Aggregate Transportation

[cv_acr]

PJS1

Now for my question.  The gondola cars did not appear to be rotary cars.  How would they be unloaded?

Like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlS7aG5m7J0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To69Y2s0EnQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdeaXBoNFJg

[jeffhergert]

Depending on which railroad you're on, they may not be interested at all.  Even if you supplied the cars.

Hopefully you're on a short lines or regional railroad.  And the move doesn't involve more than one railroad.

Jeff

[SD70Dude]

CN does a couple short haul unit aggregate trains in my area (60 to 100 cars per train, distance of between 150 and 200 miles one way).  These runs have been operating for decades but they have also done short-term operations (i.e. only for months at a time) to different destinations farther away.  

Unloading will probably be an issue, while side-dump cars do exist most railroads don't use them in revenue service (ours are all assigned to and perhaps owned by the track maintenance department) and they have a lower capacity per car than hoppers.  The most common types of cars in gravel/stone service are hoppers with bottom doors, so you'd need to build a unloading pit on your track in order to receive them. 

I've also seen bulk commodities like gravel or coal get shipped in gondolas, but they must be unloaded by scooping the product out of the car with an excavator, a labourious and time-consuming process.  This might end up being the best option for you if this is a short-term project and you have lots of construction equipment already onsite.  CN's actually doing another short-term short-haul aggregate move in northeastern BC (for the Site C hydro dam project) right now with gondolas.  

The Class I's also might not be prepared to supply you with cars (they don't like doing customer service stuff anymore), so you may have to lease your own cars from an outfit like Trinity or CIT Financial, there are a number of rail equipment leasing companies out there, those two just came to mind.  

[blue streak 1]

CSX was unable to deliver enough ballast to Brightline on time for Brightline's  2 main tracks on FEC and the Brightline Cocoa - MCO route. Brightline had to import Ballast from Canada by ship(s) to make up the shot fall caused by CSX's unwilliness to deliver the needed Ballast.

[samfp1943]

AgentIndianTaco:  If the destination is on a rail siding; The next quesion is volumn need.... Contact the railroad, and request a salesman to conact.  That person will answer your questions....for a car load or a train(s)?  If yopu got a big enough need, and the wearwithall$$$$$

The railroad will probably, fill your needs....  P.S.  To the Forum  

 

[blue streak 1]

More years than I will reveal SOU RR had a ramp track that allowed rock to be dropped directly into trucks.  Used idler cars to place cars.Cannot remember but was room at least for 2 cars.

[BaltACD]

AgentIndianTaco

I'll start off by saying that I know absolutely nothing about trains or how they transport product. 

Is there a way for a railcar to transport stone from a quarry to a jobsite that has train tracks running to it?  I believe at one point logs were loaded at this site, but it is basically a flat piece of land with a rail that dead ends in the middle of it. 

Is it possible or economical to transport from a quarry that is approximately 100 miles away to this location if they have the means to load the train cars? How would that process work?

Retired from CSX almost 6 years ago.

On my territory there were (and still are) a number of 'Rock Runner' operations.  There is one between the quarry at Millville, WV and Bladensburg, MD which operates on a daily and some times twice a day basis.  Then there is another Rock Runner that originates from Bittenger Quarry near Hanover, PA and 'peddles' rock to customers at Westport (Baltimore) and Fort Meade Jct. MD.  Loads come from the quarry at night and the empties move back to the quarry during daylight hours.  These Rock Runner operations have been operating for decades on the Baltimore Division of CSX.

Nominally each CSX division has one or more quarry operations located on their lines.  The operation of scheduled 'rock runners' is more dependent on a customer that can continuously handle the loads that a quarry can generate.

Most all on line quarries load company ballast trains from time to time.

Welcome to the forums.

[PJS1]

AgentIndianTaco

 Is there a way for a railcar to transport stone from a quarry to a jobsite that has train tracks running to it?   

Is it possible or economical to transport from a quarry that is approximately 100 miles away to this location if they have the means to load the train cars? 

I don't work for a railroad; in fact, I am retired from the electric utility industry, and I don't work period.

Yesterday, I saw a BNSF train with nearly 100 condola cars loaded with gravel, stone, etc. rolling through Temple, TX.

I don't know where the train originated, but I believe it was headed to Texas Materials siding near Giddings, TX.  Trucks will haul the stuff from Texas Mateials to various sites in central Texas.

Now for my question.  The gondola cars did not appear to be rotary cars.  How would they be unloaded?  

[AgentIndianTaco]

I'll start off by saying that I know absolutely nothing about trains or how they transport product.

 

Is there a way for a railcar to transport stone from a quarry to a jobsite that has train tracks running to it?  I believe at one point logs were loaded at this site, but it is basically a flat piece of land with a rail that dead ends in the middle of it.

 

Is it possible or economical to transport from a quarry that is approximately 100 miles away to this location if they have the means to load the train cars? How would that process work?