Right of Way

[hbgatsf]

Is privately owned equipment permitted to use mainline track?

Here is a hypothetical situation.  A steel mill uses it's own motive power to switch cars within the plant.  The place to dump slag cars is several miles away.  Can the mill use their locomotives to pull the cars to that site and back?   Would it be normal to enter into an agreement for that or would a pickup be scheduled?

Rick

[gmpullman]

hbgatsf

Would it be normal to enter into an agreement for that or would a pickup be scheduled?

An agreement could be made. This would fall under the category of "trackage rights" and a set of rules would be established for the "guest" railroad to follow.

There were several scenarios just like you describe in the Pittsburgh area. Beyond trackage rights, if the traffic warranted it, a "connecting railroad" would be formed with joint ownership of the parties involved. I believe the "Union" Railroad is one such entity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Railroad_(Pittsburgh)

This opens up a whole possibility for switching movements while still dealing with main-line through trains occasionally superceding the local operations.

Here in Cleveland we had the Newburgh and South Shore and the River Terminal railroads which fell into this category handling some of the hot metal and slag trains sometimes with trackage rights over the B&O and Wheeling & Lake Erie in places.

Good Luck, Ed

[dehusman]

It s possible with caveats.  

The steel mill crew would have to be qualified on the railroad's rules.  The steel mill job would have to get authority from the railroad's dispatcher to enter the main track and operate from the mill to the slag dump and return.  The steel mill job would be under the control of the railroad's dispatcher while on the railroad.

I rather doubt that the slag would be "scheduled for pick up".  If the steel mill crew didn't handle it, the railroad would most likely have to have a crew on duty to handle the slag at all times.  It is my understanding that the slag was handeled hot and dumped hot, if it cooled down it could form a big lump in the car that might not unload.  The railroad isn't going to just stop a passing train, it would have a dedicated job to handle the slag.  The crew would have to unload the slag as well.