Re: [CBQ] Pacific Junction, Iowa North-Douth Crossing

["Bryan Howell via groups.io" <tubaman21=yahoo.com@groups.io>]

Ted,

The line north of Pacific Junction is no longer a through route. The tracks are severed in Council Bluffs just south of I-80. The line was cut after 2002 as I found a BNSF ETT showing this line still intact at that time. The ex-MILW line that the BNSF operates as the Bayard Sub connects to the line at the wye to the power plant south of Council Bluffs, so there technically is a way into CB. Any train going north out of P Jct would have to reverse at the CBEC (power plant) wye to access the Bayard Sub and get into CB. WB Amtrak trains operate through P Jct on the E-W main and turn north at Oreapolis and access Omaha from the south. This is now the BNSF Omaha Subdivision and loops around through Omaha past the depot and then out to Ashland where it rejoins the main. EB trains do the reverse. I believe the CZ used this route as it did not carry mail and therefore did not need to go through the mail transfer. This saved costs crossing the UP's Omaha-CB bridge. The NZ still ran this way due to the head end traffic it carried. 

Bryan J. Howell

Superior, WI

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 11:39:22 AM CDT, ted schnepf <railsunlimited2@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello, seeing has how Burlington ran on both sides of the Missouri River from council bluffs to Kansas City, I do not understand point number two in Jim's email. I assume he met to say the through trains transferred from the Iowa side to the Nebraska side of the river, with a removal of a diamond at Pacific junction.

Amtrak still accesses Omaha and the Burlington Depot area. I assume at Pacific junction the train uses the connecting track to go North to council bluffs, cross the river to the depot, and then connect to the main line at Ashland. If this is not the case how does Amtrak access the Omaha Depot.

Ted

On Tue, Jul 11, 2023, 10:52 AM james miller <jimbro67@gmail.com> wrote:

Three reasons that p jct north south route was eliminated. 

1. Removal of railroad mail contract 

     cancelling  the need for Council Bluffs mail          transfer

2. Elimination of KC to Omaha/Lincoln trains.

3. Re alignment of the curve on the Nebraska         side of the Missouri River.

On Tue, Jul 11, 2023, 10:32 AM William Hirt <whirt@fastmail.com> wrote:

The story I have always heard was that BN ripped out the signals and diamond in the 1980s to make sure Amtrak could not chose to use that route into Omaha anymore. The BN closed most of the line from P Jct to Omaha then. I think I have the employee timetable around somewhere that was issued with the reopening of the line in conjunction with Bunge plant opening.

That said, there is regular traffic northbound from Napier to Pacific Jct. My observation is that it is mainly empty coal and grain trains.

BIll Hirt

On 7/10/2023 12:01 PM, Bryan Howell via groups.io wrote:

The line to the north isn't a through route anymore. It looks like aside from unit coal trains and unit trains to Bunge, there isn't other traffic on the line. Both of those customers would be more likely to head east or west at Pacific Junction than south, so there was probably no reason to keep the diamond in place. With that said, it looks like the diamond was removed between 1955 and 1969 per Historic Aerials, so the need for the through route was likely gone by then as well. The yard east of the diamond was still in place then, so any train that needed to go south could easily pull into the yard to change ends and then head through the wye to continue on.

Bryan J. Howell

Superior, WI

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