I was in Colorado for the Memorial Day weekend and found very few coal trains on this formerly busy corridor. In recent years there would be two - three and sometimes four loaded coal trains in the que at La Junta. Does anyone have specific info about the diminished number of trains, ie, how many now run and to where beyond La Junta.
diningcar I was in Colorado for the Memorial Day weekend and found very few coal trains on this formerly busy corridor. In recent years there would be two - three and sometimes four loaded coal trains in the que at La Junta. Does anyone have specific info about the diminished number of trains, ie, how many now run and to where beyond La Junta.
dinningcar; I cannot speak to the frequency on the LaJunta/Amarillo line.. In this area, South of Wichita and just off the line from Emporia, thru the Flint Hills to Wellington and beyond; The Coal Train traffic has virtually vanished. There used to be a UPRR trackage rights coal train that ran South thru here to Ark City and beyond (usually was all UPRR power). About every week and a half there is a BNSF unit move that comes out of KC/Topeka ( Cars are all BNSF aluminum hoppers with tarps on them) and I have seen it in both East and West directions. Occasionally, on the line towards Wichita there is an occasional unit coal train, apparently, returning North, as it always seems to be empty. Unit coal trains have become a scarce commodity around here these days. But there are plenty of unit grain moves to be seen in their place.
Not to spoil your party but traffic between LAJ-AMA is downright ugly w/ an uncretain future. A little background: in 2003 labor relations and the unions created what is called the South Loop between both terminals. This created one way traffic w/ southbounds on the SF, nb runs on the BN. This became a double ended pool. Most of this tonnage was indeed coal traffic. As recently as 18 months ago, coal was still doing heavy. With the decline of coal , this has cut the pool turns on both ends in half compared to just last summer. Right now as I'm posting this, there are just 4 trains going south on the SF w/ half of them coal loads. On the BN there are only 2 trains out there--both emptys going bk for reloading. This historic low train count is just plain ugly & scary. The condr & engr pool turns on both ends have been whacked almost half of what they were a yr ago. Talk is coming at some future point the SF Boise City line from Las Animas Jct to Boise City could be mothballed. Everytime there has been traffic reduction, the carriers make format changes, jobs are cut which never come back.
I thought the ex-BN/C&S line had a rough profile, and assumed the ex-SF line would be the one to keep. Is there more local traffic on the C&S line?
Both routes have tough pulls at some locations. Coal loads (what little is left) going south drop to around 12 mph. SF is all TWC .BN has a mix of ABS/TWC and CTC . That always is an advantage
What are the comparitive route miles for the BN line through Trinidad? I have the Pueblo-Las Animas Jct-Amarillo miles which is 320 +or-.
Guess you can find the necessary timetable here-- seems to be 347 miles Pueblo to Amarillo on BN.
http://www.fobnr.org/timetables/bnoverview.htm
SFe has 1% against southbound loads to Amarillo-- except for (the helper grade?) Pueblo to Minnequa, BN looks about the same, tho its 1% climbs may be longer.
http://www.fobnr.org/profiles/BN1993/SouthernCorridor/Amarillo.pdf
DC- I'll look up the timetable and track chart changes since BN re-routed through and bypassed Trinidad's corkscrew in the 90's....Shotgun answer would be 346.9 for BN vs 319.7 for ATSF (but the operating bubbas are math challenged with their timetables, so we will get the track charts out later when I get the chance.)
The Santa Fe line is CTC + TWC/ABS + TWC Dark...Las Animas Jcn to Amarillo is dark (but still better than the speed allowances for loaded coal... The difference in 1880's design (BN/C&S/D&NO/FW&D) vs 1920-30's design is glaringly obvious )....In spite of all the band-aids, BN's line is still with issues that make Gilpin Hill and the humps at Harbord to Frick look like childs play.(Nothing over 1% in either direction, with fewer and lighter curves. The BN line, especially from Pueblo to Walsenburg and at Minnequa jumps well over 1.3-1.5%) ...very weird to see open deck bridges and concrete ties in the same chunk of railroad on the BN side.
DC - It is odd and a little sad to see how traffic has fallen off the table and the empty yard at La Junta.
I'l put 2 more cents worth then I'm done w/ LAJ. It is indeed too bad on what has become of the old yd there. Only a few trks are used as others are out of service acct tie conditions. Being at a juction of rail lines, this is ideal location for a yd instead up north @ Pueblo of which that location is getting upgrades as some work in Denver is moving there if not already. The rr has picked PUE over LAJ.Trk to the west and the loop south of LAJ has now been placed in hands of KS Div. Makes one wonder if this could be a step for a super pool which has become the nationwide trend but mostly ineffective.There is talk coming from labor relations of bringing bk the long pool to Newton possibily as early as a yr from now.That is more likely to happen. Even local 13/14 was abolished earlier this yr and has created issues within itself. LAJ has become a spot on the map to follow . LAJ was my home terminal of several yrs as i worked the Garden City job but have never worked in LAJ at all. I continue to pay dues into UTU945 and receive the scoop on comings & goings and the news that is received isnt good anymore.
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