Colton Crossing

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Colton Crossing
A westbound Union Pacific freight led by unit 5397 heads over the Colton Crossing.
City	Colton
State	California
Railway(s)	BNSF/Metrolink/Amtrak & UP/Amtrak
Type	junction

The Colton Crossing is an "at grade" Railway Crossing situated in Colton, California, directly south of the Interstate 10 freeway. The crossing is the intersection of the tracks of the BNSF and Union Pacific (UP) railroads. Union Pacific track runs east-west at the crossing while the BNSF track runs north-south. The Metrolink trains and Amtrak's Southwest Chief also use the BNSF track through the crossing while Amtrak's Sunset Limited uses the UP tracks. The Union Pacific track comes from the east through the Coachella Valley and into the yard in West Colton. The BNSF track from the south continues through the yard in San Bernardino and up Cajon Pass.

[edit] History

The Colton Crossing was the site of one of the more notable frog wars in American railroad history. Prior to the crossing's installation, the Southern Pacific Railroad held the monopoly in Southern California.^[1] In the summer of 1882, tensions reached their boiling point when the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (now part of BNSF), tracks reached Colton.

In an attempt to forcibly prevent the California Southern Railroad crews from completing construction, the Southern Pacific (SP) parked and then slowly moved a locomotive and gondola along the SP track at the location of the planned crossing. In addition, the SP hired armed men, including the famous Virgil Earp, to guard the tracks. Before the violence could get out of hand, Governor Waterman deputized a posse from San Bernardino who rode down to enforce the state court order, and helped place the crossing, ending the Southern Pacific's monopoly in California.^[1]^[2]^[3]

[edit] Proposed Grade Separation and Flyover

Colton Crossing is the location where the two main rail routes serving Southern California cross at-grade in the City of Colton. Most trains leaving or entering Southern California use this at-grade rail crossing, which is a significant cause of congestion on the main lines of the UP and the BNSF.^[4] In December of 2006, the Alameda Corridor Transit Authority (ACTA) presented a feasibility study to analyze alternatives and costs for design and construction of an east-west structure, which would grade separate the BNSF and UP main line tracks at Colton Crossing.^[4] In addition, ACTA is preparing a forthcoming future report on a proposed north-south flyover to the south of Colton Crossing to reduce train crossing conflicts, which report will be evaluated by ACTA, UP, BNSF and the San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG).^[4]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Serpico, Philip C. (1988). Santa Fé Route to the Pacific. Omni Publications. ISBN 0-88418-000-X.
^ Waters, Leslie L. (1950). Steel Trails to Santa Fe. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press.
^ The Earp Brothers of Tombstone: The Memoirs of Alvira Earp, by Frank Waters
^ ^a ^b ^c ACTA Colton Crossing Feasibility Study