Semper Vaporo cefinkjr Saw a unit coal train passing through North Platte at ~5:30 CST. Assuming it is routed that way and nothing unusual happens along the way, when should it be crossing the diamonds at Rochelle? It has to traverse most of Nebraska, all of Iowa, and half of Illinois... over 600 miles as the crow flies (not has the rail wends). Lots of places to get delayed. Not to mention the many places between North Platte, Nebraska and the diamonds at Rochelle, Illinois for the train to be routed to someplace else. Take a guess at the average speed of a train along that route... say 50 MPH (I think that is an over-estimate!) and divide (or is that multiply?) I get 12 hours, so figure maybe 9 to 20 hours (or more).
cefinkjr Saw a unit coal train passing through North Platte at ~5:30 CST. Assuming it is routed that way and nothing unusual happens along the way, when should it be crossing the diamonds at Rochelle?
It has to traverse most of Nebraska, all of Iowa, and half of Illinois... over 600 miles as the crow flies (not has the rail wends). Lots of places to get delayed. Not to mention the many places between North Platte, Nebraska and the diamonds at Rochelle, Illinois for the train to be routed to someplace else.
Take a guess at the average speed of a train along that route... say 50 MPH (I think that is an over-estimate!) and divide (or is that multiply?) I get 12 hours, so figure maybe 9 to 20 hours (or more).
A 40mph average would be about right. I often use that when figuring what time I'll arrive home. Barring being held for long periods enroute, it's usually within about 30 minutes of my actual arrival. Often it's within 10 minutes if not spot on.
They do like to hold trains, either out on the line or tied down at terminals, for a few different reasons. Nothing like having a good trip, with no stops, and get within about an hour of home and the dispatcher says they won't call your outbound crew for 5 or 6 hours. If lucky, you can go on in and tie down. Usually though it's sit in one spot while you watch everyone else go around you.
Rail miliage going the long way via Omaha instead of via Blair is about 700 miles. Figure about 18 hours if everything goes right. 20 hours, or more, is probably more realistic
Jeff
jeffhergertThey do like to hold trains, either out on the line or tied down at terminals, for a few different reasons.
I hear ya. I won't say this never happened on the NYC but the pre-PC mgt was serious about on-time performance. Weather was about the only excuse for a train not leaving and arriving O/T. Anything else was going to get somebody - Operating, MoW and/or MoE - on the carpet.
The pre-PC PRR was another story. Even a couple of years after the merger, it was not at all uncommon to have trains "held-out" of Conway and backed up all the way to Island Avenue (Pittsburgh - 20.8 miles). Several problems contributed to this in kind of a snow ball effect: lots of traffic, power shortages, yard and road crew shortages.
ChuckAllen, TX
pbrankleI recently logged in to view the Rochelle webcam and noticed trains were no blowing for the crossings. It has several months since I watched the webcam. Has Rochelle become a quiet zone? If so, when did this take place?
Go back to page 66 of this thread... see the post by Jeff Hergert Friday, September 30, 2016 10:56 AM...
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Just brought up the webcam this morning in time to see a westbound UP crossing the diamonds on Main #2- initial observation would suggest an empty coal train, but closer inspection revealed that the gons were NOT empty. Didn't look quite like coal, either. Jeff?
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
blhanel Just brought up the webcam this morning in time to see a westbound UP crossing the diamonds on Main #2- initial observation would suggest an empty coal train, but closer inspection revealed that the gons were NOT empty. Didn't look quite like coal, either. Jeff?
Sorry Brian, I don't know what it was. It might have went south at Nelson and not come all the way across.
watching an EB UP, at first thought it was a coal train, but it's carrying 'ballast', and then #2 engine is a BNSF. And he's moving slow... then had a meet of coal empties WB... 0904 CST.
MKT Dave watching an EB UP, at first thought it was a coal train, but it's carrying 'ballast', and then #2 engine is a BNSF. And he's moving slow... then had a meet of coal empties WB... 0904 CST.
DPU on the ballast train was a BNSF. EB 0908
Still, after five hours. Looks like somebody got the drop on our Webcam!
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Looks like we can't see anything on the webcam today.
Blasted autofocus...
Looks like the setting for a zombie movie this morning..
rdamonLooks like the setting for a zombie movie this morning..
Similar appearance in NE Florida this morning.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Five guys in red standing around the BNSF switch discussing something. I assume they are UP MoW workers, since they arrived in the white trucks over to the right. One was doing some welding on the diamonds earlier.
/Mr Lynn
Now they are over looking at the UP tracks. . .
Actually, there are six guys, one in yellow. Now all watching an EB UP coal train.
I'm trying to look at it Sunday afternoon at 2:45pm cst and all I get is a white screen.
cprtrainI'm trying to look at it Sunday afternoon at 2:45pm cst and all I get is a white screen.
It's working fine for me on Monday morning.
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
Business may be picking up. A WB UP unit train of reefers just cleared the diamonds at 1626 CST. I haven't seen a train where reefers haven't been mixed in with other traffic for a long time. I hope this is a sign of better things to come.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
AgentKid Business may be picking up. A WB UP unit train of reefers just cleared the diamonds at 1626 CST. I haven't seen a train where reefers haven't been mixed in with other traffic for a long time. I hope this is a sign of better things to come. Bruce
Most likely the westbound RailEx "Salad Shooter" returning west. Unfortunately, the westbound move is usually mostly empties going back.
Looks like all hands on deck for maintenance on the Rochelle IL diamond this morning.
Lots of activity on the diamond right now. Can't tell what they are doing, but a couple of hi-railers on the tracks.
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Lotsa folk showing up!
I also have noticed something new to me... I checked some old screen capture images and the object has been visible for a long time, but I am now seeing it "light up" every few seconds for a few seconds. Attached to, or possibly some distance behind, the 1st utility pole on the north side of the UP tracks, just above the top of the brick wall is a small black rectangle. The right side of it, periodically gets bright for a few seconds and then it goes black again.
Anybody know what it is? Or 'where' it is? (attached to the pole or the top of the wall behind or maybe even farther away?)
The Activity
That appears to be either a mercury or sodium vapor flood light. Looks like there are two, one on each side of the pole. They could be lighting in sequence due to voltage dips. When the gang was staging before daylight both lights were turned on. After a while those types of lights start going on and off. We had the same situation in the power plant where I worked. We installed a string of 20 sodium lamps in our switchyard. They would all come at dusk or when the controller was overridden, then after a couple of hours, one would go out, then after about 1-15 munutes it would come back on, then another would go out for the same time. Not all the lights, just one pair and not close to each other. I was told by the lighting guys that they were sensive to heat and voltage spikes.
Yes, quite a bit of activity this morning. I noticed that over the last couple of days UP westbounds especially seem to slow down just before hitting the diamonds and kind of gingerly ease their way across them.
GREG HODGES... UP westbounds especially seem to slow down just before hitting the diamonds and kind of gingerly ease their way across them.
Slow orders move traffic a whole lot faster than cleaning up derailments; clean up efforts tend to slow things down ... a lot.
Rain on the glass this afternoon created some interesting effects with the light from an Eastbound UP stack train's ditch lights and headlight as it slowly traversed the diamonds.
Given the reported air temperature (32°), those rain drops might be frozen on the glass of the lens. They're still there two hours later.
Just watched a WB UP mixed manifest go through- did a double-take towards the tail end of the train, which appeared to have eight loaded coal cars as a group in the mix. Pretty long train with only two units pulling, too...
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