Most intresting load

[Anonymous]

Some real net stuff above. Hard to beat!
Coincidently Eric, I was just going to say that probably the most unique load that I have seen is a shipment from Seemens/Westinghouse. I assume it came from their plant in Hamilton Ontario.
I wonder if it was the same thing you mention above?
It looked like a generator for a large turbine unit. It was shrink wrapped in plastic, with Seemens name on it. It was mounted on a HEAVY duty , low slung flat car. There were probably 10 or 12 axles to the car. Behind it was an ugly painted caboose with Westinghouse painted on it. The windows were covered up, so I do not know if it was manned or not.
There was just the CN loco, the falt car and the caboose.
Acutually, I have seen this go by here twice. Going from east to west. Probably Hamilton to the tunnel at Sarnia / Port Huron.

Like the other guys, I have also seen a few a few flat cars with armoured personal carriers on rubber wheels going east from the GM plant in London, where they are made. These were also shrink wrapped in plastic for security.

[Anonymous]

Back in the 80's NASA had to divert the space shuttle from landing at Edwards AFB to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Southern Pacific built a special freight train that transported a bunch of support equipment from Edwards to White Sands. I was stationed at Fort Bliss at the time and there was a crowd of folks who turned out trackside on the line from El Paso, Texas, to Orogrande, New Mexico, to see the train.

Now I live near Fort Benning, and there's plenty of military trains to watch.

Recently, NS ran a special freight through Columbus, GA to a new power plant in Alabama. They had a huge flat car with what seemed like a million wheels supporting it. It was carrying a pressure vessel or turbine of some sort... it even made the front page of the local paper.

Erik

[GMS-AU]

Hi All

Unusual for here in Queensland Australia on the 3'6" was US military vehicles being carried to a base for a combined operation. I will be honest and say I did not see it myself but there is a great picture of Hummers on QR wagons on the US Defenselink site. Scroll through the high res news pics and you should find it.

Most probably unusual for the US and Canada but common here is regular unit cattle trains. I'm not sure how many other places run them but these generally run from western ( outback ) load points to slaughterhouses on the coast. Run to a tight schedule these always attract modern road power including juice jacks to reduce the chance of breakdown.

G M Simpson

[locomutt]

Have seen a 'bunch' of DOD flats here in Louisville on the P & L,
going to,or from Ft. Knox;most empty,some with tanks.

[Train Guy 3]

I saw a long ol' train full of old military trucks. All the numbers and markings had been blacked out so I assume they were all ex-military. I wish I knew where they were headed, I'd love to have an ex-army Hummvee. [8D]

[tatans]

90 flats loaded with British armour and vehicles with 3 cabooses in the middle and 3 at the end with ARMED Brits, who walked the train when it was stopped, this was one of 3 trains going to Alberta for training excercises, this train was stopped for fuel in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, quite a treat.

[Anonymous]

Back in the late 70's early 80's, I saw some cone shaped loads on flats that said NASA on them. This was on the EJ&E in Chicago. I think I saw them at least three times or so. Never did find out what they were.

Dave
-DPD Productions - Home of the TrainTenna RR Monitoring Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

[espeefoamer]

I saw two WWII warplanes in gondolas. The wings were carried alongside the fusalage in the cars.I suppose they were headed to a museum somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Well from time to time on the UPRR. Every once in a while one of those funny looking forest logging railcars comes through,fully loaded.

[adrianspeeder]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

The Three Mile Island reactor core components being moved in special shielded casks on HEAVY duty flats to the Idaho National Engineering Lab for failure analysis. Each flat had a box car front and rear for spacers and the train had a DODX caboose with communication equipment and security personel and a UP caboose as well. Rumor had it that the train took about 45 days to travel from PA to ID due to speed and weight restrictions and routing to avoid major population centers.

dd

Hey DD, you wouldn't have any more info on this would you? Pics even? Any writeups that you know about?

I saw a newsclip of some train haulin azz out of there with a susquehanna loco up front, and i wish i could have been there to see it. Although my buddy at the plant says there hasn't been a movement in over 15 years.

Adrianspeeder

[corwinda]

Several carloads of trucks and equipment I believe were an oil drilling outfit.

[mersenne6]

A consist of freight cars that were so decrepit they looked like a mobile train wreck - headed up by a diesel that looked like it had been built the day before yesterday. After doing some asking around I was told the train was indeed a scrap yard on wheels and that the entire consist was headed for the men with the cutting torches.

[dldance]

The Three Mile Island reactor core components being moved in special shielded casks on HEAVY duty flats to the Idaho National Engineering Lab for failure analysis. Each flat had a box car front and rear for spacers and the train had a DODX caboose with communication equipment and security personel and a UP caboose as well. Rumor had it that the train took about 45 days to travel from PA to ID due to speed and weight restrictions and routing to avoid major population centers.

dd

[StillGrande]

I saw a German WWII tank on a flat at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds near Baltimore. It was being moved for restoration.

I also saw pictures of a train on a train. The SF was hauling a wreck on flats and gondolas.

[Junctionfan]

Several Brinks armoured cars on a ttx flat.

Money train? Where is Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrison?

[tree68]

Not so much the load, but the circumstances -

When I was young and C&O still owned the depot in Milford, MI, GM had a tank to ship somewhere. The GM proving grounds is about 3 miles from Milford and they do test military and heavy vehicles there.

I think C&O may have actually beefed up the freight platform and included a ramp. The tank was driven over town and village roads to the station (which I missed, but I can imagine...) and the tank was loaded from the side of the car via the freight platform/ramp. Quite the operation.

I see military loading and unloading where on a regular basis where I work - it's all done circus-style here.

[Anonymous]

A load of stone on a 20' low side Rio Grande gondola headed to st louis.

We have been having DDoX trains of empty flatcars headed south I suspect a Corps is being sent overseas.

[Anonymous]

How about a B-737 main fuselage going thru Pueblo, Co(KN to WA). And nothing else in the consist! Lawrence.

[ericsp]

It would probably be an U.S. Army switcher on a flatcar.

[Anonymous]

Just today on the UP,A Westbound Manifest with a TTX 89' Flat car carring a GE CP AC4400CW in the new Paint,Now that's a first![(-D]. I saw that.....And did'nt know what to think! "Can you say,[banghead]".

[mloik]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bnsfkline

What is the most intresting load you have ever seen on a manifest?

People on Amtrak?

(I know, a joke stolen from a previous post, but funny enough to pull a Henny Youngman.)

[edblysard]

Has to be the huge GE windmills/generators that you see in their adds..
We took them off the ships and interchanged them with the UP...
the blades on those things required three 89 foot flats per set of three, they were bundled together in racks on the center car, and the blades were so long the two flats on each end were ilder or spacer cars, due to the overhang...
Ed

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by canazar

Cant say aload... but a whole train. Back in 96' or so I wa sliving in Flagstaff. A small city up high on the BNSF trans Con line. I got walk a long a stopped train that wa sloaded up with my guess, part of armored division. Humvees, COM trucks, and such But also had Bradleys and a bunch of M1 main tanks on it. Got to sit there for a long time and get a good luck, it was cool.

Best Regards
John k

I've seen a couple "military" trains here in Ontario, over the years-- on the CN mainline. I'm surprised at how little security there was; the one train was stopped, and I walked right up to it for a 'close-up' view and never encountered any security personnel at all. I guess that was before 9/11 though. I know not long ago the British Army did training in Western Canada, and shipped their equipment west on CP, from montreal to Alberta.

[canazar]

Cant say aload... but a whole train. Back in 96' or so I wa sliving in Flagstaff. A small city up high on the BNSF trans Con line. I got walk a long a stopped train that wa sloaded up with my guess, part of armored division. Humvees, COM trucks, and such But also had Bradleys and a bunch of M1 main tanks on it. Got to sit there for a long time and get a good luck, it was cool.

Best Regards
John k

[bnsfkline]

What is the most intresting load you have ever seen on a manifest? Mine would have to be a single car movemont of a NASA space shuttle car on the UP Jeff City sub.