Western Railroad Discussion > Tempe, Arizona train derailment and bridge collapse

https://www.azfamily.com/news/train-derailment-massive-fire-over-tempe-town-lake/article_ce292ef0-d19e-11ea-a57f-7bc720db639f.html

This looks bad. (image from twitter), link has current live helicopter news coverage)
The other thread didn't exist when I was composing this post.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/20 07:16 by kurt765.

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Cue the proposals for reopening the west line to Wellton....now. 

Seriously, depending of how many spans of the bridge they loose, it may be the quicker alternative. Ironic that this was the only bridge to survive the 1980 Salt River floods, only to have it go out like this...

what railroad  head this derailment?????

Union Pacific

kurt765 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> https://www.azfamily.com/news/train-derailment-mas
> sive-fire-over-tempe-town-lake/article_ce292ef0-d1
> 9e-11ea-a57f-7bc720db639f.html
>
> This looks bad. (image from twitter), link has
> current live helicopter news coverage)
> The other thread didn't exist when I was composing
> this post.

Took too much time. If you want to claim the breaking news, it is best to make a quick post and then go back and add on to it.

However, I think your headline is more descriptive. Sometimes the original poster does not use a specific enough subject and the later thread gets most of the posts.

That is the UP's former Southern Pacific line that diverges from the Gila Sub at Picacho and extends to Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, and Litchfield now.
At one time it ran through to Wellton, AZ and joined the main line (Gila Sub).  I believe the track is still there.
The original SP route, laid out by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1850s, is the Gila Sub.  Phoenix was at the end of a branch line off the main.
After Phoenix grew into the most important city in AZ the SP built the Wellton-Phoenix line and improved branch lines from there to Picacho to put it on a secondary main line.
There were reasons to keep the Wellton line open decades ago, including competitive freight and passenger travel times to CA, but now most UP Phoenix freight traffic is "long east" and better served via Picacho.
Well qualified steel bridge inspectors will have to determine whether some of the bridge members have been damaged beyond repair (by heat, impact, or warping due to expansion).
Then decisions will be made to repair the spans, (with temporary shoring as an option), replace them, or build an entirely new bridge.
 

What's the Daily train count on the Phoenix Line? 4- 6 ?

If the rebuild takes more than a couple of days then the traffic could go BNSF to A&C:

1) there is an actual UP/BNSF connector in Phoenix

2) if there are BNSF/A&C crews available.

Most Phoenix trains go west to LA correct?   (Edited)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/20 09:58 by donner_dude1.

I dont see the UP opening up the main line to Yuma anytime soon.
I think they are still using Milepost 802 to 854 as storage for freight cars.

donner_dude1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's the Daily train count on the Phoenix Line?
> 4- 6 ?
>
> If the rebuld takes more than a couple of days
> then the traffic could go BNSF to A&C:
>
> 1) there is an actual UP/BNSF connector in
> Phoenix
>
> 2) if there are BNSF/A&C crews available.
>
> Most Phoenix trains go west correct?   

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

Eastbound Phoenix traffic goes via Tucson and hauled back to Phoenix

Kurt thanks for sharing the link.

Thanks for including the feed ,much more information than just pictures and an ongoing story.

 

Here is video I shot in 2011 as the Big Easy Exprestt Music Train pulled into Tempe for a train side concert.
The southernmost truss span and wood trestle at the end of the video have collapsed/ The truss is twisted.

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This Part of Amtrak 1&2 Sunset Limited Route??

railcity Wrote:
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> This Part of Amtrak 1&2 Sunset Limited Route??

Amtrak stays on the Gila Sub between Tucson and Maricopa, it does not come to Phoenix.

SouthWest RailCams
CA, NM, CO, TX, AZ
https://SouthWestRailCams.com

To me it appears that the loaded centerbeam that is halfway across the bridge derailed coming onto the bridge, probably a wheel with a journal that burned off on the rear truck. That ripped up the track and sparked all the fires across the bridge. The following cars derailed on the ripped up track and collapsed the truss span. The span where the two loaded centerbeams burned shows some major warpage and likely will be written off as well. Not sure about the other spans with just the ties on fire. It's ironic the centerbeam that caused the derailment sits there relatively unscathed.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

I am not up on the railroad geography of this line. Can traffic be rerouted on BNSF's Peavine until the bridge is repaired?

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

From UPTo Our Customers,A derailment and bridge fire this morning over Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, Arizona, is impacting rail operations between Tempe and Arlington, Arizona. Union Pacific is currently assessing the extent of the damage and the cause of the derailment.We are monitoring the situation closely and will provide further updates as more information becomes available.If you have any questions, please contact Customer Care & Support at 800-272-8777 or your Union Pacific representative.https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/q0Uab4b_P9JdD64edvUSJn-E6WmZE7rupwq4oTbezvQ0s2_BCDyV-AVbAQBCJYK-v71CmiHZEmng9PAAMUfyCjokMVtpcbCSz5CAJZs0o6RwEPZlB3Vz2HzRS0uwMnl5IY6tRYiLICfjsMQRv8MGcG17bwFCYz8pTpqjVmReQA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/@customers/documents/digitalmedia/img_up_072920_tempe_bridge_m.jpg

Off topic - Things are not well at UP. Derailments due to car or track failure are on the rise at least one per month now and thease are the ones that make the news. There are lots that we don't hear about. Locomotive failures and fires are on the rise as well. This what happens when every work group is cut back to the bare bones and the ones that are left are put under time constrants to get the work done. The indicators are not good and the house of cards is starting to fall. We have seen the departure of one ex CSX PSR manager and there will be more to come.

CS

 

Two UP barbeques in the Phoenix area this summer.

> If you have
> any questions, please contact Customer Care &
> Support at 800-272-8777 or your Union Pacific
> representative....

Would not this be akin to speaking with the Iranian Human Rights Ministry?
—Mac