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Powder River coal train
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Most PRB mines (all?) now are capable of loading 135-car maximum trains, or 19,305 tons using 286,000-lb. maximum gross weight cars. Not all unit trains run that long, of course, but many do. The limit will be the ability of the powerplant to take 135-car trains, and siding lengths en route. When I worked at KCS in 2000, 125-car coal trains were normal, and they would not fit into about half of the sidings between Kansas City and Shreveport -- not a problem unless you wanted to meet a load and empty! <br /> <br />As Mike pointed out, train lengths will vary as will tonnages, even to the same plant. <br /> <br /> If you used 315K cars, you would go to 21,263 tons. <br /> <br />In 1980, a standard coal train was 104 263K cars, or 13676 tons. In two decades, railroading has achieved a 50% productivity increase in PRB coal trains, measured by number of men per train-mile. This by any standard is a phenomenal change.
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