Here in ATSF Argentine Yard Update - Part 2 the photos will concentrate on the west end of the yard.
Milo Bloom (atsf@sprynet.com) has volunteered to write the captions to the pictures in order to give viewers the best possible information.
There is also a Part 1 that looks over the east end of the yard.
Go back to 
.
Click on each thumbnail picture to get its full size.
This shot is looking off the 42nd Street Bridge to
the southwest where grading for the east end of the new bowl is taking
place. Currently all graded areas in the photo have new tracks constructed
on them. The graded area is the lead for bowl tracks 30-60
(approximately).
Looking south across the old eastbound departure yard,
you can see the old east bowl tower. An eastbound intermodal is sitting on
the mainline fuel pads. The ten new departure tracks will be just this
side of the east bowl building.
This photo shows the mainline fuel racks at milepost 5.5
along the south side of the yard. A third fuel rack is currently under
construction, and should be complete in early October. This will make a
total of seven mainline fuel locations in the yard. The east bowl tower is
currently being used as offices for some of the construction personnel
around the yard.
This photo is looking east off the 55th Street Bridge,
and the west end of the new yard. From right to left we see the mainline
and the current west end of the two mainlines in the distance (by the
signal). There is a temporary connection track switch in the foreground
which is no longer in service. When used, the track connected the mainline
with track 2 to allow crews to install switches in the mainline just to
the west. The track to the left of the mainline is the old hump lead 1.
This will become part of the new middle mainline, with the new north
mainline just to the left of it. All three mainlines will connect just
west of 55th Street, as seen in the next photo. The new swtiches in the
middle of the new grading are part of the west end of the new departure
yard lead. Just beyond the switches is the grading for the new hump. The
two new hump leads will extend to the left of the Turner depot (pictured)
which is currently only being used by carmen. The tracks to the left of
the Turner depot is the existing west departure yard,which is now
departing both east and west trains out of it.
This shot is looking west off the 55th Street Bridge at
the west end of the year. The eastbound doublestack train is coming off of
track 2. The headend of the train is on the temporary connection track
(which is no longer in service) which connects to the north and south
mainlines to the east. Mainline 1 (or the highline) is the track furthest
to the left. When completed, there will be a new interlocking in the
foreground (complete with a signal bridge) that will funnel the north
mainline into the middle mainline from the east, with crossovers that can
route trains between all three mainlines. This will alllow trains off the
mainlines access to tracks 2, 3, and 4 on the lowline from this location,
which was never possible under the old layout of the yard. Completion of
the interlocking should be sometime in early October to allow use of the
new third mainline along the south side of the yard.
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