19 replies to this topic

[Anderson]

As background to this, I'm helping at a summer camp located about...oh, 50 feet from the NS mainline. I can hear virtually every freight movement from my room, for example. So, I go out to try and catch the Crescent tonight...and that train seems to be slotted behind an intermodal at the moment (it was due into LYH at 10:38 vs. 10:00 on the timetable), and as of right now an intermodal is rolling by.

The intermodal is led by three engines. Two are standard NS units (I was half-hoping for a Heritage Paintjob to roll by, but no such luck). The third, however, is UP 7614. Do pardon me for asking, but what is a UP engine doing in Lynchburg? I get how railcars get shuttled around (and I saw an old Southern boxcar today, which was pretty nice to see for the sheer novelty), but what's a UP engine doing out in NS territory this far?

[amtkstn]

The UP unit is on the train paying back horsepower hours. When a railroad uses a unit that belongs to another railroad the amount of horsepower generated in an hour is charged back to the railroad it is on. Instead of cash those hours are pay back by the other railroad useing the foreign railroad.

[Devil's Advocate]

In previous eras you also had run-through power from other roads. Not as common here in the era of mega-conglomerates, but still happens occasionally, at least where I live.

[Anderson]

And it makes sense a bit closer to the UP tracks (say, near Chicago or New Orleans). I'm just surprised to see it...well, in Virginia.

Also, it looks like I have an idea of the headways that NS allows considering the time spacing between that intermodal and the Crescent...looks like the headways are somewhere around 30 minutes, since the intermodal went by at about 10:38 and the Crescent is still stuck just outside the Lynchburg station from what I can tell (it's been 2 minutes out for the last 10 minutes).

Edit: Scratch that. Effective headway seems to be 40 minutes (NS Intermodal passed at about 10:40; the Crescent at 11:20), which would imply something like 20-30 mile signal blocks. Does this seem about right for a freight line?

Edited by Anderson, 21 June 2012 - 10:22 PM.

[gswager]

I've seen locomotives from Mexico (FerroMex or NS?) running on BNSF track through New Mexico several times.

[WhoozOn1st]

I've seen locomotives from Mexico (FerroMex or NS?) running on BNSF track through New Mexico several times.

We see them once in awhile in SoCal as well. For that matter, and though it's certainly rare, it's not altogether shocking to spot the odd NS or CSX unit rolling around out here too. Unfortunately I never seem to have a camera handy when it happens!

[Hotblack Desiato]

]Edit: Scratch that. Effective headway seems to be 40 minutes (NS Intermodal passed at about 10:40; the Crescent at 11:20), which would imply something like 20-30 mile signal blocks. Does this seem about right for a freight line?

No way. Signal blocks are typically a couple miles long. If the signals are 20-30 miles apart, you might as well call the territory unsignalled.

[Anderson]

]Edit: Scratch that. Effective headway seems to be 40 minutes (NS Intermodal passed at about 10:40; the Crescent at 11:20), which would imply something like 20-30 mile signal blocks. Does this seem about right for a freight line?

No way. Signal blocks are typically a couple miles long. If the signals are 20-30 miles apart, you might as well call the territory unsignalled.

Huh...no idea why the Crescent would have been stuck so far behind (and delayed so much) unless NS was holding them, either for an "unseen freight" or to allow them to run behind the intermodal without having to repeatedly stop/slow them.

[Ryan]

How are things like inspections/repairs done when a locomotive is far away from home. For periodic inspections, do they just make sure to have the locomotive back before the inspection is due? If (for example) this UP locomotive failed completely, would NS do the repairs and send the UP a bill, or would they just drag it back to UP-land and hand over the dead locomotive (and a bill for the tow)?

[Ispolkom]

The intermodal is led by three engines.

I'll bet that the fact that it's an intermodal is the reason. It probably makes more sense to leave the same locomotives pulling a unit train from its origination point to destination. For what it's worth, I've occasionally seen Norfolk Southern locomotives pulling a line of empty oil tanker cars west through Minot, ND on the BNSF mainline.

[amtkstn]

NS would send the broken unit to the nearist shop and do the repairs on UP money.

[jis]

At Horseshoe Curve I have seen an intermodal pulled by a lash up consisting of one UP, one BNSF and one NS unit. Nothing terribly unusual about such.

[johnny.menhennet]

I've seen engines from all 5 of the American class ones on freights in SoCal. The most common time to see freights for me now is in the UP yard at Van Nuys, when they are shuffling a local almost daily at exactly 4:00P. But I have seen KNS, UP, CSX, NS, and BNSF on the BNSF freights to the San Diego/National City ports.

[Hotblack Desiato]

I've seen engines from all 5 of the American class ones on freights in SoCal.

According to Wikipedia, there are 11 Class I railroads in North America, of which 8 operate in the United States.

[johnny.menhennet]

I've seen engines from all 5 of the American class ones on freights in SoCal.

According to Wikipedia, there are 11 Class I railroads in North America, of which 8 operate in the United States.

Well yes but I believe that Soo Line is included and that is a full subsidiary, so I woul dnot count that. And yes 8 would operate then. KCS, BNSF, UP, CN, CP, CSX, NS, and SOO. If you count Soo as part of CN and you count CN and CP as Canadian, then you are left with five American Class 1s

[Anderson]

What are the three Class Is that don't operate in the US? I know of one in Mexico; is KCSdeM being counted separate from KCS?

[johnny.menhennet]

What are the three Class Is that don't operate in the US? I know of one in Mexico; is KCSdeM being counted separate from KCS?

I wa swondering as well. I can't think of any that aren't Ferromex

[Ryan]

So I had to cheat and look at Wikipedia, but the 3 that don't operate in the US are Via, Feromex and KCSdeM.

The 8 that operate in the US are Amtrak, NS, CSX, KCS, BNSF, UP, CP and CN.

http://en.wikipedia....lass_I_railroad

[WhoozOn1st]

So I had to cheat and look at Wikipedia, but the 3 that don't operate in the US are Via, Feromex and KCSdeM.

The 8 that operate in the US are Amtrak, NS, CSX, KCS, BNSF, UP, CP and CN.

http://en.wikipedia....lass_I_railroad

That's not cheating, it's taking the initiative to do the research instead of waiting around for somebody to hand you the answer.

[MetraUPWest]

I've noticed the opposite- the foreign RR will just drag back to broken power to us with a note that pretty much says "Here- it's broken." The daily inspection just gets done by one of the engineers operating the power that day, foreign or not. They seem to make sure that all units going to foreign roads have all quarterly, semi, annual, and tri-annual inspections done before hand, not sure if the foreign road would do it themselves if they did need done, or just send it back with the aforementioned note.

Not too long ago I hauled a couple of NS-leased UP C40-8s that were going back to North Platte's GE shop needing major engine work, UP performed the work on them and I assume sent them back to NS.