Comments from a friend who is still employed at CSX
As I mentioned before, CSX laid off/fired 4,000 Employees, has put over 1,000 locomotives and 20,000 Freight Cars in Storage, shuttered yards, terminals and Intermodal facilities and “somehow” it’s still costing more to run this railroad. Precision Scheduled Railroading is nothing but a scam for the Corporate Raiders! Let me put the question to you this way. If Precision Scheduled Railroading was the best working model to run a railroad, don’t you think every railroad & company in the world would use this model? CN & CP showed it was a complete failure and now that other people have gotten in and turned things around; they need more locomotives, freight cars, manpower, more infrastructure to handle the increase in traffic, etc! Just think, we could have started the Howard Street Tunnel project and worked on Boone Tunnel in Philly at the same time and had the I-95 corridor Double Stacked within the next 2-3 Years! The Intermodal facility in Rocky Mount would already be in the construction phase, but under the Corporate Raider regime we don’t want any of it! These people don’t want the business or to even run a railroad, they just want to dip into the cash reserves, screw everyone and run!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
If CSX is moving to the Iron Triangle concept (utilizing the Lineville Sub on the western north-south leg) and secondary trains on secondary lines branching off the Iron Triangle, why would they not send blocks of NOLA traffic up from Jacksonville to Lagrange and then drop blocks there to be picked up and be hauled to NOLA? (And vice versa for NOLA traffic bound for Jacksonville.) This method of operation is not unusual under PSR.
In theory, that might allow for a shortline spinoff of Pensacola to Baldwin trackage as has been surmised previously in this thread.
kgbw49 If CSX is moving to the Iron Triangle concept (utilizing the Lineville Sub on the western north-south leg) and secondary trains on secondary lines branching off the Iron Triangle, why would they not send blocks of NOLA traffic up from Jacksonville to Lagrange and then drop blocks there to be picked up and be hauled to NOLA?
If CSX is moving to the Iron Triangle concept (utilizing the Lineville Sub on the western north-south leg) and secondary trains on secondary lines branching off the Iron Triangle, why would they not send blocks of NOLA traffic up from Jacksonville to Lagrange and then drop blocks there to be picked up and be hauled to NOLA?
blue streak 1 kgbw49 If CSX is moving to the Iron Triangle concept (utilizing the Lineville Sub on the western north-south leg) and secondary trains on secondary lines branching off the Iron Triangle, why would they not send blocks of NOLA traffic up from Jacksonville to Lagrange and then drop blocks there to be picked up and be hauled to NOLA? First the section of Lineville sub that would be used is that east portion from LaGrange - Manchester. Then Fitzgerald sub toward Jacksonville. LaGrange could not be used as an interchange point unless much money is spent. The Lineville sub and A&WP subs only join as 2 MT for about 2-1/2 miles. Many times one track is taken with a train waiting to get on any of the 4 outward direction points all single tracks to clear onto the other of the 2 MTs.. No easy access for southbound A&WP trains to the ACL yard. The old ACL yard is only accessed from beyond the north intersection of the 2 subs by trains shoving west back into yard. OK for NOL - JAX traffic but not reverse direction. So trying to rebuild the yard for better availability would take many dollars. There is an abandoned acute angle bridge over the 2 MT section that CSX was pushing for the planned replacement bridge to allow 4 tracks, It is unknown if any resolution has been done due to the acute angle ? That bridge is about 1/3 of way along side of present ACL yard. Another 90 degree 5 lane bridge about 3/4 miles further south. Just not enough room to store interchange cars of any length. Although there is room between the yard and the 2 MTs for 5 or 6 yard tracks about various lengths max 3/4 miles long unless some old abandoned mills are purchased.
The only CSX Inspection train that I personally ever saw results from was one that originated at Birmingham, operated over the Lineville Sub to Manchester and turned onto the Fitzgerald Sub to Waycross and then onto Jacksonville.
Train departed B'ham OT and made Manchester OT. Departing Manchester it got to follow 5 (count them 5) freight trains South on the Fitzgerald Sub. There was no opportunity to put the Inspection train around any of the 5 leading trains account all sidings on the sub containing Northbound trains. The 5 freights had the 'normal amount' of trouble, Hot Box Detector activation here, Undesired Emergency brake application there, Stop & Flag a highway crossing, a track circuit left on behind a train - all the ordinary proplems. All 6 trains ended up needing to be recrewed before the Inspection Train arrived Waycross at 0400 - Trainmaster reported all occupants of the train deserted the train for highway transportation like rats leaving a sinking ship. This all happened on Friday.
Monday moring a change to the Operating Plan was put in effect and 3 schedules in each direction were moved from the Linville-Fitzgerald routing to operating over the Bow Line & S&NA South between Waycross and Birmingham.
The Lineville and Fitzgerald Subs are still single track today - they have had some additional capacity added to them since the time of that Inspection Train, but they are still single track railroads and subject to gridlock with too much traffic.
And, I presume that the Bowline is also single track still. Does it have CTC or is it dark?
Johnny
Since some other railroads have had some success with directional running, are there places where CSX could benefit from this? I believe the CSX CEO made a comment of trying it out.
Deggesty And, I presume that the Bowline is also single track still. Does it have CTC or is it dark?
I believe it is dark. I know it is almost completely jointed rail. You didn't ask, but the Baldwin to Pensacola line is signaled from Baldwin to Tallahassee.
SALfan Deggesty And, I presume that the Bowline is also single track still. Does it have CTC or is it dark? I believe it is dark. I know it is almost completely jointed rail. You didn't ask, but the Baldwin to Pensacola line is signaled from Baldwin to Tallahassee.
I have a faulty? memory that the SAL took ABS from another line and installed it between Baldwin and Tallahassee.
This is just pure speculation. The fact of the matter is that this could very well be the best thing that could happen to the customers on and off thee lines. Certainly a shortline or regional is going to give much better service than any Class 1 could do, and if they sell off bridge routes (i.e. Clinchfield) it could very well give industries an excellent choice and variety of routes. Competition is good.
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