There are reports on train orders that NS is now jamed from ATL - Linwood yard ( Just north of Salisbury ). 19 today seems to have made it to ATL without more delays but since 20 is not yet at ATL we will see.
Oltmannd - Any information ?
I left Meridian 55 miutes late yesterday morning (at train time, the lastest report inn the station was "on time." At one point (I do not remember where) we had a meet with two trains, and backed to the switch after the first one moved on. We left Birmingham 1:49 late, and we left Anniston 2:00 late.
I went to bed after leaving Anniston--and woke up just below Danville, 1:54 late, so we may hve slipped through the Atlanta area.
I made the connections I had hoped to make. tomorrow, I start back from Wilmington tomorrow, and hope to be home by 11:00 Saturday evening.
Johnny
Really hate to report this but -------
In March 19 loat average of 10 minutes Greenville ( / (GRV) ATL but for first 9 days of April lost average of 35 minutes.
March #20 ATL - GRV lost 30 minutes but April lost 35 minutes.
Does this mean the delays are spreading to north of ATL ? hope this just a glich ?
Only place these trains seem to keep scheduled en route times is north of Gastonia / Charlotte or south of Laurel, MS
It was horrible today. #19 was held for #20 a few miles above Tuscaloosa I did not note the time we stopped--and, as we reached East Tuscaloosa, we had to stop becuase some person had left a car sitting on the traqck. I give thanks that the engineer saw it in time. It began to seem that there was no wrecker in Tuscaloosa, but we were able to at least get to Meridian (about two hours late). I hope it will be better tomorrow when I go back north.
I did not note any great delay due to freight; it seemed that such meets were well arranged, including the two with run-throughs with UP power on the point.
blue streak 1 On another site Crescent had end point arrivals on time - # 19 once at New Orleans and # 20 none at WASH. All our other performers did better.
On another site Crescent had end point arrivals on time - # 19 once at New Orleans and # 20 none at WASH. All our other performers did better.
This is truly and historically awful.
And, in a time when NS needs "all hands on deck" and and everyone pulling in the same direction, they decide to sue a crew that ran a red signal and wrecked in KY. That'll build morale!
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Once again the knife south of Atlanta for the month of March. This does not include 3 round trip cancellations in stats. Used Laurel since trains often take delays just south of Meridian ( MEI ).
South bound 19 from Atlanta to Laurel average loss !:40 and median loss 1:40
North bound #20 Laurel to Atlanta average loss 1:43 and median 1:38.
EDIT
April has started even worse with 20 taking over 3:00 average to ATL and 19 over 2:00 at LAU.
Shorter trains woiuld help if there four or more times the number of sidings that coiuld hold them. And also, how many, just how much shorter, snd thus how many addiitional trains required.
Deggesty Would running shoorter trains help? Of course, this would mean that more employees would be needed--and the money-hungry people would be unhappy
Would running shoorter trains help? Of course, this would mean that more employees would be needed--and the money-hungry people would be unhappy
No, shorter trains make the route MORE congested holding car count constant. To illustrate, lets immagine that sidings are 8,000 feet and the railroad is now running 20 trains per day. It is incurring x hours of train delay per day and performing y number of meets per day.
There is an old, old rule that says the number of meets increases as the square of the number of trains per day on a given line segment. That is if you double the number of trains you will have four times the number of meets. So if you shorten the trains by half and double the number of trains the number of meets will quadruple, as will the delay costs. If a line is running at or near its practical capacity in terms of trains per day, you will never get twice as many trains over it. Will freeze up on the first day!
If it is an ATK route, best thing to do is pray for ATK to go away.
Mac
DeggestyWould running shoorter trains help? Of course, this would mean that more employees would be needed--and the money-hungry people would be unhappy.
When you are dealing with Single Track railroad there are a specific number of trains that can be operated, due to the number and size of the passing sidings. If you plan on operating trains that exceed siding capacity - realistically you can only operate them in ONE DIRECTION as all trains in the other direction must be of siding clearing size - to do otherwise creates a locked down subdivision.
If the volume of traffic being handled on a particular route exceeds the number of clearing trains that can be handled on that single track route, then then running non-clearing trains can be one means of handling the level of traffic.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Would running shorter trains help? Of course, this would mean that more employees would be needed--and the money-hungry people would be unhappy.
BaltACD A McIntosh I am curious if the Crescent could be rerouted over its original route west of Atlanta via Montgomery, Mobile to New Orleans over CSX until such time that NS can straighten out its maintenance? Maybe some Amshack type stations could be temporarily put up. From Mobile west restore those stations for possible gulf coast service people seem to be talking about. CSX is a congested railroad Atlanta - Birmingham - Montgomery - Mobile - New Orleans. It is also congested Atlanta - Montgomery - Mobile - New Orleans. The present operators of CSX would take an exceeding dim view of operating the Cresent over any route on their property beyond the current DC to AF leg over the RF&P.
A McIntosh
I am curious if the Crescent could be rerouted over its original route west of Atlanta via Montgomery, Mobile to New Orleans over CSX until such time that NS can straighten out its maintenance? Maybe some Amshack type stations could be temporarily put up. From Mobile west restore those stations for possible gulf coast service people seem to be talking about.
CSX is a congested railroad Atlanta - Birmingham - Montgomery - Mobile - New Orleans. It is also congested Atlanta - Montgomery - Mobile - New Orleans.
The present operators of CSX would take an exceeding dim view of operating the Cresent over any route on their property beyond the current DC to AF leg over the RF&P.
A McIntoshI am curious if the Crescent could be rerouted over its original route west of Atlanta via Montgomery, Mobile to New Orleans over CSX until such time that NS can straighten out its maintenance? Maybe some Amshack type stations could be temporarily put up. From Mobile west restore those stations for possible gulf coast service people seem to be talking about.
This last week 2/18 - 2/24 was another poor one. Maybe the announceent by NS routing some trains BHM - Columbus - Albany - Tifton instead of thru ATL will allow the Crescent better timing ?
for 19 ATL MEI NOL
AVG :17 2:36 3:17
Median :00 2:33 2:26 latest 5:30
For 20
AVG 2:19 :36 latest 2 - 3:00+
Median 2:04 :14
It may be because of weather but the problems seem to be spreading to north of ATL. 19/15 lost several hours CLT - ATL then more to HBG; 19/16 lost over hour WASH - CVS; 20/ 15 lost 5 hours due to NS hitting someone between BHM - ATL and 20 / 16 lost several hours into ATL.
Well it is actually getting worse.
From Jan 1 to present 19 arrived ATL 18 days on time, Average delay :30 and median :03. At Meridian average arrival 2:17 median 1:42. This even though no service 16 days ATL - NOL.
20 arrived ATL average 2:28 late median 2:17. 0 arrivals OT but 16 non operating from NOL. NS does do fairly well dispatching 20 north of ATL with WASH :57 average delay and :26 median delay however many of the WASH ot arrivals were due to the ATL originations.
Electroliner 1935 Todays Crescent #20 (11) originated at Atlanta and so started ON TIME. As of (:00 PM CST it is shown as Ar Gainesville 3 min early and departing on time. So it apearantly was annulled between NOL & ATL.
Todays Crescent #20 (11) originated at Atlanta and so started ON TIME. As of (:00 PM CST it is shown as Ar Gainesville 3 min early and departing on time. So it apearantly was annulled between NOL & ATL.
OMG Yesterday's Crescent #20 / 10 was on time for every departure from ATL to ALEX and early from there to NYP. So all the delays except the usual are south of ATL.
blue streak 1 oltmannd There really isn't any additional train count on this route that I'm aware of. Curfew is anual thing for four day a week track gang work. If that is true why are trains 19 & 20 taking such a hit most days Austell <> Meridian ? These delays did not always happen in the past..
oltmannd There really isn't any additional train count on this route that I'm aware of. Curfew is anual thing for four day a week track gang work.
Birmingham yard is a mess causing congestion on the line.
blue streak 1 BaltACD Any 'decently operating' railroad network can be managed into gridlock by ill advised senior management decisions - CSX and NS are the current examples. UP has been an example in the past. Yes the ill advised anticipation that the current track structure of NS Meridian - BHM - ATL could handle the additional traffic from the Meridian speedway of KCS. Then the gain in traffic from CSX partial meltdown moved more NOL and other traffic to the same route. Does anyone know if NS is actually lenghtening sidings or putting in some 2 main tracks during this month's closings of the route to Amtrak's trains # 19 and #20 Mondays thru Thursdays ?
BaltACD Any 'decently operating' railroad network can be managed into gridlock by ill advised senior management decisions - CSX and NS are the current examples. UP has been an example in the past.
Any 'decently operating' railroad network can be managed into gridlock by ill advised senior management decisions - CSX and NS are the current examples. UP has been an example in the past.
There really isn't any additional train count on this route that I'm aware of. Curfew is anual thing for four day a week track gang work.
I have NO knowledge of what NS is actually doing.
That being said, that 'curfew' period sounds like either a rail gang or tie and surfacing gang are working on single track. These kinds of gangs need track occupancy for 8 to 10 continuous hours or more without passing traffic - the gangs consist of many machines that perform the necessary actions to pull off these activities. It generally takes a hour or two to get all machines into the track structure from their clear up point and doing their jobs, by the same token it also takes a hour or two for all the machines to get into the clear and return the track to service.
The days of the Gandy Dancer and a local section crew working on several rail lenghts a day is over the horizon in the rear view mirror of today's railroads.
Deggesty I wonder: did NS, without any forethought, decide to emulate EHH concerning yard operation?
I wonder: did NS, without any forethought, decide to emulate EHH concerning yard operation?
Well, sort of. The EHH scare pushed them into the "drop the OR" promise. Closing the humps was a means to that end. Was it pushed along faster than it should have been? Maybe. None of NS's big yards have had good dwell numbers in a year. Capacity or local management? Can't really tease that out from the public numberss.
ATSFGuy Do freight trains on NS factor in to the delay?
Do freight trains on NS factor in to the delay?
My hunch is that the overall disfunction of NS's yard in Birmingham has led to congestion east and west of Birmingham and trains running out of slot. It's been this way since they closed the hump in Chatt.
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