WI&I River Subdivision

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Y@
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WI&I River Subdivision

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The River Subdivision is the WI&I's route connecting Evansville with Louisville. Completed in 1909 by the Louisville & Western Indiana RR, the line became part of the Bowling Green Southern system in 1960. Between 1960 and 1965, the line was rehabilitated with upgraded track, passing sidings, and the installation of secondhand semaphore signals at several locations, along with standard BGS searchlights at other locations. After the BGS completed their purchase of two regional railroads in Indiana & Illinois in 1988, the line was deemed as invaluable to the BGS and was sold to the WI&I, giving them their own route east of Evansville. In 1999 and 2000, a few sets of semaphores were removed and replaced with stop-light style signals. Since 2008, only one other set has been removed, and as of May 3, 2012, 12 sets remain active on the River Subdivision. Those locations will be noted with bold text and asterisks below.

--END SOUTHERN SUBDIVISON, BEGIN RIVER SUBDIVISION--
CP Wood – Milepost 127.0
Harvey – Milepost 125.5
Afton – Milepost 122.0
*Painesville – Milepost 119.5*
CP W.E. Hilliard – Milepost 117.5
CP E.E. Hilliard – Milepost 116.0
Curtis – Milepost 114.5
Umber – Milepost 112.0
Walter – Milepost 109.0
Oakwood – Milepost 105.5
*Harmarsville – Milepost 102.0*
Judd’s Landing – Milepost 100.0
Vandalia – Milepost 97.0
Holdton – Milepost 93.5
Nix – Milepost 90.0
CP BX Tower – Milepost 88.0
CP W.E. BX Siding – Milepost 87.0
CP E.E. BX Siding – Milepost 85.0
Grovemount – Milepost 82.5
Blanchard Valley – Milepost 79.0
-Formerly BA Tower. WI&I Jackson Branch removed 9/04.
Acton – Milepost 76.0
Harper – Milepost 73.5
Davis Junction – Milepost 70.5
-Formerly DJ Tower. BGS diamond removed 3/99.
CP W.E. Hartstown – Milepost 69.0
CP E.E. Hartstown – Milepost 68.0
CP HR Tower – Milepost 67.0
CP Hart Connection – Milepost 66.0
Altamont – Milepost 63.5
-Formerly W.E. Altamont. Siding removed 5/02. Two-track cantilever remains.
Border – Milepost 61.0
-Formerly E.E. Altamont. Siding removed 5/02. Separate masts for EB/WB.
*Carbon Curve – Milepost 58.0*
*Loudon – Milepost 54.0*
Wahlton – Milepost 50.0
*Quincy – Milepost 46.0*
*CP W.E. Harper – Milepost 44.0*
*CP E.E. Harper – Milepost 42.5*
Suffolk – Milepost 39.0
Riverview – Milepost 35.0
*South Jackson – Milepost 31.0*
Morris Sag – Milepost 27.0
*Franklin – Milepost 23.0*
CP W.E. Ashlie – Milepost 21.0
*CP E.E. Ashlie – Milepost 19.0* (Unique combination of searchlights/semaphores)
Devard – Milepost 16.5
*Vergo – Milepost 13.0*
*CP MO Tower – Milepost 11.0*
Alexis – Milepost 8.0
CP W.E. Double Track – Milepost 6.0
CP Oak Street – Milepost 4.0
CP CS Tower – Milepost 3.0
CP Cooper – Milepost 1.0
--END RIVER SUBDIVISION, BEGIN ACKERVILLE YARD LIMITS—

As of May 3, 2012, there are still 12 active sets of original WI&I semaphores left on the River Subdivision. Across the entire WI&I system, there are only three sets of semaphores not located on the River Sub. With the construction of a new intermodal terminal in Louisville, plans are in place to add at least four new trains utilizing the River Sub, and there are major trackwork plans set up for the summer and fall of 2012. This will include adding two more sidings, laying new rail, ballast, and ties at various locations, and replacing the semaphore signals with modern US&S LED signals. The original searchlights across the line are safe for now. The Louisville Intermodal Terminal is slated to be completed in October of 2012, and signal replacements are scheduled to begin sometime in late June, and be done by the end of October. Plans include getting all track possible up to 60 mph for freight and 70 mph for passenger, as well as upgrading all 15 mph sidings to normal speed.

Train Listing
(Eastbounds end in even digits, westbounds in odd)

Amtrak 34 – Makes station stops in Evansville, Oakwood, Davis Junction, Ashlie and Louisville. Scheduled to depart from Evansville by 07:00. Usually runs 30-90 minutes late due to traffic west of Evansville.

Amtrak 35 – Makes station stops in Louisville, Ashlie, Davis Junction, Oakwood and Evansville. Scheduled to depart from Louisville by 14:30. Usually runs on time.

154 – Carries blocks of loaded autoparts boxcars for the Hartstown Ford Assembly Plant, along with empty racks for finished autos. Also handles general freight for interchange to CSX/NS in Louisville. Typically runs between 90-110 cars long. Crew called in Chicago at 22:30, with a recrew called in Evansville at 08:00 most mornings.

155 – Carries blocks of empty autoparts boxcars from the Hartstown Ford Assembly Plant, along with loaded racks for finished autos for shipping to Canada. Also handles general freight for Evansville and Chicago. Typically runs between 80-100 cars long. Crew called in Louisville at 13:30, with a recrew called in Evansville at 19:00 most evenings.

28N – Empty rack train for the Hartstown Ford Assembly Plant. Runs in 75 car blocks most of the time. No set call times, but they usually run at night.

29N – Loaded rack train from the Hartstown Ford Assembly Plant. Runs in 75 car blocks most of the time. No set call times, but they usually run at night.

302 – Carries blocks of ethanol, chlorine, and kaolin tanks, scrap gons, general purpose boxcars, bulkhead flats, centerbeams and coke loads. Also handles 15, 30, and 35 car blocks of grain during harvest. Typically runs between 50-70 cars. Crew called in Evansville at 05:30.

303 – Carries blocks of ethanol, chlorine, and kaolin tanks, scrap gons, general purpose boxcars, bulkhead flats, centerbeams and coke empties. Also handles 15, 30, and 35 car blocks of grain during harvest. Typically runs between 50-70 cars. Crew called in Louisville at 15:00.

50E - Unit train of ethanol loads for Louisville. No set call times.

51E - Return empties from 50E. No set call times.

922 - Powder river coal from BNSF. Very infrequent now that coal traffic is down.

923 - Empty powder river cars for BNSF.

S54 – Extra/second section of 154.

15L – Extra/second section of 155.

18N – Extra section of 28N.

19N – Extra section of 29N.

S03 – Extra/second section of 302.

30L – Extra/second section of 303.

L4R – Extra crew for L40.

L6R – Extra crew for L61.

54E - Extra loaded ethanol symbol.

55E - Extra empty ethanol symbol.

58E - Extra loaded ethanol symbol.

59E - Extra empty ethanol symbol.

948 – Only used if two 922’s are running on the same day.

949 – Only used if two 923’s are running on the same day.

Speed Restrictions

15 MPH ZONES
Ashlie Siding, Milepost 19.0 to 21.0
Hilliard Siding, Milepost 116.0 to 117.5

25 MPH ZONES
Carbon Curve, Milepost 57.8 to 58.3
Judds Sag, Milepost 99.9 to 100.2
Downtown Harmarsville, Milepost 101.5 to 103.0
*Amtrak is authorized for 35 mph through these zones*

35 MPH ZONES
CP Wood, Milepost 126.5 to 127.5.
*Amtrak is authorized for 45 mph through these zones*

40 MPH ZONES
*Milepost 70.5 Head-End Only (Does not apply to Amtrak)
*Milepost 79.0 Head-End Only (Does not apply to Amtrak)

Maximum Authorized Speeds
Freight – 50 mph
Passenger – 60 mph

As you can see, this is an interesting piece of railroad with lots of historical value. There are plenty of brief grades across the line. Signal replacements will most likely begin around Louisville and progress west throughout the summer. Get 'em while you still can.
Last edited by Y@ on Fri May 04, 2012 3:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Y@
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Re: WI&I River Subdivision

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One update as of May 4, signal crews are laying conduit at Franklin and South Jackson today. Not completely sure why they're starting here, but the crews were originally scheduled to begin laying conduit last week, so they are a week behind.

Also of note, starting on Monday May 7, a new set of ethanol trains from the ICE/DME will be using the River Sub to the large Poet facility in Louisville. Eastbound loads will run as either 50E, 54E, or 58E, and westbound empties will return as 51E, 55E, or 59E. The first run (loading on CP as 608) is planned to go east out of Carbondale on the Southern Subdivision at 13:00 Monday afternoon, putting it on the River Sub out of Evansville sometime in the evening. CP/SOO/ICE/DME power is expected to carry over for the whole run on these trains.
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AARR
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Re: WI&I River Subdivision

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That's a lot of detail Y@ :) I enjoyed reading it.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...

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Y@
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Re: WI&I River Subdivision

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50E-07 had a smooth inaugural run across the WI&I from St. Louis to Louisville. While the train was originally planned to leave Evansville around 13:00 on Monday, it didn't arrive in Evansville until around 16:00. More ethanol trains are planned and there should be 4-6 running per week by the middle of summer.

On that note, a crew for 51E-09 is called for 12:30 tomorrow to take the empties west. Power shows as DME 6364 and SOO 6026, the same power that brought the loads east. Also, 50E-10 is planned for a 05:30 arrival in Evansville on Thursday, with a 54E-11 planned for early Friday morning. No power showing for the 54E-11 yet, but the 50E-10 shows as having CP 6007-SOO 6053-ICE 6428-StLH 5615 for power. If everything goes as normal, the StL&H unit will lead going back west.
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Re: WI&I River Subdivision

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As of 7/2/12, replacement signals are up and bagged at Vergo, E.E. Ashlie, Franklin, and South Jackson. Cutover for the MO Tower to South Jackson stretch is scheduled for 8/10/12. The way it's looking now, everything west of South Jackson will happen next spring. The entire project is pretty far behind right now due to several storms and other factors. MO Tower is the only set of semaphores left east of Harper that have not been touched. The only work done at MO so far is conduit and the marking of base locations. Starting on Thursday, crews will be working at MO Tower and E.E. Ashlie. The end is near for the semaphores on the River Sub.
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