It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:53 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 21 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 12:14 pm 

Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:16 pm
Posts: 41
Looking for any news on the bridge at trout run news that would complete the Cass-Durbin connection? Except for some very vague postings it would appear the bridge project still is not moving along. There is NO letting info that would match the bridge on the WVDOT website. So is the project moving or will we be looking at 2021 or beyond?


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 6:47 pm 

Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:33 pm
Posts: 125
Leward:

Have you reached out to the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad? I'd recommend contacting them directly via eMail or through Facebook.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 7:02 pm 

Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:16 pm
Posts: 41
I have reached out and emailed everyone I could think of. Nothing -- no responses. All I can find is that the bridge is "supposed" to be under the direction of WVDOT. I can't find out if it will be built by contractors (bid) or by department forces. However if it is going to be bid, it is not on any letting schedule, and the bids are posted into July now. Given the time it normally takes government to write a contract after a bid, we may not see the bridge or the rail line opening in 2020. That would be a shame with all the $$ that has already been put into the line reconstruction. No idea though on why no information is forthcoming. The Durbin & Greenbrier website is basically static, only updated about once a year.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 8:03 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
The bridge in question, from the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Restorations Department Facebook page, their photo from October 2019. A post on said page two months ago (edit: by the op of this thread apparently): "I have looked monthly on WV Dot website for an upcoming bid for this bridge replacement. As of Monday this week, it is not on a bid schedule yet. Lots of bids between now and end of June, but not this bridge. Given that it takes over a month to get a contract once the bid occurs, and the time to construct, it would be very late in 2020 to have it completed unless a miracle occurs."


Attachments:
86171143_150698906399321_1440923422858149888_n.jpg
86171143_150698906399321_1440923422858149888_n.jpg [ 126.05 KiB | Viewed 11002 times ]
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 9:11 pm 

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:19 am
Posts: 116
I do my best to reply to every comment on the DGVR Restoration’s Facebook page, but occasionally I miss some, especially when they become mixed in with replies under specific comments. The reason for no updates is because there is nothing to report at this time and it is out of DGVR’s control. We were feeling confident in early March that the project would be posted for bids soon, then COVID-19 happened and everything has since stalled. Trust me, we'd like nothing more than to share progress photos of the bridge installation, but unfortunately that will have to wait a little longer.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2020 3:30 pm 

Joined: Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:28 pm
Posts: 545
Location: Northern WV
From the photo, the bridge itself doesn't appear to be damaged. It's still on the pilings. Isn't the real problem the fact that the bank south of Trout Run was washed away? I would think that fill where the bank had been would be all that is needed, not a totally new bridge....unless the new bridge is to be a very long one to cross the creek (crick in West Virginian) and span the washout area.

_________________
Roger Cole


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2020 8:53 pm 

Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2018 3:51 pm
Posts: 442
Location: Ipswich, Mass., Phoenix, AZ
Agree with the above, the bridge itself looks intact, but I'd bet that a detailed investigation would show problems. Otherwise WVDOT would not spend the money to rebuild it.
But, it looks like those Italian stonemasons way back when sure did a great job!
Ned


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2020 3:08 pm 

Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:47 pm
Posts: 164
Location: Arizona
When I worked for the D&GVR in 2015-6, I was told the Trout Run bridge survived the flood but the approaches were destroyed, and rebuilding the approaches was going to be a big project. I personally never went out to see the bridge at Trout Run, so I can't comment on its situation. I did later hear that the State was going to replace the washed out approaches with bridges, as opposed to simply putting in massive amounts of fill.

From the picture above, it seem all the damage is on the south (Cass) side of the bridge, and the new bridge/trestle work is to be done on that end.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2020 5:46 pm 

Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:16 pm
Posts: 41
So the bridge is going to be made longer/extended over the washout?
Curious though how a RR bridge pretty much in the middle of nowhere falls under the auspice of DOT.
Was the line formally abandoned through the STB?


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2020 7:12 pm 

Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2004 10:54 am
Posts: 1184
Location: Tucson, Arizona
leward wrote:
So the bridge is going to be made longer/extended over the washout?
Curious though how a RR bridge pretty much in the middle of nowhere falls under the auspice of DOT.
Was the line formally abandoned through the STB?


If state or federal money is being used to fund the project, most likely the state DOT will be the agency to administer the project and issue the contracts. That’s pretty common practice. Of course, the bridge will have to be inspected to determine if it meets or can be repaired to meet current FRA bridge regulations.

_________________
"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."- Conductor Nimrod Bell, 1896


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2020 8:30 pm 

Joined: Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:28 pm
Posts: 545
Location: Northern WV
leward wrote:
Was the line formally abandoned through the STB?


There's an excellent article on the abandoned C&O Greenbrier Division at the link below:

https://abandonedonline.net/location/ch ... -division/

_________________
Roger Cole


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2020 1:41 pm 

Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:47 pm
Posts: 164
Location: Arizona
I recall there were environmental concerns with bringing in new fill. Up to that point, all the reconstruction involved dragging the washed out grade back up out of the river to re-create the roadbed. The environmental folks did not want the D&GVR to bring down rock and dirt from above the RR to make the grade, but could move material back up from below.

My thinking is there is no material left to "bring back up" to restore the grade here, so a bridge is going to replace the missing fill.


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:11 am 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
https://www.facebook.com/DGVRestoration ... 3943960483
"We are excited to announce that work has officially begun on the Trout Run Bridge project, the historic final step of restoring rail service between Cass and Durbin, WV for the first time since 1985! Over the past four weeks, West Virginia Department of Highways, State Rail Authority, contractors and Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad crews have been hard at work drilling and pouring the massive foundations on the Durbin side of the bridge. A total of nine holes were drilled into the hard bedrock. Due to the remoteness of the construction site, all crews, equipment and materials must be moved by rail from access points at Cass, Durbin and Hosterman. Drilling and concrete work for the foundations was completed on December 9th and equipment is currently being staged for work on the Cass side.
Although the final destination for the massive 36.5 ton soilmec SR-30 drill and CAT excavator is just a mere 100 feet away, crews must transport them 15 rail miles and 19 miles by road.
So what’s next? The construction crew will now repeat the process of drilling and pouring foundations on the Cass end of the bridge. While this work is occurring another team will be building the forms for the abutment on the Durbin end.
We would like to thank everyone for their interest in this project and look forward to welcoming you soon for a ride on the former C&O Greenbrier Subdivision!"


Attachments:
131034224_241753523960525_1198141495149776211_ob.jpg
131034224_241753523960525_1198141495149776211_ob.jpg [ 143.37 KiB | Viewed 7517 times ]
130866339_241753597293851_7502661454293516617_ob.jpg
130866339_241753597293851_7502661454293516617_ob.jpg [ 166.22 KiB | Viewed 7533 times ]
131054233_241753467293864_1858629480653840603_ob.jpg
131054233_241753467293864_1858629480653840603_ob.jpg [ 152.16 KiB | Viewed 7533 times ]
131138984_241753553960522_5693327464054303067_ob.jpg
131138984_241753553960522_5693327464054303067_ob.jpg [ 162.96 KiB | Viewed 7533 times ]
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 10:39 am 

Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:50 pm
Posts: 567
Now having looked at these couple of photos of the piling and abutment locations, it is apparent to me that they are relocating the new bridge away from the river a good 20' to 30'. You can see the alignment of the track from the north approaching the bridge and it is no longer in alignment with the location of the current damaged structure. Smart thinking as these rivers tend to go crazy more often than not.

Rob Gardner


Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cass-Durbin
PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:58 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2279
"Here is a short video of the excavator being moved to the construction site at Trout Run to begin site prep ahead of drilling next week." (Edit:I believe you DO NOTneed to log-on to facebook in order to see this one).
https://www.facebook.com/DGVRestoration ... 3510562193


Offline
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 21 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


 Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 108 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: