Train lenght?

[bkdavidson]

Hi Erik,

I don't think the 682 car ore train was a test, certainly not a gimmic. As I undsrstand it, most of the ore is being shipped to China, millions of tonnes of it. This requires a number of trains each with hundreds of ore cars each week.
With regard to drivers, apparently they use two on each train, two hours on and two hours off over about eight hours. This is probably for cost cutting and it's quite safe as there are no passenger trains or towns in this wilderness.
Talking of passenger trains, on the 1st February 2004 "The Ghan" travelled from Adelaide to Darwin (approx. 3,000 km) which took two days. It was powered by two 4,000 hp NR class locos with two car transporters and 42 passenger cars. It was just over 1one kilometre long, (.656 mile) and was apparently the world's first ever north/south transcontinental train. It weighed 2,077 tonnes.
Is this the longest passenger train?

Davo.

[bkdavidson]

I've just done some more research and that 682 iron ore train had "...only one driver for the entire train."
It used the "Locotrol" system to control all 8 locos.
The weight was "almost 100,000 tonnes".

Davo.

[TH&B]

bkdavidson,

Amtrak's Auto Train has occasionaly been 50 cars long, many of the cars being auto transporters. Technicaly the longest pure passenger only train I beleive was in Holland of 60 passenger cars.

[zardoz]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bkdavidson

In the December 03 edition of the Australian "Railway Digest" the following statement appeared:

"...the world's longest train with eight GE AC6000CW locomotives and 682 ore cars operated over 275 kilometres in the Newman to Port Headland section on 21 June 2001. The train length was 7.353 kilometres."

Apparently the ore cars were betreen 100 and 120 tonnes. I calculate this to be, with locos, around 80,000 tonnes. The length in miles is approx. 4.57 miles.
Davo.

Just think of the potential slack action. I'd hate to be in the caboose of that train!

[Anonymous]

Back in the dark ages on the N&W, the heaviest coal train I ever had was 254 loads, 24,785 tons. Power - 1 GP18, 2 Alco RS-11s and 1 Alco RS-36. Took 19 miles to get it up to 20 MPH; gradual downhill river grade but the curves were murder.

Longest train I ever had was 281 cars, mixed time freight and coal empties, with three GP30/35 types. Cruised along at 35 MPH. Set out 81 enroute, went into the other terminal with 200. 275-car empty hopper trains were routine in warm weather on this division.

Old Timer

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

TRAINS had a nice write-up a while back about N&W's super-size coal trains, culminating in a 500-car train with 3 SD45's up front and 3 SD45's 2/3 of the way back. It required a fair amount of advance preparation and a whole lot of supervisory oversight to operate this train so the whole idea was technically feasible but not very practical.

[bkdavidson]

Hi Zardoz

Apparently the ore trains don't have a caboose, (we call them "guards vans" down under) so there wouldn't be a "rocky ride" problem.

Davo.

[Anonymous]

lol, this reminds me of the time a saw a SD-45 take off up horseshoe curve from altoona alone pulling 100 loaded coal cars... Needless to say about a few seconds later 3 helpers ran down the same track to catch up with it.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with you wabash1. I've ran a few 80 car rack trains and lots of 115 or so car coal trains, and there is no way that two ac44's could get a coal train rolling better than they do with an autorack train. I dont know how you got that idea.