Run-throughs

[Anonymous]

What determines when a locomotive "runs through" on a foreign railroad? I have a glimmer of a notion that it's payback for something-but what?

[BaltACD]

The railroads have negotiated between themselves 'Run Trhough Agreements' that pertain to particular trains carrying particular block classifications or particular commoditys....The power that is on the train from its origin on one railroad continues on the train to it destination on the other railroad. Once the power gets to it destination location it gets distrubuted like any other power at that location.

Most, if not all, Class I's have negotiated 'Horsepower Hour Agreements' to account for having power on each other's property....a 3000 HP SD-40 on a carriers property for 1 hour constitutes 3000 Horsepower Hours. The Carriers computer systems keep track of the various Horsepower Hour account based upon Interchange records that get generated when engines and trains cross property lines.

Locomotive Management personnel will review the Horsepower Hour accounts and attempt to manage the locomotives with their area of responsibility to do two things....move the traffic and secondly balance the horsepower hours accounts.

A locomotive of a carrier may not be carried in that carriers Horsepower Hour account....a NS engine delivered to CSX by UP would be in the UP horsepower hour account, not the NS. Confusions like this are among the things that computers can easily keep track of.

[Anonymous]

So, a UP stack train from Oakland runs through to New Jersey. NS runs another train from that point back to Oakland using UP locomotives. I'm assuming the host railroads use their own locomotives on the point on their own rails. Is that correct?

[dehusman]

Not necessarily, the UP locomotives may go through to New Jersey or the NS locomotives may go through to California. The wrinkle is that a UP locomotive HAS to be on the point of the train on the UP because of the cab signal systems.

Dave H.

[spbed]

As a example take a train made up in Altanta destined for UPRR LAX so at the interchange point the power will "run" thru to save time in switching locos. The same would be done on a EB train destined for Atlanta as a example. [:o)][8D]

Originally posted by JerlonWConley

Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR  Austin TX Sub

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