a large gap between the tracks now?  It looks almost as if a third track is going to be put in- will there be two mains and a siding through here?

We were also surprised to see how much of the tunnel between Walong and Marcel has been taken down.  It looks to be about a third of the way towards being removed.  Will they be building a temporary shoefly in the near future?

Thanks,

Paul
www.z-trains.com
Railfanjunction on YouTube.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/15 21:45 by z-trains.

They are extending Walong to Marcel around the hill that contains Tunnel 10.  Tunnel 10 will not be daylighted, unless plans have changed.  From 3 days ago-  <http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3805552,3805888#msg-3805888&gt;

mapboy

It sure looks to us like Tunnel 10 is being torn down in the same manner the Alray tunnels were on Cajon.  There is an excavator on top of it and almost a third of the top right above the tunnel itself is now gone.  I can't understand what they would be doing this for if it wasn't to daylight it.  There certainly does not look to be any progress on a shoefly and if so, it is not as obvious as the removal of the top of the hill above Tunnel 10.

Cheers,

Paul

One of the reasons for me to visit Tehachapi this past April was to get shots of Tunnel 10 due to rumors of it being daylighted.  Unfortuately, I didn't get the chance to get any up close shots of it during the visit, but did manage to get a shot of it from above the north Marcel switch when I went back in May.
 

George Cataulin
San Diego, CA
Left Coast Rail Videos

It's starting to look as if Tehachapi Pass may someday look more like Cajon Pass with multiple tracks. Maybe someday Amtrak may get the green light to run passenger service. Who knows? We'll see.

Did you take any pics of the construction work?

Unfortunately we did not have time to stop for a photo since we were chasing northbounds.  I am considering going back up there this week to specifically shoot the construction.

I was overall shocked at how much Tehachapi Pass has changed in the past few years, especially on the Cameron/Warren side of it.  The entire pole line is gone from Mojave up through Cameron.  The windmills around Warren and Tehachapi are monstosities now dwarfing the old ones and sprouting up everywhere.  Of course, all the search lights are gone now and the overall feel of the Pass has changed to one that is generic UP with very little character.  Much of the uniqueness of Tehachapi is fading and it is starting to look like any other western landscape.  I know it is progress and business but...

Paul
www.z-trains.com
Railfanjunction on Youtube.com

As another reply mentions, the plan was to put a 2nd track around the outside (north side) of tunnel 10 in a new cutting, while retaining the tunnel. However, the projected images (to my mind) made the squeezing in of a track in such a cutting very tight indeed. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the tunnel was being daylighted and both tracks were being put into a cutting. To be honest it makes a lot more sense for lots of reasons to eliminate the tunnels where possible.
The plan down at tunnel 2, below Bealville was to do a similar thing i.e. leave tunnel 2 intact and put a 2nd track in a cutting next to it. I assume the changes you saw at Bealville are part of the doubling of this section, right down to Caliente.
The overall aim of this work is to allow the current average capacity of 35 trains a day to be increased to 50 per day. Work was originally planned to start in 2013 and complete in 2017 as far as i remember from the plan i saw. So those plans could have been reviewed in the 2 year period since they were published.
Actually, just thinking about it, it's possible the top of tunnel 10 is just being levelled to allow excavation equipment to get over the top of it to excavate a cutting? Without photos it's hard to be sure. I guess time will tell...



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/15 11:38 by exhaustED.

Sometimes interesting things happen when the hill on one side of a tunnel is cut away.
Lateral soil pressures may start to move the once-stable formation surrounding the tunnel.
I image they have a "Plan B" in case either of the tunnels don't stand up to changes planned for them; they would then be daylighted.

So the whole Loop track is being rebuilt so it doesn't cross over itself? Wlliam Hood just rolled over.

WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So the whole Loop track is being rebuilt so it
> doesn't cross over itself? Wlliam Hood just rolled
> over.

That would be Tunnel 9!  Not happening, yet.

mapboy

It would be interesting to see how they continue the double track from Woodford to Walong (and soon to Marcel). Replace two bridges and a tunnel (9). I cannot imagine the impact of that project with the National Chavez center at the west end of Woodford siding other than construction noise.

WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So the whole Loop track is being rebuilt so it
> doesn't cross over itself? Wlliam Hood just rolled
> over.

No, the loop siding (Walong) immediately above tunnel 9 (the 'loop tunnel') is being extended up the hill so it joins with the siding that ends/starts at Marcel. So tunnel 9 is one part of the hill that is not changing at all. When all the planned work is done there'll still be some single-track sections including Woodford-Walong. 
The plan is to double track 5 key sections that are relatively easily/cheaply do-able, certain tricky sections will not be doubled.

Thanks

Scope of project

Look at page 69 for tunnel #10

The nature of railroading is, thank God, changing in many positive ways.  Like more traffic, better track structure.  I for one really like the Darth Vader signals.  So what if searchlights disappear?  The new, LED hoods are easy to see from quite an angle, look modern and are a good fit to today's railroading. I'll take more trains on a better infrastructure any day.  The past is just that.  The future is new signals, new track, new locomotives and rolling stock, new traffic sources. Many kudos to the past, time to move on.  My only hope for a link to the past would be for railroad management to take pride in their franchise.  My hope for the future is for railroaders to be honored and valued by management for their enormous contributions.  But let the progress of the physical plant keep going!

Bruce