Anybody have any info about the Kyle Railroad in Limon, CO, spefically when trains operate in and out of Limon (days of the week, times, etc.), the type of freight/power one can see, and is it worth the trip from Colorado Springs to chase? Thanks!
Alaska Railfanning / My ARR Photos on Flickr
They run in dedicated route pairs Limon-Goodland, Goodland-Phillipsburg, Phillipsburg-Belleville/Concordia etc..
They run at night and layover during the day. Don't think you want to do much train chasing out there. Unless there is a special movement (Grain train or UP detours , etc.), everything sits in the Goodland/P-Burg terminals on Saturday and nothing is at Limon. Power will be in town during the day on M-W-F.
Thanks for the info. What time do the trains typically get into town / depart town? If chasing's not that good of an option, I'd still be interested in getting some shots of the power...
The tend to leave town shortly after they go on duty at 6PM Central and have to get the 100+ miles in by the time they hoglaw at 6AM. At Limon, the power tends to tie-up near the middle-east end of the yard so the UP doesn't get forced to move the power during interchange or get covered-up. If there are lots of cars in Limon yard is full of cars, look behind the old Conoco oil house across the street from the firehouse.
For a while Kyle had ex-SP&S Alco C424s that BN cast off in 1980, which Kyle retired in the 1990s.
Lyon_Wonder For a while Kyle had ex-SP&S Alco C424s that BN cast off in 1980, which Kyle retired in the 1990s.
Well, unfortunatley I don't have a time machine (yet), so I won't get to see those beaut's, but I'm more interested in catching their ex-SP CEFX Tunnel Motors!
If they are smart, they will get rid of those overweight monsters which are speeding up the degradation of their 100# jointed rail. (Some of the heaviest locomotives of their class because they were ballasted extra heavy for SP tractive effort requirements)
mudchicken The tend to leave town shortly after they go on duty at 6PM Central and have to get the 100+ miles in by the time they hoglaw at 6AM. At Limon, the power tends to tie-up near the middle-east end of the yard so the UP doesn't get forced to move the power during interchange or get covered-up. If there are lots of cars in Limon yard is full of cars, look behind the old Conoco oil house across the street from the firehouse.
Good lord, 12 hours for a little over 100 miles! How do they make money doing that? Does anyone know if KYLE did any track work to improve things? I was of the understanding that that line was bad when the Rock had it, I don't suppose it improved on its own.
I was at an event where Rail America's CEO indicated that the KYLE was one of their more promising railroads. 12 hours 100 miles; hmm.
Gabe
Most of that 12 hours is working all the elevators in between; this isn't a through-train operation. Kyle works on a handoff system: one train works its whole territory and hands off to the train handling the next territory, exchanging loads and empties. This is very common on short lines that are too long or have too much switching for one train to cover the whole thing in 24 hours out and back.
I haven't looked at the KYLE in about 15 years, but at that time, the number of new ties that had been installed between Belleville and Limon since 1980, other than at derailment sites, would comfortably fit in the back of a pickup truck. Mud I know has had a much more recent look -- I'm hoping there's been some improvement since that time.
RWM
It has - Jay V and his troops have done a very commendable job of yanking that railroad out of the weeds. A lot of the headaches that Kyle is dealing with now go back to CRIP's deferred// no maintenance policy long before Kyle appeared. It is good for 40 (Class 3) over most of it. Like RWM said, switching is the timekiller. You can lose an hour plus at a couple of industries out there like the former sugar mill, now sunflower oil processing plant at Kanorado/Caruso. You are also at the mercy of some poorly maintained industry tracks out there (not Kyle's responsibility). The railroad mileage shrunk which allowed Kyle to concentrate its forces where it was needed (As in several 1000+ tie/mile extra gangs in the last 10 years). I cringe at the sight of those heavy tunnelmotors in the backtracks.
Keep in mind there are many factors that lead to a 12 hr, 100 mile trip. Just like Mud pointed out, work enroute can be a time killer in addition to lower trk speeds. When a crew reports for duty, there is the getting bullentins, work orders, customer faxes togethger, a job brief between crewmen, the dispatcher and perhaps a TM. The engr has to do his eng insp, air test and who knows perhaps switch some power around. Then the crew has to build their train, lace hoses up and do a air brake test. This could sometimes take 2-3 hrs before departing the yd. Then of course there are operating rules that all carriers now are wanting 100% all the time. Case in point is the set & release rule when cutting away if leaving a portion of a train by itself. This could be done several times during a shift if conditions warrant. It takes time and adds to the runtime while working but they are required to be followed without fail. Most these shortlines only work w/ a engr & condr w/no brkmn and w/ only one crewman on the ground, it can stretch out doing work without that 2nd crewman. All sounds simple, but work events can add up clock eating time and there is simply no need to get in a hurry and become careless.
Lear35A Lyon_Wonder For a while Kyle had ex-SP&S Alco C424s that BN cast off in 1980, which Kyle retired in the 1990s. Well, unfortunatley I don't have a time machine (yet), so I won't get to see those beaut's, but I'm more interested in catching their ex-SP CEFX Tunnel Motors!
On the way back from Green Bay this last December, I was lucky enough to see a pair of those running on the Kyle. It was nice to see something rolling on that line finally. I have been through there a couple of times and have never seen anything.
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