Wondering about distance between refueling points for Class 1's - is there a reference someplace listing major refueling locations by company?
I recall something that suggested about 1,000 miles between for UP, and ~800 miles for BNSF, but can't seem to find that source anymore.
FRA requires a major inspection of the train every 1000 miles so why not have a refuleing point there. However some places are not refueling points since the Fuel is so high in Price. Diesel fuel is a major expense for the RR even without taxes they are paying close to 3 Bucks a Gallon for that and when your locomtive can drive 5000 gallons at a shot you want to get it as CHEAP as possible. That is why Chicago is not normally a refuel point.
Many unit trains are extended haul and are only inspected every 1500 miles. ECP trains can go 3500 miles between inspections.
Understanding it depends on a how the locomotive is used, is there an "average" range for line haul units that would determine how far apart you would put refueling points in the system?
There is a environmental cost to designated fueling facilities - containment areas and other safe guards have to be constructed and maintained.
Some carriers have designated fueling facilities at certain strategic points and fuel the engines of nearly every train that pass through these points. Other carriers have opted for a different strategy - tank truck fueling of specific trains at various points on their property without having designated fueling facilities. The theory behind truck fueling is that not all engines will require fuel at a particular point and those that don't need fueled are being delayed in getting fuel.
The data being obtained by a carriers locomotive management department from the GPS data units that have been and are being installed on nearly all locomotives gives a reasonably accurate fuel reading and those in Loco Management make decisions of where to fuel certain trains base on those fuel reading secured from the GPS system
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
There are tons and tons of direct from truck fueling "locations" out there, too.
And, you can calculate a safe range if you have enough info and even generalize it by train and locomotive type. On Conrail, it was about 1200 miles for van trains using 6 axles of any type. About 1000 miles for a GP40.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Currently produced road locomotives had fuel tank capacities between 4000 & 5000 gallons. Current procedures for my carrier are for Engine crews to notify the dispatcher when their locomotive has less than 1000 gallons in the tank (1st Generation diesels had fuel tank capacities of 1300 to 1500 gallons). A computer record is initiated to the mechanical and locomotive management departments with the crew reported gallons; they will then formulate their plans for the future use and fueling plan for the locomotives in that engine consist.
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