Here is a link to a piece on NPR that interviews the mayor of York, Alabama about the multi-hour delays York residents must endure when a particularly long Norfolk Southern freight blocks grade crossings that prevent people from returning to their homes. One delay was apparently 13 hours, and the town had to set up shelters for those who couldn't get home.I know that Precision Scheduled Railroading has improved railroads operating rations and profits, but somehow a 13-hour delay does not seem to be either "Precision" or "Scheduled". It somehow seems that NS needs to do better before some Federal legislation actually places some undue restrictions on railroad operations.
Alabama hopefully aims some of their federal Section 400 $$$ at this. Ripe argument for a grade separation with no alternate route available. In the meantime what is APSC and Alabama's DOT rail section doing? (don't be idiots like MS)
Crossing issues are state issues per letters of agreement between the feds and the states.
Duplicate
James Goodwin Here is a link to a piece on NPR that interviews the mayor of York, Alabama about the multi-hour delays York residents must endure when a particularly long Norfolk Southern freight blocks grade crossings that prevent people from returning to their homes. One delay was apparently 13 hours, and the town had to set up shelters for those who couldn't get home.I know that Precision Scheduled Railroading has improved railroads operating rations and profits, but somehow a 13-hour delay does not seem to be either "Precision" or "Scheduled". It somehow seems that NS needs to do better before some Federal legislation actually places some undue restrictions on railroad operations.
Mentioned in the fortune article are the pull and push of freight cars on long trains. Railroads love to block cars based on their destination, but where a block will cause excess pull and push stresses with the block ahead or behind has never been mentioned. Perhaps considering moving blocks of cars to lessen these stresses might be a good idea.
caldreamerPerhaps considering moving blocks of cars to lessen these stresses might be a good idea.
I'm far from an expert, but what I've seen in the past is that a DPU will be 2/3 of the way into the train, thus pulling what's behind it, and pushing maybe 1/3 of what's ahead of it. I don't know that there's a formula as such.
Don't know about using mid-train plus rear end DPUs.
An extremely lengthy stop of a train suggests that there's an issue with a nearby yard, or with crews. Or a little of both. It could happen with a shorter train, but usually those will fit places where blocking of critical crossings can be avoided.
This is a completely different class than moving trains blocking crossings.
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...
caldreamerMentioned in the fortune article are the pull and push of freight cars on long trains. Railroads love to block cars based on their destination, but where a block will cause excess pull and push stresses with the block ahead or behind has never been mentioned. Perhaps considering moving blocks of cars to lessen these stresses might be a good idea.
You would likely choke and gag once you understood all the car placement rules and restrictions that a Yardmaster has to take into consideration when building a multi-block merchandise train. HAZMAT rules, Empty/load rules, long/short car rules, Hi-Wide restrictions and then blocking by destination.
The operation of DPU in trains is for the reason of lessening the intrain forces both buff and draft. CSX was not operating DPU's when I was working, observations since I have retired would indicate that CSX is operating larger trains with two units being used in DPU service than they did with the same two units on the head end of the train.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
To your knowedge, is CSX running LXA DP units (mid train, ETD on rear) like BNSF is doing w/ Q, S, G & some H symbols to name a few
BaltACDThe operation of DPU in trains is for the reason of lessening the intrain forces both buff and draft. CSX was not operating DPU's when I was working, observations since I have retired would indicate that CSX is operating larger trains with two units being used in DPU service than they did with the same two units on the head end of the train.
SFbrkmnTo your knowedge, is CSX running LXA DP units (mid train, ETD on rear) like BNSF is doing w/ Q, S, G & some H symbols to name a few
That I have seen, CSX is using DPU's both mid-train and on the rear. Normally with only one (set) of DPU's is used. I have not seen trains with DPU's in multiple locations within the train.
At the time I retired, CSX was beefing up radio repeaters across my division as normal operations have identified there are myriad dead spots considering the geography of going from coastal areas over the Appalachian Mountains to Ohio on multiple routes.
That's because on the whole Precision Scheduled Railroading is neither "precise" nor "scheduled." Just ask the shippers who hate it and are taking legal action in some cases. The moniker is really more a catchy phrase intended to impress Wall Street analyst types.
Paul SchmidtThat's because on the whole Precision Scheduled Railroading is neither "precise" nor "scheduled."
Someone came up with a new moniker using 'PSR', but I neglected to write it down.
Paul Schmidt James Goodwin Here is a link to a piece on NPR that interviews the mayor of York, Alabama about the multi-hour delays York residents must endure when a particularly long Norfolk Southern freight blocks grade crossings that prevent people from returning to their homes. One delay was apparently 13 hours, and the town had to set up shelters for those who couldn't get home.I know that Precision Scheduled Railroading has improved railroads operating rations and profits, but somehow a 13-hour delay does not seem to be either "Precision" or "Scheduled". It somehow seems that NS needs to do better before some Federal legislation actually places some undue restrictions on railroad operations. That's because on the whole Precision Scheduled Railroading is neither "precise" nor "scheduled." Just ask the shippers who hate it and are taking legal action in some cases. The moniker is really more a catchy phrase intended to impress Wall Street analyst types.
Precision Scheduled Railroading refers to scheduling individual cars, not the trains they move in. Having each car make the next connections on it's journey.
At first, management was saying train performance didn't matter, it was all about the cars. Everyone in the field said cars still move in trains. Eventually they decided that trains were still part of the equation. Not that they still don't max out a train whenever they can.
Jeff
jeffhergert Paul Schmidt James Goodwin Here is a link to a piece on NPR that interviews the mayor of York, Alabama about the multi-hour delays York residents must endure when a particularly long Norfolk Southern freight blocks grade crossings that prevent people from returning to their homes. One delay was apparently 13 hours, and the town had to set up shelters for those who couldn't get home.I know that Precision Scheduled Railroading has improved railroads operating rations and profits, but somehow a 13-hour delay does not seem to be either "Precision" or "Scheduled". It somehow seems that NS needs to do better before some Federal legislation actually places some undue restrictions on railroad operations. That's because on the whole Precision Scheduled Railroading is neither "precise" nor "scheduled." Just ask the shippers who hate it and are taking legal action in some cases. The moniker is really more a catchy phrase intended to impress Wall Street analyst types. Precision Scheduled Railroading refers to scheduling individual cars, not the trains they move in. Having each car make the next connections on it's journey. At first, management was saying train performance didn't matter, it was all about the cars. Everyone in the field said cars still move in trains. Eventually they decided that trains were still part of the equation. Not that they still don't max out a train whenever they can. Jeff
For the final decade or more of my career on CSX 'Car Scheduling & Right Car Right Train' were important metrics that Division Operating officials were measured on for their Performance Review and resultant Bonu$. This was LONG LONG before EHH came on the property with his so name PSR.
The scuttlebutt I got from those I formerly worked with was that PSR, by design, wrecked the former metrics. PSR did not care about the customer and his view of the carrier as a 'reliable' pipeline for their products to the customer's customers.
caldreamer Mentioned in the fortune article are the pull and push of freight cars on long trains. Railroads love to block cars based on their destination, but where a block will cause excess pull and push stresses with the block ahead or behind has never been mentioned. Perhaps considering moving blocks of cars to lessen these stresses might be a good idea.
There is the possibility that the number of coplers and the kind of draft gear in a train has effect on accidents.. Extreme examples . An all intermodal train with many multi packer wells will not have many couplers. A 5 well car where the wells are hard connected is almost 300 feet long with just 2 couplers & 2 draft gears. Compare that to 5 -60 foot cars 300 train feet long. So, what is the accident rate of long IM trains with mostly 3 & 5 well cars comared to other long trains?
Every regular manifest trains are all going to be different and even unit trains are different enough that a digital compurter program cannot predict precisly what the train dynamics are going to be. It takes an analog train engineer to handle the train and make adjustments that he gets while starting out.
Not just breakdown/service interuptions, stopping for signals or meets, but also trains stopping to perform work w/busy street crossings blocked. Going w/the PSR playbook, BNSF began a process in 2017 when the rd switcher that handled all Wichita traffic was abolished. The replacement became mainline northbound trains stopping to pick up cars assigned on their work order. I'll have to paint the picture so you can follow this. The former ATSF yd in Wichita has 29th st which cuts directly through the middle of the yd (14 tracks total). Trains pull up the mainline at 33rd, cutoff, then back into the yd. Forever, the rule was to cut 29th--do not block it. Not anymore. Trains will pull up to the top & leave 29th blocked. Below at 21st is another busy crossing and long mega trains have also blocked that important crossing for periods of time as well. So now these long mainline trains do the pickup of nb traffic which used to be in the hands of an assigned job. Here is what has to be the most bizarre drama anywhere associated w/a blocked crossing. A DP train, already like 9000k, stopped to pickup cars. In the process, it was discovered while doing the work the train would be out of compliance if this work was done. In the meantime 29th is blocked and remained so for several hours while the condr, w/no brkmn,sorted the mess in the dark by himself. At this point, you just snail through it, don't hurry and keep yourself safe, break it off on the rr. They created this culture. I live about a mile from there. At home when the 9:00 FOX local news came on, all four tv stations had live cams on scene at 29th reporting about this train which had been blocking 29th for like three hrs. The words of wisdom to viewers was like "we dont know why this train is here for so long, there doesn't appear to be an emergency but please avoid the area". That is just one of many events taking place at this location over the past several yrs of the PSR era related to trains blocking the crossing and nothing chages but as far as I know, the TV news has not been back. Guess the general public knows about the blocked crossings and is no longer news.
This sort of crossing tie-up is not new. In my distant youth (early 1960's), an inbound C&O freight from Cincinnati would stop just short of Burnham Avenue. It would then proceed forward to cut off a lead block of cars, which would then be set out in South Shore's Burnham yard, easily tying up the crossing for 10-15 minutes.
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