Passenger Trains > Update to Amtrak operating plan, Albany NY area

Following is reported as Amtrak's plan for operating in upstate New
York, where service is disrupted by hazardous conditions at an abandoned
building adjacent to the tracks in Albany:

Bus bridges will continue for Ethan Allen service (Saratoga Springs-Rensselaer) and the Lake Shore Limited (Schenectady-Rensselaer-Boston).

Bus bridge for the Maple Leaf will be added Sunday or Monday.

Trains will be turned in Schenectady. Lake Shore is operating with
back-to-back power so the engines can run around the train. The
plan is for the Maple Leaf to be set up that way, too. The Ethan Allen
is push-pull.

Qualification train for Amtrak T&E crews who will be assigned as pilots
on the Selkirk subdivision is scheduled for today. Sign up in
Rensselaer is 0900, out the Post road to CP187 on the B&A then west to
CP169. This will be the route for trains going west of Schenectady until
this mess gets cleared up. The pilot crews are expected to be qualified
in about a week.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Qualification train for Amtrak T&E crews who will
> be assigned as pilots
> on the Selkirk subdivision is scheduled for today.
> Sign up in
> Rensselaer is 0900, out the Post road to CP187 on
> the B&A then west to
> CP169. This will be the route for trains going
> west of Schenectady until
> this mess gets cleared up. The pilot crews are
> expected to be qualified
> in about a week.

Questions: once Amtrak 48/49 and Empire Service trains begin operating via Selkirk with qualified crews, how will the reversing at CP-187 be handled? Will all of these trains require an engine to pull westbounds east to the B&A where it will be cut-off? And eastbounds would then pick up a locomotive to move west on the Post Road? And will all Empire Service trains be running west of Albany or just the Maple Leaf? Lastly, will the Ethan Allen continue to bustituted between Schenectady and Albany/Rensselaer after Amtrak crews are qualified? Thanks.

Don't forget...They also have to qualify on the Hudson River Connecting branch from the Hudson Line up the grade to the east side of the Castleton bridge.

This was the route used by the Lake Shore Limited at its inception.

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JPB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GenePoon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > Qualification train for Amtrak T&E crews who
> will
> > be assigned as pilots
> > on the Selkirk subdivision is scheduled for
> today.
> > Sign up in
> > Rensselaer is 0900, out the Post road to CP187
> on
> > the B&A then west to
> > CP169. This will be the route for trains going
> > west of Schenectady until
> > this mess gets cleared up. The pilot crews are
> > expected to be qualified
> > in about a week.
>
> Questions: once Amtrak 48/49 and Empire Service
> trains begin operating via Selkirk with qualified
> crews, how will the reversing at CP-187 be
> handled? Will all of these trains require an
> engine to pull westbounds east to the B&A where it
> will be cut-off? And eastbounds would then pick up
> a locomotive to move west on the Post Road? And
> will all Empire Service trains be running west of
> Albany or just the Maple Leaf? Lastly, will the
> Ethan Allen continue to bustituted between
> Schenectady and Albany/Rensselaer after Amtrak
> crews are qualified? Thanks.


Ethan Allen bus bridge is Albany - Saratoga Springs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/22 05:38 by lordsigma.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Following is reported as Amtrak's plan for
> operating in upstate New
> York, where service is disrupted by hazardous
> conditions at an abandoned
> building adjacent to the tracks in Albany:
>
> Bus bridges will continue for Ethan Allen service
> (Saratoga Springs-Rensselaer) and the Lake Shore
> Limited (Schenectady-Rensselaer-Boston).
>
> Bus bridge for the Maple Leaf will be added Sunday
> or Monday.
>
> Trains will be turned in Schenectady. Lake Shore
> is operating with
> back-to-back power so the engines can run around
> the train. The
> plan is for the Maple Leaf to be set up that way,
> too. The Ethan Allen
> is push-pull.
>
> Qualification train for Amtrak T&E crews who will
> be assigned as pilots
> on the Selkirk subdivision is scheduled for today.
> Sign up in
> Rensselaer is 0900, out the Post road to CP187 on
> the B&A then west to
> CP169. This will be the route for trains going
> west of Schenectady until
> this mess gets cleared up. The pilot crews are
> expected to be qualified
> in about a week.

This routing is what i suggested previously on the thread, despite the poo-pooing .  Im just saying

A request from those of us on the west coast who are no longer familar with the trackage in and around Albany:
Could some one post a map/sketch of the detour route through Selkirk and the connections with the B&A, as well as the main line on the east side of the Hudson.
Thanks

WP17

Does anyone know what plans are being developed (hopefully on an emergency basis) to demolish or stabilize the structure causing the problem?

Wrap the entire structure with that orange plastic netting that one sees at construction sites and coat liberally with Gorilla Glue.

WP17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A request from those of us on the west coast who
> are no longer familar with the trackage in and
> around Albany:
> Could some one post a map/sketch of the detour
> route through Selkirk and the connections with the
> B&A, as well as the main line on the east side of
> the Hudson.
> Thanks
>
> WP17

There is a good map of the Albany region rail lines at this link.  alb_rail.gif (750×920) (localnet.com)

prr60 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> There is a good map of the Albany region rail
> lines at this link.  alb_rail.gif (750×920)
> (localnet.com)

Thanks; much appreciated
WP17

Just to be clear, am I correct in thinking that 44/449 will bustitute, and 48/49 will detour via Selkirk Yard and the connector on the east side of the Hudson?

Has there been any estimate on how long this will go on for?  Given the size of the building in question, I'm thinking its got to be at least a few weeks.

If the government and the property owners have been squabbling for several years over a now abandoned building, I doubt there will be any quick decisions.

And, Amtrak's quick efforts to develop a work around remove one element of immediate public necessity.

Back in 2011 or so, a huge, insulated concrete building (former ice house) adjacent to the Northeast Corridor in Elizabeth NJ caught fire and burned for days. Far enough away that slow orders on the railroad were sufficient to resolve the problem.  But, physically demolishing the 36 inch concrete, brick and steel walls took several weeks.

Building playing havoc with Amtrak west of Albany. Update as of Sunday July 31, 2022: this photo shows the work in progress to mitigate the collapse danger at the Central Warehouse in Albany. The tracks in the foreground are where Amtrak runs from Rensselaer to Schenectady. The workers on site seem to think the tracks will be reopened tomorrow. Meanwhile the busses are still lined up at the Rensselaer train station for the run around to the western end of the line.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/22 17:57 by prech786.

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Which bus company are they chartering ?

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