Just watched a long W/B cover hopper unit train over Tehachapi; 3 units leading, 3 mid train, 2 on end.
Q: What commodity, where destined?
from the Far East of the Sunset Route
(In the shadow of the Huey P Long bridge)
First guess: food for chickens. Wonder how many chickens California has now, compared to decades ago. Didn't used to see trains like that coming in.
2nd guess - grain for export!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Anyone seen grain going onto a ship at a Northern California port?
I've seen one of those at least twice in Tehachapi, both times near dusk, BNSF hoppers, 4 on the point, 3 in the middle and two on the rear. Carl Shaver called it "the worm" when he saw it in Tehachapi.
timzFirst guess: food for chickens. Wonder how many chickens California has now, compared to decades ago. Didn't used to see trains like that coming in.
Food for chickens or any other domesticated agriculture animal. The Golden State produces half the nation's fresh fruit and vegetables, but it falls way short in producing its own animal protein needs. It has to bring in eggs, chicken, beef, pork, etc. To provide for its own limited production of protein (and milk/cheese) it also needs to bring in animal feed. And that's where the railroad comes in.
There's an occasional grain train move from Iowa to Pixley, CA. I think it might be DDG (Dried Distiller's Grain) used for animal feed. It seems like they run one every few weeks.
Jeff
My first guess would be animal feed too.
CN originates unit train moves of California-bound animal feed too, most notably from ADM in Lloydminister and Cargill in Camrose, AB. If California farms are going all the way to Western Canada for feed I would bet they also get a substantial amount from the Midwest U.S. too.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Was it BNSF? If so, it is probably grain to Kings Park (south of Hanford) or Denair.
I would think that the Pixley train would be corn. That feed mill has an ethanol plant next door (which gets it corn by conveyor from the feed mill). It also ships carbon dioxide out by rail. Doesn't UP usually send grain trains via the old WP?
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
ericsp Was it BNSF?
Was it BNSF?
From the U-tube video & lighting conditions, I could not tell UP vs BNSF....
To All,
Thanks for your info...
If the train was another "worm", that would suggest the worm-colored BNSF covered hoppers, which would most likely be grain, given the cars' size.Animal feed (dried distiller grain) generally moves in larger covered hoppers; soybeans somewhere between DDG and grain; sand or other aggregates move in smaller covered hoppers. Plastics usually get large-capacity covered hoppers, but they aren't likely to be in unit trains (large quantities, yes; trainloads, probably not).For sighting purposes (lighting permitting), if the reporting marks and numbers aren't available, try for the number of hopper bays (usually compartments in most cars). One can usually tell commodities that way: two bays, sand or aggregates; three bays, grain or soda ash; four bays, soybeans, disteller grains, or plastics.
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)
CShaveRRIf the train was another "worm", that would suggest the worm-colored BNSF covered hoppers, which would most likely be grain, given the cars' size.
Looking at the Flagstaff webcam, at 2:15 PM on Friday May 4, I saw a long BNSF train with the four-on-the-point, three-in-the-middle, two-on-the rear lashup, this time with greyish colored covered hoppers, as opposed to the worm-colored hoppers we've seen in Tehachapi. If the train I saw on the cam makes steady progress it would go through Tehachapi well after dark, maybe closer to sunup on Saturday, assuming it takes that route.
EDIT: I looked at the feed again and there were three engines on the point, not four, but the hoppers were all four-door cars.
CShaveRR If the train was another "worm", that would suggest the worm-colored BNSF covered hoppers, which would most likely be grain, given the cars' size.
If the train was another "worm", that would suggest the worm-colored BNSF covered hoppers, which would most likely be grain, given the cars' size.
The covered hoppers were all light grey.... & I think, large.....
Yesterday, I worked another grain train going from Iowa to a California point. I didn't think too much about it when it pulled up. A train we met said over the radio that we had a funny looking grain train. I pulled a copy of the conductor's train list out, the engineer's copy doesn't have the car numbers, type or load. The first 17 cars were covered hoppers, the other 78 were tank cars. Yes, it was not your normal looking grain train.
The load for both types of cars was syrup. It must be pretty thick syrup to load in a covered hopper.
jeffhergert Yesterday, I worked another grain train going from Iowa to a California point. I didn't think too much about it when it pulled up. A train we met said over the radio that we had a funny looking grain train. I pulled a copy of the conductor's train list out, the engineer's copy doesn't have the car numbers, type or load. The first 17 cars were covered hoppers, the other 78 were tank cars. Yes, it was not your normal looking grain train. The load for both types of cars was syrup. It must be pretty thick syrup to load in a covered hopper. Jeff
Johnny
There are 2 types of corn syrup made Jeff. One is the standard liquid we have seen in the stores. Then there is a corn syrup solids where they dry out the syrup after it is made. Corn syrup solids are used in things like the McGriddle cakes for McDonalds and in other items like that.
Apropos of nothing, just saw on the Flagstaff webcam a WB BNSF "worm" train with 4-3-2 power. It wasn't a "perfect worm" though because there were a couple of whitish hoppers in the mix. All hoppers were three-bay. This one came through at about 7:15 MST on 5/18/18.
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