NS 9447 - BN Crossing - Santa Fe Junction - Kansas City

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NS 9447 leads a train west over the diamonds of BN Crossing, at Santa Fe Junction.
NS 9947 at BN Crossing

Norfolk Southern 9447 is leading a train westbound on KCT Main 4, through BN Crossing at Santa Fe Junction. The train is crossing over the diamonds that intersect with BNSF's Fort Scott Subdivision. From here the train could have either gone west over the lower deck of KCT's Highline Bridge, over the Kansas River, or it could have taken a turn to the southwest and gone toward BNSF's Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kansas.

The taller bridge is the flyover that connects KCT's tracks by KC Union Station (to the east of here) to BNSF's Argentine Yard (to the west/southwest of Santa Fe Junction). The flyover carries tracks, AC1 and AC2. Before the flyover was built, trains would use the ground level tracks, KCT Main 3 and KCT Main 4 (the one NS 9447 is on) to get between Argentine Yard and the KCT tracks by KC Union Station.

The bridge in front of the flyover is the connector track between the Main 2 on the Fort Scott Subdivision and the Track 75 on the upper level of the Highline Bridge (which is hidden behind the connector track bridge). The two tracks in the foreground of the photograph are connector tracks between the KCT mainline tracks and the Fort Scott Subdivision. Out of view, on the right side of the photograph is another connector track that comes off of KCT Main 4 and connects with Main 2 of the Fort Scott Subdivision. It's very common that Amtrak's Missouri River Runner trains, which run between Kansas City, MO and St. Louis, MO, use the connector tracks here at BN Crossing to "Y" the trains. That is, to turn the trains around so the locomotive leading the trains, when they head back to St. Louis.

For a better idea of the complex track layout at Santa Fe Junction, take a look at these links:

Santa Fe Junction on Open Railway Map (external link)
Santa Fe Junction on Google Maps (external link).
KCT Track diagram at the Web Archive (PDF file, external link).


Photo taken: August 28, 2005. Kansas City, Missouri.

Post Updates:

  • 2019-10-25 - Link to Open Railway Map, and more details on the ground level tracks.
  • 2019-10-26 - Updated with link to ex-BN Locomotives at Argentine Yard.
Location: BN Crossing (SF Junction), Kansas City, MO, USA

Comments

  1. Shelly GOctober 24, 2019 at 2:17 PM

    Very nice shot! Thanks for the info and links. As I mentioned, I have been watching the Junction Cam. Having a little trouble orienting myself to where that camera is located in relation to the things on the Google Map. Does not seem to show the company that is providing the cameras. Your post of the Flyover from the Liberty Memorial was great as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom G.October 25, 2019 at 9:29 AM

      Thanks a lot, Shelly.

      Santa Fe Junction is a pretty complex area. And, if you watch the chat it can be a bit more confusing because a lot of the commenters talk about trains coming from one track number to another. The KCT Track Diagram linked to above can definitely help in that regard.

      As far as the VRF cameras, they are both mounted on the western side of Holmes Drywall. From the views of the cameras, I would say they are mounted close to the corner of the square office portion of the property, between 25th Street and the western edge of the company's parking lot.

      If you see someone mention Track 74 or Track 75, those are on the upper level of the Highline Bridge. AC1 and AC2 are the tracks on the flyover. KCT Main 3 and Main 4 are the ground level tracks that most trains used before the flyover. Main 3 and Main 4 cross the BNSF's Fort Scott Sub at BN Crossing, and lead toward the lower deck of the KCT's Highline Bridge. Tracks 79, 80, and 81 come down to Santa Fe Junction from the West Bottoms area, and lead toward BNSF Running Track 5, and BNSF Mains 1, 2, 3, and 4.

      I've updated the post above with a link to Open Railway Maps view of Santa Fe Junction. It's a bit slow to load, but it is well detailed in showing you the names of the tracks and subdivisions.

      Delete

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