Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Empire Builder moved to a more southerly route?

Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="arbfbe"] The capacity east of Billings is a BNSF issue.  I note it is CTC controlled all the way so how hard is it to run one passenger train each way in the course of the day.  Coal volume is not yet crippling on the line like it is throughout the PRB.MRL has the capacity to run the passenger service if needed.  The choke points are terminals and mountain grades.  The NP and BN did a pretty good job of eliminating some of the shorter sidings which could be used for passenger operations.  They also pulled the ABS signals over Evaro Hill which would probably have to be reinstalled for long term passenger service.  MRL has improved the CTC system and added CTC on the mains which BN had left as ABS prior to the MRL take over.  So issues would be holding heavy trains at the bottom of mountain grades until the AMTKs were by and reserving the long mains at stations in Missoula, Helena, Bozeman and Billings for station stops.  It is not uncommon for MRL to use the mains as just another yard track for long and heavy trains especially when they are too long to fit in the yard without fouling the leads.  Certainly some adjustments will have to be made but #7 and #8 seem to do pretty well on the high line without crippling the freight service.  Generally, the train times for the passenger zippers are know well in advance and they pass through the area in short order. [/quote]How ever did MRL manage things with the private tour varnish these last few years?
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag