Railroad Crossings of the CapMetro Central Sub (Part 4)

Описание: The Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority's (more commonly known as CapMetro, railroad reporting mark CMTY) Central Subdivision is an approximately 32-mile-long railroad line in the Austin, Texas area. The line runs from one arbitrary division point to another, with the West Subdivision beginning at the northernmost point on the line, and the East Subdivision beginning at the southernmost point on the line. While the entire CapMetro system including the West, Central, and East Subdivision are timetabled east-west, meaning all trains report as east- or westbound, the Central Subdivision runs entirely compass north-south. The entire line features Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) dispatching with an E-ATC (Enhanced Automatic Train Control) overlay to make the line PTC-compliant.

The Central Subdivision is used by three different railroads with a wide variety of operations. CapMetro's MetroRail commuter rail system covers nearly the entire Central Subdivision with nine stations. MetroRail runs dozens of daily services on the Central Sub with their Stadler GTW self-propelled railcars, called Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs). The other primary user of the Central Subdivision is the Austin Western Railroad (AWRR), CapMetro's freight contractor. AWRR can be seen operating daily around McNeil, switching in their yard, storage sidings, and interchange track with Union Pacific. AWRR runs at least three daily road freights across the Central Sub, primarily at night. During the day, CapMetro grants the AWRR an hour-long operational window right around high noon, permitting them to run one road freight from McNeil to the West Subdivision or vice versa. CapMetro's proprietary E-ATC system forbids any other railroad besides their own and AWRR's locomotives from leading a train across the Central Sub, leading to some ridiculous situations where up to half a dozen AWRR locomotives can be seen pulling BNSF-powered aggregate trains. Lastly, the Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) has their depot in Cedar Park. ASTA operates excursion train from Cedar Park to points on the West Subdivision and back with vintage equipment. Typically the ASTA will run once or twice per weekend.

As far as crossing signal equipment goes, there is a wide variety installed by the various companies with jurisdiction over the line. While few and far between nowadays, some equipment dating back to the Southern Pacific can still be found in places, all having been installed pre-1984 when CapMetro bought the line from the SP to save it from abandonment. Post-1984, various shortline operators controlled the line. Austin and Northwestern, Longhorn Railroad, and Austin Area Terminal Railroad all controlled the line at times and contributed their own crossing signals and replacement parts at various locations. In 2007, Austin Western Railroad became the contractor for freight operations, and around the same time, construction for MetroRail service on the line began. The entire length of the Central Sub received new track and the CTC signaling system was added to the line. Many crossings received new signal equipment as well, with some receiving complete signal replacements and others having exit gates installed to make the crossings quiet-zone compliant. As such, nearly all crossings on the line have been included in quiet zones. Six mechanical bells remain in service along the line, including four at one crossing. Some other rarer electronic bells, including five Safetran Type 1s and a pair of Siemens high tones are also in service on the line. In addition, a wide variety of other electronic bells can be found along the line, including all three types of General Signals, low-tone Siemens, Safetran Type 2s, NEGs, and Western Cullen Hayes. Many of them are fairly uncommon, making for a fun hunt. Two crossings on the line also retain incandescent lights. In summary, the Central Sub has a nice variety of equipment for a busy commuter rail line.

All equipment information in the description is or was accurate in December 2023. The videos may not reflect the current crossing equipment. Please leave a comment if you wish to know the current equipment for a particular crossing.
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:10 - S Research Blvd, Austin
1:19 - Ohlen Rd, Austin
2:17 - Wooten Dr (Pedestrian), Austin
3:17 - W Anderson Ln, Austin
4:13 - Morrow St, Austin
5:11 - Lamar Blvd, Austin
6:25 - Guadalupe St, Austin
7:15 - Denson Dr, Austin
8:42 - Koenig Ln (RM 2222, Spur 69 [Unsigned]), Austin
9:37 - Bruning Ave, Austin
10:41 - E 51st St, Austin
11:45 - E 46th St, Austin
12:40 - E 45th St, Austin
14:12 - S I-35 Svrd, Austin
15L29 - Outro
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