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Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission NewsOfficials Inspect Janesville - Madison Rail Line
May 18, 2007 - Members of the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission, Wisconsin DOT staff, County and Township officials and guests inspected track and roadbed conditions on the 39 mile segment from Janesville to Madison aboard Wisconsin & Southern Railroad's theater car. The car offers a unique view to passengers, who face backwards, and look through a full glass rear-window to see the rail and roadbed in detail as the train travels forward.
This trip was the latest of several recent trips on the Wisconsin & Southern system offered to officials to show, up close, the track conditions that range from new, 115# continuous welded rail, to 80 year-old 90# jointed rail. Two derailments near Edgerton in February, 2007, highlighted the need for infrastructure improvements along this segment. News media from WISC-TV in Madison and the Janesville Gazette were on hand to report as well.
Starting at Anderson Pit, just north of Janesville, passengers experienced the smooth and solid ride of 115# (rail weight is measured in three-foot sections) continuous welded rail. This section was installed in 2004 through a $2.2 million track improvement project funded by WisDOT, WRRTC, Pecatonica Rail Transit Commission, East Wisconsin Counties Railroad Consortium, and the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad. This is the type of track and roadbed that safely supports the new industry standard 286,000 lb capacity rail cars.
After turning west at Milton Junction, the track conditions quickly changed. Even with ongoing tie replacement and ballast maintenance, the 80 year-old, 90# jointed rail gave a bumpy, jolting ride. While still safe at slow speeds, this rail is old, stressed and needs to be replaced.
All of Wisconsin & Southern's track is inspected several times each year by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and several times each week by the railroad itself. The site of the Edgerton derailent (pictured below) was inspected just days before the accident and no defects were found.
Passengers were given technical and financial information during the trip by Wisconsin & Southern officials, including President, Bill Gardner; Superintendent of Maintenance, Ben Meighan; Roadmaster, Todd Mulroony; Superintendent of Transportation, Steve Beske; and Community Development Manager, Ken Lucht.
Wisconsin & Southern will install 14 miles of continuous welded rail rail in 2007, all on the Fox Lake subdivision. Initial plans call for double this amount in 2008; four full trains of welded rail in quarter-mile lengths, to be installed on the WSOR system.
Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission |
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