The West Detroit connection will restore direct and simple access for trains coming from Chicago and the west to the tracks which Amtrak uses to get to the Detroit-New Center station without a very long and out-of-the-way winding route farther east to Scotten Street. I say restore because this was a route which was in place for decades throughout much of the 20th Century. The route historically connected the Michigan Central Mainline with the Shoreline connection for the Grand Trunk/DT&I/Detroit & Toledo Shore Line/Wabash. Also in place here was a connection track for the original Pere Marquette route into the city [[today the West Detroit Branch, from Oak Yard at 96/Evergreen winding along Grand River and Livernois and presently ending just north of Michigan Avenue near Joe Street...the connection to the MC at West Detroit was severed...maybe in the 80s?) This is the northern-most bridge in the series of viaducts on Junction Avenue. The present bridge is two tracks in width and angles to allow the connection. Apparently the current bridge must not be south enough, as funds have been allotted to tear down the present bridge and install a new one. I wonder when the last railroad underpass was built in the city of Detroit?What surprised me most was the amount of time it took to get from Dearborn to Birmingham. The train crawled along at 2mph through the junction connection to the Detroit station. There was freight train on a adjacent track. It look about an hour and fifteen minutes to get from Dearborn to Birmingham. The train really didn't pick up speed until it was north of Hamtramck.
I'm thinking the junction up grade mentioned in the arcticle will shave off more than 10 minutes because your seperating passenger trains from freight trains and it might eliminate the sharp curve. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being 25 minutes and I don't think I'm exaggerating. If seperate tracks were built from the Detroit station to the Ferndale area, I bet another twenty minute would be shaved off. Do the trains buffs on this form agree with me?
Attachment 7689
This is from the 1924 Sanborn with a 1950 overlay of the Junction Avenue viaducts. The "West Detroit Connection" is in place and the farthest left of the iron bridges indicated here. This bridge is presently vacant, as is the single track bridge, second from right. The Shoreline was at one time a double track line, but today is single track from south of West Detroit to between Roosevelt and 25th, where the current connection is between the Shoreline [[CN today) and the Conrail. Amtrak currently uses this connection, and the whole process of going east from Livernois Yard, crossing West Detroit, turning north at CP-Scotten, then crossing over to the CN at 25th Street takes upward of 10-12 minutes, if not more if there are delays. A streamline West Detroit connection would trim this down to roughly 3 minutes, and would not have to cross any other lines [[CN Shoreline, Conrail Detroit Line, or CP Rail Tunnel Leads). It's a win-win-win for everyone, and I;m not sure why it's taken them so long to put in this simple connection, on right of way that already exists. I hope this helps. The simple geography of the present day rail lines will never make for a fast trip between Dearborn and Birmingham, since the only way to get there is to go through Detroit. The reconstructed West Detroit connection, however, ought to speed it up considerably.
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