Since the detour route is only a single track, a problem with one train can slow down or stop everyone else behind. Because of the sections of one per cent grade, the horsepower-per-ton ratio needs to be higher for westbound reroutes, and if just one of the engines on a lightly-powered train has trouble, then delays multiply. Most of the time, however, the fleet- ing of eastbounds and westbounds serves its purpose. One engineer esti- mated that it took him an average of one hour longer to run via the Topeka Sub, which is 16 miles longer than the Emporia Sub. In addition the lower speed limit (55 vs. 70 on the main line), supplemental speed restrictions for some trains (45 m.p.h. for freights over 10,000 feet or over 10,000 tons), the hilly terrain between Topeka and Emporia, and the often-malfunction- ing “museum quality” signal system all work to slow down reroutes. That being
said, detour trains usually
make better time than if they had stayed on the Emporia Sub when con- gestion, major maintenance, or acci- dents were happening. The entire line will have modern, PTC-compatible signals by 2015.
Photographing the Line Today Getting pictures on the Topeka Sub requires a scanner, patience, and luck. The Emporia Sub dispatcher (DS4) is
34 SEPTEMBER 2013 •
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on AAR Channel 36 (160.650), while the Topeka Sub dispatcher (DS104) broadcasts on Channel 69 (161.145). Locating Amtrak No. 4 is relatively easy because of Amtrak’s automated telephone
system (800-USA-RAIL),
where one can talk to “Julie” by asking for “train status.” Finding locations where one can pick up both Channel 36 and 69 can be a challenge, so some- times one must make a choice about where to go.
My experience has been that reroutes due to major maintenance of-
TOP: Distributed Power on the rear of west- bound Chicago-Long Beach stack train S-LPCLHG1 (on the right) pass stopped east- bound BNSF manifest at Ottawa, on May 18, 2008. The heavily-traveled Emporia Sub can easily get backed up, which leads to reroute traffic onto the Topeka Sub. ABOVE: The hot Los Angeles-Chicago train Z-LACWSP is east- bound at MP 19 in Eudora on December 23, 2005. RIGHT: With Kansas state capitol dome behind it, westbound Chicago-Long Beach S- LPCLHG1 passes through Topeka on April 26, 2008. This creek-side spot, next to the Bran- ner Street Trafficway, is a good place to shoot morning westbounds because here the tracks are running almost north-south.
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