diningcarPlease explain where the empty coal trains transfer from the BN Racetrack to the Santa Fe Transcon line. Thanks
Dispatchers could have all sorts of fun with the layout, such as sending an outbound train on the former Q back to Chicago on the former SFe.
Johnny
MP36er BNSF is going to build a connection in Chicago from Western Avenue on the BN to CP 4.9 (Ash Street) on the Santa Fe that parallels the CSX Blue Island Subdivison and NS CJ District. Some intermodal trains will be loaded an unloaded at Corwith, then run through the new connection track to Cicero, where they will be staged. So, some Z trains will run via Galesburg, and some will still run via the BN, but will use the new connection track to get to Corwith.The times, they are a'changing. Joe
Joe
- Paul North.
BNSF is going to build a connection in Chicago from Western Avenue on the BN to CP 4.9 (Ash Street) on the Santa Fe that parallels the CSX Blue Island Subdivison and NS CJ District. Some intermodal trains will be loaded an unloaded at Corwith, then run through the new connection track to Cicero, where they will be staged. So, some Z trains will run via Galesburg, and some will still run via the BN, but will use the new connection track to get to Corwith.The times, they are a'changing.
eolafanjrbernier BNSF has been handling up to 11 loaded crude oil trains/day through La Crosse. I suspect most of them are handed off to connecting carriers in in the Chicago area. Jim That figure of 11 loaded oil trains seems to be about the number we see through Eola daily these days (and an equal number of empties westbound) but my source tells me BNSF is expecting the number of oil trains to grow big time in the next year or two, thus the supposed plans for the "Z" train shift to the transcon. Plus, we now have begun to see some of the oil "loads" eastbound be yarded at Eola for hours at a time waiting for a slot to go into Chicago for transfer to CSX or wherever they are going for hand off.
jrbernier BNSF has been handling up to 11 loaded crude oil trains/day through La Crosse. I suspect most of them are handed off to connecting carriers in in the Chicago area. Jim
BNSF has been handling up to 11 loaded crude oil trains/day through La Crosse. I suspect most of them are handed off to connecting carriers in in the Chicago area.
Jim
This level of oil business is just flat out amazing.
The question I have about rerouting the Z's is how do they get to the intermodal terminal in Cicero, IL?
BNSF has four IM terminals in the Chicago area. They don't have the capacity at the other three to take the load Cicero handles. So if they do slow down their Z schedules (perish the thought) by taking the Zs though Galesburg, how will they get to Cicero?
When Mr. Carl Ice (now CEO of the BNSF) returns my phone call I shall tell him to get trackage rights over the underutilized CN line between Cicero and E. Dubuque, IL. I'm sure he'll be receptive.
Then I'll suggest directional running with the westbounds (empty oil trains) on the CN line and the eastbounds on the BNSF line. I'll get a pat on the head and scratch behind the ears for that for sure.
In the last couple of weeks they have started to run some empty coal trains over the Santa Fe side. These trains used to run exclusively on the old BN side.
An "expensive model collector"
Some Union Pacific intermodal trains running between Global 4 and Southern California use BNSF's Chillicothe Sub (ex-Santa Fe). BNSF's apparent intention to divert more Z trains to the Santa Fe probably explains UP's plans to run some intermodal trains via Springfield and the NS to Kansas City. I believe NS and UP ran a test train last year.
As far as taxing or embargoing hazmat trains. It was correfty stated in an earlier thread that they canno do it. That was a political ploy. Mayor Emanual knows very well that federal law superceeds all local and state laws and that since the hazmat shipments are interstae commerce there is no way he can even try it.
It is too bad that St Louis or Kansas City are used as alternate routings for some of the hazmat shipments. That would take some of the pressure off of Chicago which is very congested and will probably get worse if the oil train shipments increase as predicted.
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I do not have solid data, but BNSF is handing off several oil trains to CSX each day. Will see if I can determine the average number of trains, but my guess is at least 3 loads per day, perhaps more. Plus, PRB coal trains seem to be picking up again.
Ed
eolafanRecent rumor has it that BNSF will soon be taking all "Z" trains and other high priority intermodal traffic off of "The Racetrack" Chicago Sub for two reasons (a) the recent and really huge upturn in crude oil traffic on this line has caused unacceptable delays in the priority intermodal trains, and (b) BNSF expects the crude oil traffic from the Baken fields to continue to grow and they need the capacity to handle these trains in both directions. The source of these rumors further explains that the intermodal traffic will shift to the old Santa Fe line and the Chicago sub will handle crude oil, coal, grain and general merchandise trains in addition to Metra and Amtrak. Well, even if they take the "Z" trains away from us that will still leave a ton of train watching opportunity for all of us around here. What are your thoughts?
JIm (eolafan):
Not being recently familiar with the "Race Track" in the vicinity of Chicago. I wonder how this woud play out in regards to the political sentiments that have been expressed by the Mayor and local politicians in the National media referencing their desires to tax or embargo Haz-Mat types of cargo, in and around the Chicago area lines? I seem to recall there were some pretty radical ideas afoot there.
Is that going to be a problem there in that area? If so, it would seem to be remaking the case for a Rail By-Pass (discussed and re-discussed, around here; more than once for route around the long standing bottle necks that exist in the area of Chicago.
The BNSF is blessed with any number of potential routes for the oil, and tanks to take to their destinations along the Gulf Coast, and its refining capacity. We see much increased activity with the tank trains around here, but they seem more so on the old AT&SF North/South Corridor through the Augusta, Ark City Routing to the Gulf. Admittedly, there is a perceptible increase on the Southern T-con, as well.
Makes you wonder how the imposed slow speed on those trains is working on 'fluidity' in the major North/South Corridors?
The Domestic traffic that I am noticing out here is the increase of 'Domestic Stack trains" and International Stackers'. , On both those kinds of trains there seems to be more and more TOFC traffic, and ahat mix seems to be growing as well. I am also seeing bigger blocks of refrigerated trailers, PuP trailers, and national-name 'refrigerated' and dry freight carriers, all seem to be growing in numbers on those TOFC dedicated, and mixed COFC/TOFC moves.
Just as an unscientific observation.
If all the high priority intermodal trains from the 'trans-con' are rerouted(and I think many are already), how are high priority/intermodal trains from the PNW going to be rerouted? I doubt they are gong to run them west from Savanna to Galesburg and through the Montgomery connection, then east on the ex-ATSF - You are adding over 150 miles and another crew change.
Unit crude oil trains do not need to be yarded and move to their 'connection'. Staging them out of town while waiting for a slot on the connection is the big issue right now.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.