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Thanks for the update Arthur

Thanks for the update Arthur

Hello everyone, here' some more updates on the railroad's situation (as of 8:45 AM CST on 2/22/2021)!

Unfortunately the railroad's three former CP Rail heavyweight MOW cars remain in storage at New Roanoke due to the railroad having other priorities. There are plans to install a bridge above the yard wye at Hillside but nobody knows exactly when the work needed to get this accomplished will actually take place.. Also, the town of Oakdale has plans to help the Archer-Daniels-Midland company build its grain elevator alongside the unloading spur and a depot alongside the railroad's Arlee Branch but the exact timeline for this is also unknown.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Hello again everyone!
As of 4:15PM CST on 2/25/2021, the railroad's situation looks like this...

Some work has been performed in and/or on Oakdale's Grain Car Yard but it will be a while before this can be considered complete. The grain elevator for this town is also being worked on but such is in its early days at present so there are no loads of barley and grain being shipped to it yet. The depot for this town is also not built yet but this work will be happening as soon as physically possible.

There will be a bridge installed just before the future location of Timberneck Gulch but, unfortunately, construction of this structure is taking longer than expected. This town is supposed to receive a single-ended spur track to serve a lumber yard but work on this has yet to start. Also, the future location of Arlee continues to remain as open space at this time.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

cool thanks for the update art

Thanks for the updates Arthur

Hello everyone!
Just wanted say that, as of 9:30 AM CST on 2/28/2021, Oakdale's ADM grain elevator is now in place. Work on the track associated with this industry has yet to be completed however. Plus the section of disconnected track that will be used by the PLRX's 1st 604308 has not been laid down yet. 

Unfortunately this town's depot also has yet to be constructed, but it will be happening at some point in the near future. The areas designated as Timberneck Gulch and Arlee also remain as empty lots for now, but hopes for their development remain high. As usual there are still no plans to remove the three former CP Rail heavyweight MOW cars from the railroad's equipment storage yard at New Roanoke, but such can't be helped.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Hello everyone!
As of 4:45PM CST on 3/3/2021, Work on the bridge that will allow the railroad access to the village of Timberneck Gulch, Oakdale and Arlee has begun but it will be some time before its completed and then moved into position. There has been some minimal grain and malt barley shipments moving too but the Arlee Branch's frustratingly slow construction progress has made this a challenge to complete.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Hello again everyone!
Just wanted to say that, as of approximately 6:00PM CST on 3/5/2021, work on the railroad's first of what might be three bridges has been completed. Unfortunately it has yet to be installed in a final location however, but such is due to weather issues.  If anyone is wondering, here is the kit we used.

https://www.walthers.com/single-track-railroad-truss-bridge-kit-20-x-3-1-4-x-5-quot-50-x-8-1-x-12-5cm

Sadly there's not much else going on with the railroad but I will do what I can to keep you all informed.

Thanks for the updates Arthur

Hello everyone!
It turns out that I posted the wrong bridge kit. Here is the bridge that the PLRX plans to use

https://www.walthers.com/143-single-track-railroad-arched-pratt-truss-bridge-kit

I apologize for the mistake.

Thanks for the update Arthur

Hello everyone!
Don't have a lot to report at present but construction of the Arlee Branch is continuing. The ADM elevator in Oakdale has been completed but track work in its grain car yard as well as on the mainline has yet to be completed (as of 11:10AM CST on 3/9/2021).

Hello everyone!
Just wanted to say that, as of 2:35 PM CST on 3/11/2021, work on the grain car yard and elevator switcher lead track have been completed. Work on the line through Oakdale is still unfinished at present, but there are plans to get it finished as soon as possible in place. Unfortunately the line through Timberneck Gulch and its single track lumberyard also remains unfinished at this time. 

Not surprisingly, the future site of Arlee continues to be an open and unoccupied lot at the present time but such will change once the line reaches this point. The situation with the railroad's stored locomotives and several of its maintenance equipment remain the same.
  
Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Thanks for the updates Arthur

Hello all.
As of 1:30PM CST on 3/15/2021, work on the line through Timberneck Gulch has commenced. The line and the switch that will allow access to this town's lumber yard are in place now but the single ended spur that will serve this industry has yet to be built. Unfortunately there's nothing else to report at this time but I will do what I can to keep people informed.

Hello all, here are some more updates.

Due to space restrictions, Timberneck Gulch will not be able to have a passenger depot but can have a platform that will serve this village's freight & passenger needs. Hillside is going to get a locomotive maintenance facility as well, and this will be able to serve the needs of both steam and diesel locomotives. The town of Oakdale has its passenger depot now, and a covered water tower has been rebuilt here as well (this replaces the one that was in Rustyville).

Unfortunately Hillside will also lose its water tower, but the railroad will build a replacement in Arlee as soon as it can. The future site of Arlee also remains as a completely undeveloped plot of land at present, but such will be changing at some point in the near future. Unfortunately the railroad continues to have issues at this time but is trying to soldier on regardless.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Thanks for the updates Arthur

Hello everyone!!!
Just wanted to say that, as of 8:40 AM CDST on 3/22/2021, the railroad's situation looks like this.

1.) The mainline through Oakdale has been completed now, and this town has an additional siding to accommodate the railroad's two passenger trains. Additional track work has also been performed so that the track construction crews can have a starting point for their next work session.

2.) Former DRGW FMC 50' covered hopper 15601 has made a trip through the railroad's car and locomotive shops recently as it had a defective truck that was always derailing on the standby track switch of Rustville's Cargill grain elevator. 

3.) Due to a lack of available power, the railroad has purchased two more EMD locomotives. These two locomotives (the 5020, a 2500-hp GP35 built by GMD in 7/65) and the 3079 (a 2000-hp GP38-2 built in 1/86) are former CPR Rail units equipped with dynamic brakes but their delivery date is currently unknown.

4.) Unfortunately several of the railroad's locomotives (SD45's 7604 & 6144, GP35 3535 as well as GP9 8827) remain in storage due to its inability to acquire the mechanical parts they need.  As usual the railroad's three former CP Rail heavyweight MOW cars also remain in storage due to issues with their coupler gearboxes and trucks.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Hello all, here's another update on the railroad (as pf 12:45PM CDST on 3/25/2021).

1.) While work on the maintenance yard in Hillside and the lumber yard track in Timberneck Gulch remain unfinished at this time, there has been some work on the Arlee Branch. According to the railroad's plan, another bridge will be used to reach the still undeveloped area that will become Arlee at some point in the near future.

2.) The railroad's newest locomotives are still in transit at this time, but both will be welcomed with open arms as the PLRX's need for motive power continues unabated.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Thanks for the updates Arthur

Hello everyone, here's another update (as of 5:15 PM CDST on 3/27/2021).

Unfortunately work on the locomotive maintenance area in Hillside remains unstartled but such is due to track placing issues. Work will begin as soon as this problem is resolved. There has been some bridge work performed in Stackville and Arlee recently but the current bridge decking in the former is only temporary and the railroad plans to replace them with proper bridges as soon as it can.

The future location of Timberneck Gulch remains empty at present but there are plans to develop this area (with a single-track lumberyard & a combination freight/passenger platform). I'm also allowed to say that the future location of Arlee's paper mill has been moved (in response to space restrictions) but its construction has been pushed back due to other priorities.

There are plans to test the railroad's passenger trains on the Arlee Branch as well, but its very likely that the Phoenix Flyer will need a 2nd locomotive while traveling on this line. Its unknown if the PLRX's Officers/V.I.P. Special will need a 2nd unit or not at this time however. 

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

cool thanks for the update art

Hello everyone, here's another update (as of 10:15AM CDST on 3/31/2021).

The railroad's two newest locomotives (the 3079 and 2050) have arrived now, and both of them have had successful test runs on the PLRX's tracks. One of them (3079) has received its official job (it will help the former SOO 4506 move cars in Stackville's intermodal yard) while the other (5020) doesn't have an official task yet. Unfortunately Hillside will have to lose its water tower but the railroad has promised that it will try to build a replacement in Arlee. 

Unfortunately work in the area designated as the railroad's car and locomotive shops remains stalled out but such is due to other priorities. Another round of track work in Stackville has been started now, and will be completed soon. Some bridge work will be performed next but its unknown when this will start. 

Preliminary track work as also started in Timberneck Gulch but its not finished yet so this hamlet probably won't have rail service for a while longer. Unfortunately there has been some arguments about its passenger facilities as well but the railroad's Board of Directors has quelled these by confirming that the location will have NOTHING more than a combination freight/passenger platform due to space restrictions. The town of Oakdale has been making use of its tracks, and its grain elevator switcher has been using them as an aide in its operations. 

Unfortunately work on the bridge that will connect Oakdale to the town of Arlee has been a slow process but continues to proceed regardless. As for Arlee itself, its location remains undeveloped but such will most likely change as time goes on. The town may not be able to have a depot or water tower due to space restrictions but such has yet to be confirmed. 

Continuing with the greatly disliked theme of space restrictions, these have forced the owners of this town's potential future paper mill to move its location yet again. Until further notice, it will now be built in the southwestern area of this town. 

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.

Thanks for the updates Arthur

Hello everyone.
Work on the PLRX's Arlee Branch continues as of 2:30PM CDST on 4/5/2021, but its going to be a while before this work is done. Its also still unknown if Arlee will have a depot and water tower or not, but its hoped that this matter will be resolved as soon as physically possible. Track work in Timberneck Gulch also remains unfinished at present.

The situation regarding Arlee's paper mill also remains uncertain but this will also be resolved as soon as physically possible.

Please stay tuned for further updates as the Phoenix Line Railroad's story continues.