Bizarre Rail Operations

[zardoz]

QUOTE: Originally posted by crazytechie
(you know things are bad when the railroads aren't even hauling their own replacement parts)

Last week, on Interstate 94 south of Milwaukee, I saw a flatbed truck carrying a new locomotive sheel southbound towards Chicago. Heading for Supersteel in New York, perhaps?

[Anonymous]

Does seeing a semi stuck in commute traffic with a trailer-load of brand-new freight car wheelsets count as a bizzare rail operation? ( the wheelsets were still 'as cast grey' color on the wheel faces and "as machined" bright on the treads) It certainly made me look twice. . . I almost sideswiped some cell-phone-addled soccer mom, I was laughing so hard.

(you know things are bad when the railroads aren't even hauling their own replacement parts)

[joegreen]

Early this year I saw a BNSF train with a flat bed that had a vet emergency van on it

[Junctionfan]

I saw a few sulfuric acid tankers sitting in a Casco corn syrup plant once. Don't ask me who the fool was who sent them there in the first place but they were picked up a short time later and Casco was givin the right tankers.

[ericsp]

Today on my way to work, I saw 2 SD40T-2s and 1 SD40-2 pulling a few center-beams with no other cars. I thought at first maybe there was some bizarre reason that made these load a high priority. However, on my way home, I saw these locomotives and cars on the front end of the MFRRV.

[ericsp]

On Sunday (12/26/04) I went out to the site where they will be building an ethanol plant. The company bought an existing grain elevator with a balloon track and it appears some spurs and/or sidings. There was a loaded steel coil train (no locomotives) on the balloon track and a couple of open top hoppers on one of the other tracks. I doubt that it has anything to do with the construction, as it has not started yet and that was a lot of steel. I wonder if they parked it there for Christmas and ran the locomotives light to the nearest yard.

[fuzzybroken]

I saw a s/b CN/WC train near Duplainville, WI today -- lots of neat freight cars, fallen flags such as Galveston Wharves, Berlin Mills, a C&NW re-mark boxcar... anyways, most interesting was a string of about 10 gondolas with some sort of piping/storage system loaded in the cars. Would have taken pics but the light was already getting bad [sigh] -- I miss the long days of summer...

Oo, looky, I found another old post with my old website address... all fixed now!

[ericsp]

I saw a BNSF H VBCBAR (judging from the cars) on the SP (UP) mainline. I did not find anything about a derailment on the News Wire nor did I find anything about a maintenance blitz on BNSF's website. An Amtrak did collide with a vehicle in Fresno, CA. today, however, that was afternoon, I saw the train this morning. I saw and heard a few BNSF trains on BNSF tracks this evening.

Here is another oddity. I saw a loaded spine car on a mixed freight train today. However, one of the trailers had buckled. The floor at about the middle of the trailer was just about (if not) touching the spine-car.

I got the pictures back today. The floor did reach the spine car.

[railman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DPD1

If you're talking operations... How about USS Cumberland Mine. They have one SD38-2 that had to be brought in, because the RR is not connected to any other railroad. It operates completely captive.

Dave
Los Angeles, CA
-Rail Radio Online-Home of the "TrainTenna" RR Monitoring Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/railradioonline

interesting! Reminisque of the old narrow gauge lines.

[Sterling1]

About yonder a few months ago in the summer CSX train and main line in Kississimee, Florida, BNSF locos, two pumpkin jobs(a C44-9W and SD40-2) and one Santa Fe patch job (SD40-2). Was a short all covered hopper train heading north bound to Orlando. The other strange thing was that there was CSX signalman/repairer and two other "officials" because I am not sure of their employ (were in short sleeves and had neck ties with black pants)

[edblysard]

If they didnt have the engineer draw off some air, but just closed the angle cocks, and bottled the air, then tied handbrakes to the cut left standing, and then cut the crossing, the EOT would still show a fully charged line...the new crew mounts up, looks at the EOT indicater, sees it ready and charged...away they go.
Ed[:D]

[Anonymous]

csx-dispatcher,

That is real funny, usually the engineer uses the head of train device to let him/her know when the end of train device is moving so he/she doesn't break a knuckle, etc. And wouldn't the EOT be showing 0 lbs??? Actually, come to think of it, there's a few at my terminal that would do that, sad but true.

[CSXrules4eva]

OK in my area the greater Philadlephia area I've seen very weird things.

Well anyway two days ago in Conchohockin which is a hip, skip, and jump from Philly I saw a MP15 switcher in NS black and white pulling some spine cars, centerbeam cars,bulkhead cars, and ballast hoppers. I thought that was weird, very weird. These tracks run to Pottstown, PA which is aprox: 25 miles from Philly. It was sitting on a siding at a quary. I would think they would put a two GP40s or GP38-2s to go on this mission.

[mvlandsw]

A Canadian Pacific stock car hauling lumber on the B&O in West Virginia.

[Glen Ellyn]

2 things.

1. That website name you gave me, http://eje.railfan.net/railroadadioonline how do you define eje.

2. Once I saw a Union Pacific train with 2 UP engines in the middle, and a caboose at the end.

[dehusman]

The MP15 was probably spliced in the middle of the consists account it probably doesn't have alignment control drawbars (stops in the draft gear to prevent the drawbar from excessive slewing whan in compression).

Dave H.

[ericsp]

The power for the daily train to Roseville today was 2 SD40T-2 and a MP15. The SD40T-2 were couple together when they were in the yard. They uncoupled them to put the MP15 in between. Anyone know why? Also, the MP15 came down from Roseville and, to the best of my knowledge, just sat at the engine house. I am guessing something is wrong with it. By the way, it is UPY 1298, which was in SPSF paint when it was patched.

[BaltACD]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

I once saw a 185 car CSX intermodal all double stacks. The power was an AC6000CW, SD70M and an HLCX SD40 (black)

185 cars or 185 platforms.....most stack cars today are 3 or 5 platform cars and can be up to 300 feet long....185 x 300 feet/car = 55,500 feet of train....a train neither CSX or I want on my railraod.

[ericsp]

I saw an intermodal train today. Most of the cars were loaded. However, there were some up front that were empty while most of the empty cars were in the back. I suspect that it was a Seattle or Portland to LA train. I am surprised they are not worried about stringlining.

[espeefoamer]

About 10 years ago, I saw a loaded ribbonrail train on the SP,with about 20-30
mixed freight cars behind the ribbonrail cars.Back in the early 60s I saw a train near Santa Barbara with an A-B set of F units,a tank car,box car,Harriman baggage,and Harriman coach.

[DPD1]

I guess Amtrak's massive train of nothing but Amtrak box cars the other day up the Coast Line would definitely count as odd.

Dave
Los Angeles, CA
-Rail Radio Online-Home of the "TrainTenna" RR Monitoring Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/railradioonline

[Junctionfan]

I once saw a 185 car CSX intermodal all double stacks. The power was an AC6000CW, SD70M and an HLCX SD40 (black)

[Anonymous]

This was about 5 years ago....but anyways.... Q115 I belive had come into trade crews, but the crew was not called outbound yet, so the inbound crew had to cut a crossing and tie the train down. Well after a few hours went by, the crew came on duty as normal. Went out to their train and left. (only to find out some hours later that they had left the rear end of their train sitting)

Its clueless to me why they didnt do their air test or even look at their rear end to see how much psi they had.

[ericsp]

As I was driving home from work on Tuesday, I saw a UP local come out of the yard and park on the easbound main. On the other end of the yard were two through freights parked on the westbound main. I do not think there are any crossovers between where they were parked. I went by there a couple of hours later, nothing had changed, exept there was now another train waiting to leave the yard. To quote the track section gang superintendent (or whatever he was suppost to be) on Blazing Saddles "What in the wide, wide world of sports is a-goin' on here?".

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gabe

I once saw an Amtrak consist with passengers in it.

Gabe

tee hee

[Junctionfan]

Recently I saw 2 BNSF engines on a NS autoparts train with an NS Exhibit car on the front of the consist.

[Overmod]

Unit coal train on ex-Southern line through Germantown and Memphis, Tennessee, westbound with solid Conrail blue power, headed by 6722 (second unit a big GE and third an SD-70)

[ericsp]

Today I saw a UP train that was pulled by two BNSF 9-44CWs and a patched CNW 8-40CW. The BNSF line is opened. To make the train even more unusually, it was heading north and about half of its cars were loaded with Canadian lumber.

Also, when I coming home tonight, I saw a mile long train (mostly empties) coming out of the train yard, it was powered by a single GP40-2.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

My odd operations are both related to steel mills. One is the rather well-known bottle train which supplies Acme Steel's finishing plant in Riverdale IL with molten steel. The other was a slag train on CWP&S in Irondale (part of Chicago). The CWP&S is a common carrier which also performed the plant switching at Wisconsin Steel Works, owned at the time by International Harvester. Several times a day, one of CWP&S's switchers would shove about ten slag thimbles to a dumping site about 3/4 mile north of the mill. It was an especially impressing show at night. The operation was discontinued when the mill shut down in the late 1970's.

[Randy Stahl]

QUOTE: Originally posted by StillGrande

QUOTE: Originally posted by Randy Stahl

QUOTE: Originally posted by gabe

I once saw an Amtrak consist with passengers in it.

Gabe

Good one !!!!
Randy

I once saw an Amtrak train actually arrive at the scheduled time.

Honest ????!!!!
Randy