What effect will this have on New England Short Lines? You have D&H, Albany Port Road,Vermont Ry and the largest Plastic PVC plant in the country GE (SABIC Plastics and Owens Corning feeding into the yard. From the east you have Houstonic Ry and from the south you have Hunts Point Market Traffic from the Bronx.
I asked Housatonic Ry Dispacth in Canaan and they were unaware of this issue.
That will be interesting to see how is digested.
How many cars per day are handled thru Selkirk?Ed
Two humps to survive, Waycross & Queensgate only, it was thought there might be three survive, but two is the majic number. Here in Indianapolis, the diesel shop has shut down entirely and the changes in freight movement are such, that it will take an entire story to relate the changes that will happen in Indy, to replace the hump.
Although Harrison is knowledgable in railroad operations there is no doubt in my mind he is looking out for himself first and the stockholders second. Yes, has has accomplished the goal of efficiency , but at the expense if those who do the day to day work to keep the railroad running.
No one ever said capitalism was fair. It's all about profiteering. Harrison is a master of the latter.
Norm
Geez, you make it sound like they are a bunch of pirates. Not quite that simple. Good governance is a balance. Self interest is a good motivator and creator, but it has the higher purpose of providing services and goods for everyone.
It has, unfortunately, become an insider game, especially on the "good governance" side of things, which encourages crony capitalism.
That in turn explains the election of Trump and Brexit. Even though the folks are told 'things are OK" and that "things have never been better" that is not how they see it or what they experience.
As for EHH, we shall see.
If I had that farm of his and all that loot, I would be retired, riding around on my lawn mower in a state of perpetual bliss.
MiningmanAs for EHH, we shall see. If I had that farm of his and all that loot, I would be retired, riding around on my lawn mower in a state of perpetual bliss.
With his physical condition that is beyond his abilities.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Miningman,
Based on your posts I assume you have been around for a time; probably long enough to remember when CEO's were paid a reasonable salary in relation to the earnings of the employees of the corporation they led. That balance is long gone. CEO's demand, and get, the highest dollar possible for their efforts and golden parachutes regardless of their success in managing the company. I'm not saying they shouldn't be well compensated for their efforts if they are successful in making the company better but I won't condone their taking millions while destroying those corporations and fostering their own interests.
If I may pick Sears as an example they were once were the place Americans shopped and a pillar in the community. Then came greed on the part of the executives and the downhill slide began. Incompetent execs now have Sears on the deathbed and life-support is not working. How many other corporations can you name that have been taken down simply so the execs can live the good life at the expense of others?
Harrison fits the mold. He will make the stockholders happy while leaving employees "holding the bag". He was bought and paid for in the name of profits. The wreckage he leaves behind remains to be seen but CP is a good example of his work. CN has recovered, and so will CP. CSX results remain to be seen.
Norm48327- I agree with your statement. The insider game in politics and crony capitalists, the >1%, the race to the bottom imposed on us, are all things that have become grotesque in nature. The very fact that none of the gains in productivity and wealth creation have benefitted the everyday folk is beyond alarming. Wall Street bonus's alone were more than double the entire combined wages of the entire rest of the country. With robotics and AI it is going to get worse. Only those very very few will benefit. That is when capitalism goes under serious attack.
Remember in 2008 during the height of the financial crisis when CEO's were getting huge obscene bonus's for failed companies and government bailout monies going to this nonsense.
EHH cannot be that much better than BaltACD, with all those years of railroading, when it comes to running CSX.
...and BaltACD- he could ride his lawnmower in bliss with an oxygen tank, custom designed of course, feeding into his face mask. CSX shops could rig it up for him as a retirement gift.
Miningman...and BaltACD- he could ride his lawnmower in bliss with an oxygen tank, custom designed of course, feeding into his face mask. CSX shops could rig it up for him as a retirement gift.
While I have a riding lawn mower, it is not my preferred means of recreational motion. I don't need any additional oxygen. I have only been retired a little over 6 months and Michael Ward jumped ship. EHH was given more than John Snow's Golden Parachute to 'hire out'. Half the hump yards are or will be closed and the Train Dispatchers are headed back to Jacksonville again. I got out at a good time.
Save
MiningmanEHH cannot be that much better than BaltACD, with all those years of railroading, when it comes to running CSX.
I would opine that Balt would run the railroad like a business, and not a cash cow...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
CSX got a little bump from EHH. Their train speed and terminal dwell numbers got better for about a quarter. However, in the last few weeks, they've sunk back down to the levels of a year ago.
There just isn't much "there" there.
NS has been heading in the wrong direction with their dwell and train speed for most of the year, but some of it is more traffic. NS's traffic is up a good bit while CSX has been nearly flat.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
oltmanndCSX got a little bump from EHH. Their train speed and terminal dwell numbers got better for about a quarter. However, in the last few weeks, they've sunk back down to the levels of a year ago. There just isn't much "there" there. NS has been heading in the wrong direction with their dwell and train speed for most of the year, but some of it is more traffic. NS's traffic is up a good bit while CSX has been nearly flat.
There are many levers that can be pulled to get the desired specific metric numbers - but picking out specific numbers out of the whole set of metrics is a fools errand.
BaltACD oltmannd CSX got a little bump from EHH. Their train speed and terminal dwell numbers got better for about a quarter. However, in the last few weeks, they've sunk back down to the levels of a year ago. There just isn't much "there" there. NS has been heading in the wrong direction with their dwell and train speed for most of the year, but some of it is more traffic. NS's traffic is up a good bit while CSX has been nearly flat. There are many levers that can be pulled to get the desired specific metric numbers - but picking out specific numbers out of the whole set of metrics is a fools errand.
oltmannd CSX got a little bump from EHH. Their train speed and terminal dwell numbers got better for about a quarter. However, in the last few weeks, they've sunk back down to the levels of a year ago. There just isn't much "there" there. NS has been heading in the wrong direction with their dwell and train speed for most of the year, but some of it is more traffic. NS's traffic is up a good bit while CSX has been nearly flat.
Certainly. Good thing the dwell and train speed, taken together, are decent proxies for network velocity. The even correlate with cars on line pretty well, once you normalize for traffic.
Some of the things EHH said he would do won't show up in these numbers. Things like improving the cycle time of unit trains won't show up. Blending traffic in different train types won't show up either. But, getting trains out and in on time will show up in train speed and dwell.
But, when he says things like merchandise train speed should be near 30 mph, I just figure his oxygen tank must be low. That's borderline ridiculous.
Rock star money.
Was the bump in performance metrics real or just "trying to save my job" padding that was found out and stopped?
One thing to remember. Just because they close the hump doesn't mean they won't still do switching there. It'll just be the old fasioned, flat switching way.
Jeff
Never having been associated with a closed humping operation. Closing the hump is not tearing out all the hardware required for hump operation necessarily - that costs big bucks and the aim is to save bucks in the short term. With that being the case flat switching would have to take place either using the 'hump bypass track' or from the 'other end' of the hump where Trim operations were previously performed. In the short term I don't see closing a Hump Yard to be an effective continuing operating strategy.
BaltACDIn the short term I don't see closing a Hump Yard to be an effective continuing operating strategy.
The short term is what counts.... To someone looking to put quick money in their pockets.
One wonders if the facilities will be simply mothballed by lower lever leadership who know that the hump will be back one of these days. If the regular costs of manning and maintaining the hump are gone from the expense side, that's a plus for the investors.
As Balt notes, tearing the hump out would be an expense - something the quick money people don't want to see if it reduces their return...
I'm hearing it's hard to get replacement parts for the retarders. Might they salvage some of the retired hump equipment to keep still-active hump yards going?
Companies are still making what is needed in hardware for hump yards. NS just recently rebuilt and expanded their hump at Bellevue, OH. The humps of today are not archaic equipment, the carriers have updated them with state of the art equipment over the years.
BaltACD Companies are still making what is needed in hardware for hump yards. NS just recently rebuilt and expanded their hump at Bellevue, OH. The humps of today are not archaic equipment, the carriers have updated them with state of the art equipment over the years.
Still doesn't mean CSX needs 12 hump yards.
Honestly, for how much fretting the railfan community is doing over hump yards, they should be focused on the parts which, if cut too deep, WILL HURT. Things like cuts to marketing, maintenance, and crew availability. Those processes are just starting, and where Harrison has stumbled before by going too far.
Harrison knows how to work a railroad without humps. It's the other things which get him into trouble.
But still, Harrison is the best thing to happen to CSX since they got half of Conrail. Foamer corps will not agree, but they generally prefer to pile on to the popular critisism instead of thinking critically about how railroads actually work.
That may be true, but unless a has been rebuilt or built new(such as the NS hump in Bellevue, OH) within the last 10 - 30 years then it's running on old equipment and the older the equipment the more expensive it is to maintain. Though I'd gather that if anyone was smart enough at CSX, and I doubt you'll find one, they'd march into EHH's office and lay out a map of the system on his desk; preferably one that has been divided into 3 regions and show him the benefits of maintaining a single hump yard in those regions. In this case, Selkirk for the NE, Queensgate for the Midwest and Waycross for the South...with the premise being that in the future, when business increases the need for them will be there, just rebuilding them with modern equipment would probably save just as much money as tearing them out does.
P.S. - When converting to flat switching the hump and associated equipment is removed, not left in place(at least that's the proper way to do, otherwise you really aren't saving much).
GERALD L MCFARLANE JR BaltACD Companies are still making what is needed in hardware for hump yards. NS just recently rebuilt and expanded their hump at Bellevue, OH. The humps of today are not archaic equipment, the carriers have updated them with state of the art equipment over the years. That may be true, but unless a has been rebuilt or built new(such as the NS hump in Bellevue, OH) within the last 10 - 30 years then it's running on old equipment and the older the equipment the more expensive it is to maintain. Though I'd gather that if anyone was smart enough at CSX, and I doubt you'll find one, they'd march into EHH's office and lay out a map of the system on his desk; preferably one that has been divided into 3 regions and show him the benefits of maintaining a single hump yard in those regions. In this case, Selkirk for the NE, Queensgate for the Midwest and Waycross for the South...with the premise being that in the future, when business increases the need for them will be there, just rebuilding them with modern equipment would probably save just as much money as tearing them out does. P.S. - When converting to flat switching the hump and associated equipment is removed, not left in place(at least that's the proper way to do, otherwise you really aren't saving much).
First off - Removing equipment cost money! EHH is not about to spend money.
2nd - Going into EHH's office and telling him he wrong is about the same as going into DJT's office and telling him he is wrong.
GERALD L MCFARLANE JR That may be true, but unless a has been rebuilt or built new(such as the NS hump in Bellevue, OH) within the last 10 - 30 years then it's running on old equipment and the older the equipment the more expensive it is to maintain.
That may be true, but unless a has been rebuilt or built new(such as the NS hump in Bellevue, OH) within the last 10 - 30 years then it's running on old equipment and the older the equipment the more expensive it is to maintain.
The hump in Birmingham was completely rebuilt last year. Complete new master and everything. All was shut down a couple months ago. Now they have a 1000 cars to be switched a day there, and only can handle 600. Cars are being stored on the mains, sidings, and every yard track waiting their turn to be switched in this "Precision Railroad" environment. I'm sure the customers are liking this too.
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