You know that we are both novices at this, but we will visit until the big guys come in and take over. We have both sand and gravel thru here - sand is usually in a small covered hopper, for obvious reasons. Gravel, I can't see into those gons like I can the coal, which is piled up in "loaves". I don't know of a time that coal would ever travel in a closed gon like sand.
A couple of things come to mind - coal trains are some of the longest trains that pass thru here besides mixed freight. You don't want that much coal flapping in the breeze. Gravel is heavy enough to not be bothered by wind and they don't fill it above the gon side like coal. Because of weight, they use a lower profile gon.
Sand - covered in a short, squatty hopper car.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Mookie Someone else will go into this in depth - but short answer - they spray the coal (think hair and hairspray) for the trip from the mine to the destination.
Someone else will go into this in depth - but short answer - they spray the coal (think hair and hairspray) for the trip from the mine to the destination.
In addition to heaps of coal trains, there are also a lot of gravel and sand trains running running through Texas. The gravel at least is in open hopper cars. Would it too be sprayed?
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
Even to an untrained eye, when coal trains are sprayed it really shows. My driver (yes it is my husband who won't let me drive if he can help it) watched a small chunk of coal go by riding on the frame of the gon with no jiggle, no movement, just glued to the frame.
tree68Either it wasn't sprayed, or the spray had worn off...
Perhaps the coal was beginning to decompose and spall off more fines. If I remember correctly a number of grades of PRB subbituminous are prone to this.
Don't know where it was coming from, or where it was going to, but I saw a coal train passing EB through Utica, NY a couple years ago that was surrounded by a black cloud. Either it wasn't sprayed, or the spray had worn off...
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...
Don't know about the answer to your question.
However, over several years (I don't know how many) the Powder River joint line had serious ballast fouling from the fines coming from the loaded coal trains using the trackage. The fouling was so bad that the carriers formulated a requirment that the loading sites had to apply a solution to keep the fines from blowing off the loads.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/03/coal-train-dust-contained/3423667/
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Recently I observed a BNSF coal train – the cars are owned by NRG - that appeared to be in route from Wyoming to Houston. The coal in each of the hopper cars looked like someone had smoothed it over with a shovel. I am guessing it was the work of the wind created by the forward movement of the train.
What percentage of coal would be blown away on a typical trip from Wyoming to south Texas? Would the loss be even over the length of the train?
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