[Accrs] This may be of interest: UP line closures.

[Alameda County Central Railroad Society]

George Withers, Tifco Ind.
4180 Jensen St.
Pleasanton, CA 94566
(925) 846-5550




  
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Union Pacific lines still closed, railroad bracing for additional rain
By Chase Gunnoe | February 17, 2017
RELATED TOPICS: UNION PACIFIC | AMTRAK | FREIGHT | CALIFORNIA | NEWS



This map of UP's system shows which rail lines remain out of service as of Thursday, Feb. 16.
Union Pacific

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s been nearly a week since revenue trains rolled through Union Pacific’s Feather River Canyon in northern California and there’s no sign of rail traffic resuming anytime soon. 

In a customer advisory issued on Thursday evening, railroad managers said its Oroville, Calif., to Winnemucca, Nev., rail line was still shut down due to multiple washouts. The route is part of the railroad’s former Western Pacific main line that is in the same region as the Oroville Dam. Today, it’s part of UP’s Canyon and Winnemucca subdivisions. 

In order to maintain rail service, UP has been fleeting trains across its former Southern Pacific mainline in northern California and east into Nevada. The detours have created for more freight across Donner Pass and into Nevada on former SP tracks.

In Wells, Nev., trains are using the railroad’s former Western Pacific route into Salt Lake City because of a dam break near Montello, Nev. The dam issue, which is separate from the Oroville issue reported this week, has washed out large sections of UP’s Lakeside Subdivision, or better known as the former SP main line west of Ogden, Utah. In Thursday’s update, railroad managers had no estimate on when this section of track would be restored. 

On a positive note, trains are once again moving on the Fresno subdivision south of Sacramento. The line had been out of service since last Friday after 22 cars of a northbound freight train derailed near Elk Grove. The incident sent several boxcars spilling into a nearby river.

Other areas in the railroad’s western region, including its Interstate 5 corridor between Chico and Stockton, Calif., were in service, however due to freight congestion, trains were experiencing delays of 24 hours or more. 

Just as railroad crews were making progress on washouts and other outages, another round of severe weather was on its way to much of California at week’s end. Weather experts said there is a threat of torrential rain and mudslides along the Interstates 5 and 80 corridors on Friday and Saturday as several weather systems moved across the state.

Jim Andrews, a meteorologist for AccuWeather, said the late-week storm had the potential to be the biggest of the winter in terms of rainfall.

In Thursday’s advisory, UP said it was continuing to monitor the ongoing threat for heavy rain and mountain snowfall. 

On Sunday, railroad managers are supposed to discuss with Amtrak on whether or not to restore theCalifornia Zephyr to full service. Since Feb. 12, California Zephyr train Nos. 5 and 6 have not operated west of Salt Lake City due to flooding and backlogged freight traffic.





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