> From what I understand in the later EL years, BC at the east > end of Port Jervis was the funnel to single track. It was > single track to Otisville. Now my question is, was it single > track thru the tunnel? I believe it was but am not sure. The > next question is, on the east end of Otisville Tunnel, what > was the track configuration? Was there any passing sidings or > was it single track to Howell's Junction? > Fred Stratton I'm not sure, Fred, when it became single track up the hill. It was double for a long time, and with the advent of auto racks, the double track through the tunnel (as it was built) was singled for clearance reasons, using 70 mph equilateral switches at either end. Dan Biernacki is the source for that knowledge, and he said at that time speed limits were 70/50. Later, the limits were reduced to (I think he said) 40 for both passenger and freight. He asked why that was, and the answer was that if anything were to go wrong, it'd be easier to unplug the tunnel from a 40 mph accident than from a 50/70 mph accident, and it didn't cost much time on the schedules. SGL The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
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