A day at the Diamond in Opelika, AL --Part One

Trackwork to the south of Opelika forced the Montgomery based A745/746 local to work only north of Opelika for a four week maintenance window. The train normally called out of Montgomery, AL and turned at West Point, GA, switching industry along the way. On this day, the train was temporarily based at West Point, GA and was working down to Opelika and back.

On this day, the CAT Surfacing Team was working south of Opelika siding and track workers were checking switches in the downtown Opelika yard. With all the work inside the limits of the diamond interlocking, it soon created a choke point stopping both CSX and NS movements as the interlocking plant could not properly time out before movement reset it on either side of the diamond.

Q615-08 found himself stopped just north of downtown staring at a restricted signal on the NS-CSX diamond crossing in downtown Opelika. He was waiting on northbound local A746 to get around a CAT Surfacing Team and come up the main so he could complete a meet. After waiting for an hour for the A746 local to get around the CAT gang, things got even more complicated when NS 335 showed up on the NS side of the diamond. Q615 managed to be first out, but the CSX local would have to wait on the NS train also.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• CSX
• NS
• Opelika
• Diamond Q615