zugmann You'd think so, but running lite power is a pain in the butt.
You'd think so, but running lite power is a pain in the butt.
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It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
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Of the 3 responses by railroaders directly above, I'd guess Jeff's to probably be the answer in this particular case. I bet it's kind of hard for a unit train to swing into the pits and top off the tank, so I can see where it would make sense to run the locomotives 50 miles bag up the pike for refueling. Compared to moving a unit train over the road, a 90 minute ride each way to the fueling rack must seem like a Sunday drive.
We seem to run a lot of light power moves to and from elevators and ethanol plants. Sometimes power might stay at the elevator, sometimes it goes back to a terminal. Depends on how short of power they are or if the units need to be fueled.
The ones I don't understand at times are the long power moves, over a couple of crew districts. Instead of having a train pick up and deliver power they use separate crews for the moves. Maybe there are times when they need power badly and can't wait, but often it seems those moves could just as easily be done by through trains. Especially hard to understand when the mantra seems to be "cut, cut, cut" expenses.
Jeff
zugmann Murphy Siding Assuming the power is good to turn. Sometimes it isn't. May be shopped or FRA dead.
Murphy Siding
Assuming the power is good to turn. Sometimes it isn't. May be shopped or FRA dead.
Sometimes the next expected load out of the train may not be for a week or two and no need to tie up power that long. Or maybe the train was taken to a storage location until a uptick in business warrants the train being active again.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Murphy SidingIf they hauled the empty train to the elevator or ethanol plant, they should still have the units there to haul them out.
CSX would frequently run lite engine moves to reposition power. Eastbound trains usually haul more tonnage than westbounds so power builds up at eastern terminals. Sometimes extra power would be added to westbounds instead of running a lite move. I've had up to twelve units on some trains.
Overthinking this a bit.... Downstream from us, the customers are grain elevators and ethanol plants shipping and receiving unit trains. Those are always hauled by big units, 2 on the front and a DPU on the tail. I'd guess that it should be pretty easy to estimate the power needs on trains like that. That's why I wonder more than I should. If they hauled the empty train to the elevator or ethanol plant, they should still have the units there to haul them out.
Sometimes one can overthink these things. A lot of times it is just a matter of what power is ready and avaliable at the time - esp. for extra trains like MOW work trains. And if it's a set of 6-axle road power, then so be it.
And with the railroads continuing to purge 4 axles off their rosters - you will see a lot more 6 axles doing the oddball/extra/local work.
Not exactly a light movement, but I encountered six big six-axle units westbound out of Barstow, CA with seven beat up MOW gons in tow. My take - the eastbound grade out of Bakersfield is a lot longer than the grade from Mojave to Tehachapi. East of Barstow is generally downgrade to the Colorado River, then up to the Arizona Divide on a gentler grade than the one over Tehachapi. Hence, each eastbound can shed a unit or two at Barstow, which then have to get to Bakersfield to meet eastbound needs.
If I'm mistaken, I'm open to correction. I'm just an interested observer with no inside source of information.
Chuck
Not that uncommon that light engines out of a terminal are out searching for a unit grain train to get started out of an elevator.
I've seen such moves on the CSX "Chicago Line" through Utica. Sometimes just a couple of locomotives, sometimes 4 or 5.
Either they needed the power where it wasn't, or a local had all drops and no pickups and was headed home light. I have seen that with military trains here.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
In my part of the world- the flat upper plains corn & bean field part-most trains I see are unit trains hauling grain, ethanol or pink rock, or a local with 10-20 cars. Today I was surprised to see a pair of SD70 pumpkins running light through the corn fields. While this is uncommon around here, I presume there are places where light moves are more common?
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