Track with a Twist – Building While Maintaining Service (The Babylon Train Wash Facility)

With just more than an hour ride to Penn Station in New York City from the Babylon Station, the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the busiest of LIRR’s 11 branches. When it was time to build a new train wash facility on the yard lead track between the station and the Babylon Train Yard, a creative approach was needed to ensure the least disturbance to the daily rail operations to yard, as well as adjacent main line tracks. Taking the yard lead track out of service simply was not an option. This paper will present some of the unique design features and construction challenges involved in this project which included a key design feature of incorporating precast sectionalized track beds into the construction process to maintain daily rail traffic during construction with limited track outages. Other construction challenges to be discussed herein include restricted construction site access and limited laydown and staging space; easement issues with underground high voltage electrical lines; overhead power lines; high water table; environmental impact issues with adjacent wetlands and a stream; and the lack of an existing storm water management system. The purpose of this paper is to present rail system operators and designers with options and unique solutions to building a train wash facility while maintaining rail service with minimal impacts.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2013/papers/Papers/KingB-Track-wit-%20a-Twist%E2%80%93Building-While-Maintaining-Service.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract used with permission from American Public Transportation Association.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Public Transportation Association

  1666 K Street, NW, Suite 1100
  Washington, DC  United States  20006
• Authors:
  • King, Brian W
• Conference:
  • 2013 Rail Conference
  • Location: Philadelphia PA, United States
  • Date: 2013-6-2 to 2013-6-5
• Publication Date: 2013

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 9p
• Monograph Title: 2013 Rail Conference

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction; Design; Maintenance facilities; Washing
• Identifier Terms: Long Island Rail Road
• Subject Areas: Construction; Design; Maintenance and Preservation; Railroads; Terminals and Facilities; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I50: Construction and Supervision of Construction; I60: Maintenance; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01502475
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 24 2013 1:09PM