Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill Ed: The existing route would be CN from eastern Canada to Chicago, interchange to UP south on the C&EI and across the Thebes Bridge to Little Rock, then into what used to be called the southwest territory -- Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma. The new route would still go through Chicago, but CN to IC to Memphis, then onto the former Rock Island to Little Rock. Here's what I think is happening. I suspect that the CN-UP traffic between the Southwest Territory and eastern Canada doesn't amount to more than a good-sized block each way daily. I don' t know if UP and CN were block-swapping on the south side of Chicago or running the traffic into Clearing Yard and sorting it there. The new plan would combine CN-to-IC South traffic with CN-to-UP Southwest traffic, and that I think would easily amount to a train a day. The advantage in this case I think is only partially in Chicago, as the GT crosses the C&EI at Thornton Jct., down on the south side, and Harvey, where it crosses the IC, is actually one diamond further, but getting rid of a block swap or running into Clearing Yard isn't to be dismissed. It might even save a day each way by not having the dwell time in Clearing. The greater advantage is that the C&EI is fairly well choked whereas the IC is not.
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