Mickoo's North American Railroad vacations

[mickoo]

Day two was a prospecting trip to Kirkwood and then Eureka.

As Richard noted, traffic was slow, possibly due to the derailment in the area and being a Saturday.

However, Kirkwood is a lovely little town with a nice park that has plenty of shade from the trees, easy parking and a vibrant market alongside, there are plenty of angles to work from the park and Amtrak station but you need trains to do that. All in all a thoroughly agreeable place to spend a few hours.





Ironically the two shots above on the iphone dealt with the cloud cover cast much better than the DSLR.

Although it was sunny, there was enough thin cloud to taint the colour cast, it didn't help that the lead unit had faded so badly to a near mustard colour.









After a wait and nothing showing it was on to Eureka.

Coming out of the sun at a fair old trot was the Amtrak, I got lucky and basically walked out of the rental as soon as we arrived to take a look and he was virtually there, just a few seconds later and I'd have missed him.



The going away shot was more for the Budd Amfleet car, you don't see so many of them around any more.



Next up the 'secret' Heritage UP unit the foamers refused to disclose, jerks! Again out of the sun and the thin cloud casts a horrible taint. I can probably work it some more on the editing suite to get rid of the putrid colour cast.





I'd rather have 60% fluffy cloud cover or full cloud, but this thin stuff is just junk, not helped by the very high sun angle.

Mid train DPU, nothing special other than a grab shot to record the event, so composure and location just went out of the window.



As Richard noted, there had been a high green on the BNSF line into the sun, that would have been the money shot but the sound of the passing UP train drowned out the approaching BNSF train until it was virtually on the crossing. Infuriatingly whilst walking back from the wide head end heritage shot to the crossing I almost walked over to the BNSF line. If I had I'd would have got the money shot, I didn't and it pi55ed me right off and I had to be content with the going away DPU.



Next up a west bound Amtrak, again trotting along at line speed and you don't get many seconds notice to get the shot.



Finally the eastbound manifest, by now I'd given up trying to take good train photos due to the cloud and opted for a record shot and the following 50 or so rolling stock images.



Photo count - 105

 

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

I like this shot....


Makes my 36" radius curves look almost prototypical..!!!

 

[mickoo]

So day three was the trip back north and first stop was Fort Worth, thin high cloud so usual washed out shots but lots of places to shoot from and we barely scratched the surface, it was pretty full on for the whole duration and the first trade was as soon as we pulled up.



Followed shortly by the Amtrak with a pair of Genesis up front which made my day, better yet back to back so I could detail photo both sides with ease. It was also a crew change with the lady engineer being relieved, we spoke briefly about the delay and which was better, Genesis or Charger, she preferred the Charger as they were quick out of the gate and loaded well, a lot of here colleges preferred Genesis, I offered was that due to the 'made in America brand', she smiled and said more than likely.



Then the rest came in one long stream of trains, a Manifest heading north....





Followed shortly by a Z stacker heading south who came to a stand, we figured a crew change as just around the bend is a large yard so it'd make sense to change crews there than at the depot like Amtrak.



Whilst the first stacker waited another northbound rolled though.





Once he cleared the stationary one got going with a good old push from the DPU's



Finally a UP stacker rolled through, came to a short stand then went on his way, DPU on this one was split 70/30 so not really that good for photos.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Followed shortly by the Amtrak with a pair of Genesis up front which made my day, better yet back to back so I could detail photo both sides with ease. It was also a crew change with the lady engineer being relieved, we spoke briefly about the delay and which was better, Genesis or Charger, she preferred the Charger as they were quick out of the gate and loaded well, a lot of here colleges preferred Genesis, I offered was that due to the 'made in America brand', she smiled and said more than likely.

Of course the Charger is superior - it's a Siemens unit - albeit built by Siemens in the US - based on their Vectron. Which to me has a better looking front end than the Charger.

 

[mickoo]

Next stop was Galesburg and the weather had cleared to leave a glorious warm summers eve, if Fort Maderson was good, Galesburg was just stupid busy, I easily saw more trains this evening and the following morning than almost a week in Columbia gorge.

Richards train was due shortly but first this came rumbling through, a CN M2 on front topped off what was already a good day, but it would get better later.



Having loaded up Richards Amatrak got underway heading north.





In the distance (not seen in this shot) where a couple of trains waiting to roll south, first up a Manifest bound for the yard to be resorted I presume.



Next up a coal train with a pair of NS units, he was really flying.....like really really fast, I've no idea what the limit is here but easily 50, maybe 60 mph, it's impressive to say the least. Eitherway it took over three minutes for a 110 coal train to pass, at a rough guess on length that's 6000' of train so nearly two miles long, I'm sure you could get a rough speed from that if it took your fancy.



And the DPU.



There was a short lull after that and the sun went down and I decided to wait for the last Amtrak of the day. Galesburg uses beat old Warbonnets to do their switching, these are driver less remote control units and sound good to boot, they also drag stupid long trains in and out without through piping, well maybe the first ten cars, so they don't stop quick and there's a hell of a lot of letting in and out of slack going on, quiet they are not.



The switcher brings out another cut as a Q stacker throttles up on a flyer through the station, again probably 50 mph or so. Once past a better shot of the switcher.



Then came the cherry on the cake, the late Amtrak had a GE 'Pepsi Can' on the front, now these are pretty rare I've heard, I've only ever seen one switching autotrain racks at Sanford FL ten years ago. There's not many of them built in the first place and I believe were built before the Genesis (need to double check that) so to see one out in the wilds was pretty neat.



I didn't use the tripod, opting for a super high ISO and hand held, so it's a bit grainy but it works, I did ask the engineer how it was going, he grinned, 'the ole gal can still giddy up and go and keep good time'.

 

[mickoo]

Part Deux (picture limit).

Amtrak gets the all clear and romps away into the night toward it's Quincy destination.



I hung around a bit more and another coal train ripped through, primarily it was a test shot to see if I could hand hold at night for a 50 mph train and let the camera see if it could cope (ISO), it's noisy but it's not too bad given it was near pitch black by now.



Finally the old Dash 9 came chugging out of the yard again on an other set of cars to sort, I could have stayed longer just listening to it burbling away pulling and shoving cars with slack run in and out banging away but it was near 23:00 so I figured I'd better find a motel for the night

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

It doesn't get better than a CN noodle with a dash of Amtrak Pepsi topped off with a Warbonnet.

 

[mickoo]

It doesn't get better than a CN noodle with a dash of Amtrak Pepsi topped off with a Warbonnet.

Especially if you chuck in a bit of NS Stallion

Seven trains in under five hours is a pretty good hit rate, plus the switchers in and out.

 

[simond]

Eitherway it took over three minutes for a 110 coal train to pass, at a rough guess on length that's 6000' of train so nearly two miles long, I'm sure you could get a rough speed from that if it took your fancy.

Sorry, Captain, these numbers do not compute…

a mile is 5280 feet, I think our colonial cousins share this measurement, unlike many other whose names are the same (give or take the odd spelling issue) but do not have the same value (tons, pints, gallons, etc). A two mile train must therefore be 10,000 feet plus.

a two mile train passing in three minutes is doing around 2/3 of a mile per minute or 40 mph.

how long are the wagons?

: pedant mode\off

 

[mickoo]

Sorry, Captain, these numbers do not compute…

a mile is 5280 feet, I think our colonial cousins share this measurement, unlike many other whose names are the same (give or take the odd spelling issue) but do not have the same value (tons, pints, gallons, etc). A two mile train must therefore be 10,000 feet plus.

a two mile train passing in three minutes is doing around 2/3 of a mile per minute or 40 mph.

how long are the wagons?

: pedant mode\off

You're right, it's been a long week, I'd got 3280' in my head

Bethgons are 53' between couplers, floods might be a foot shorter or close to the same length, but I've not found the drawings for those yet in my archive. I rounded up to 54' per car and 110 per train but it could be 100 or 130 and I didn't count this one but the two the next day were 130 cars, in the Gorge they were running 110 sets, possibly due to tonnage ratings over the Rockies or Cascades.

By comparison these trains are pretty flat from Powder River Eastward so possible run at 130 due to tonnage/grade allowances.

So if we run with 130 cars at 53' we have 6860 plus three engines at nominally 70' then we have a train length of 7100' so about 1-1/3 mile long.

Bear in mind also the date stamp (17:31 to 17:34) doesn't do seconds so it could be anything from 2:02 to 3.59 minutes (17:31:59 - 17:34:01 or 17:31:01 - 17:34:59).

 

[mickoo]

Finally, the last day, I took it easy and laid in a bit, shameful with so much going on a few miles away but I knew it would be a very long day traveling home, 28 hrs with a 3hr break on the plane. I'd toyed with heading to the Illinois museum or picking up the diamonds at Rochelle but simply opted to stay put in Galesburg, a decision I didn't regret.

Even so, arriving around 10AM and it wasn't long before the first trade turned up, our friendly beat up remote switcher.



The only down side to taking photos this side with the sun is that the switching can impede you view of passing trains the other side, thankfully by the railfan gods, that never happened in the four hours I was there. Having set back a loaded coal train took the window of opportunity to roll by, there was no DPU so the head end were going well on the 130 car train.



Shortly after the first of the Amtraks arrived, I'm kind of getting used to these and they do look sort of smart, not sure if they'll even top the Genesis, certainly not for audio that's for sure.







Because of his conflicting path turning left a stacker had come to a stand in the distance, once the Amtrak was clear he got the signal to go.





As the stacker was wheeling through the remote switcher came out again.



And my first Q car, another bonus for the day.



Much switching back and for the entailed but luckily nothing behind and once he'd finally set back another stacker blew through on the mains.



Shortly after another manifest appeared from the yard with road power and then proceeded to switch it's train back and forth.



Eventually once all made up he set off north with a DPU pushing, despite being a GEVO that GE bark was still there front and centre.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Even so, arriving around 10AM and it wasn't long before the first trade turned up, our friendly beat up remote switcher.

Where is the operator located - for this type of move is he in the cab or on the veranda/walkway and then on the ground when switching? And while switching does he ride the cars in a similar fashion to the DB operators below?

This is a screen grab from the Freilassing webcam with the DB operator standing on the wagon steps and hanging onto the front of the train being pushed across the main lines (as a fair speed) to a recycling plant a few km down the line by the Br 294/Br 295

 

[mickoo]

Second part.

Another loaded coal train rolled through, both units working hard to get up to speed, which they never seemed to achieve, they were really struggling to keep moving on another 130 car train.



Long shot down the 'alley' toward Chicago....eventually...



Shortly after another manifest rolled out of the yard and came to a stand, it was crossing all the line to turn left and was held for an Amtrak, which I missed as it was blocking the view, double Genesis elephant style as well, oh well.



The miss on the Genesis was offset with another CN SD70M-2 in the head end consist. I didn't get much chance to take any detail shots as another stacker on the yard avoider came rolling through.





Three trains in one shot, the Amtrak had just got the all clear and pulled out as the stacker rolled through.



Once the Amtrak was clear then the manifest got under way, two trains rolling out as the stacker DPU came on through and once clear of the depot was being wound right out.



Followed a few moments later by the manifest DPU, not pushing so hard as he was swicthing across all the line to head west.



A short lull and then another Amtrak, I decided to try and get some overall wider shots so opted for a cluttered half barrier shot; in the back ground you can see another manifest crawling out of the yard.



Once clear of the depot the Amtrak opened up and got up to line speed, with a combined 8400 HP on tap they soon take off.



I took one grab shot of the manifest for a record shot as it had clouded over and that horrible cast was prevalent, plus it was fast approaching 14:00 and I need to wash up, get changed and hit the road for the airport, Sat nav said three hours but the motel desk lady said allow four, she was right, it took 4:20 as traffic was a right shitter on I294.

So ended a long weekend in part of the world I'd never expected to visit nor had on my bucket list, not my scenery maan. I much prefer the open areas or steep hills where trains are working hard or moving fast, but, I have to say, there were some super places to take photos and well worth a re-visit and Transcon 2 once again kept it's appeal with endless trains.

I may well sack off the Gorge and North West next time, fly into Chicago and just chase Transcon 2 down to LA and fly out of there.

 

[mickoo]

Where is the operator located - for this type of move is he in the cab or on the veranda/walkway and then on the ground when switching? And while switching does he ride the cars in a similar fashion to the DB operators below?

This is a screen grab from the Freilassing webcam with the DB operator standing on the wagon steps and hanging onto the front of the train being pushed across the main lines (as a fair speed) to a recycling plant a few km down the line by the Br 294/Br 295

View attachment 220761

As far as I know he's still in the yard, possibly the control tower, kinda scary seeing no one in the cab or anywhere near, they do have a cab cam so I presume that feeds back so they have some basic view ahead; I couldn't see any static cams they might be able to use either.



Given the weight and length of these trains, seeing someone and trying to stop is academic, you can't stop even if you're sat in the cab, big manifests are in the 12-13,000t range and only a few head end cars are piped whilst switching, speed is low (I'd guess around 10-15mph) and once the run in shock has passed it still takes five or six cars passing to come to a stand.

You also get no warning when he starts moving again, usually you can hear the brakes release or the train pipe charge, but being unpiped the first thing you hear (if the the run in has loosened) is the run in coming back and then they jolt off pretty quick, often the run in is still in full compression so you get no warning and the train just jolts away.

On this drag only the first 20 are piped which seemed to be the norm from the ones I took notice of.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I've become used to seeing DB remote operators all over their trains as they also have to couple and uncouple the train - and switch points if not in the main yard.

I'll have to try and find some fillum of US remote switching operations and there must be a maximum range for remote switching operations.

I wonder if they just use remote switching in yards rather than for both yard and short runs to industries as on the DB.

Ah well.... looks like another rabbit hole to dive into to find out more.....

 

[Big Train James]

I don't think I've ever seen locomotives run remotely anywhere outside of yard limits. I'm not even sure its allowed by FRA rules to not have a qualified engineer in the seat for any sort of over the road moves. I could easily be proven wrong though.

In my experience in Denver, the operator is on the ground with two other crewmen. They all line switches at various positions in the ladder. The last guy usually pulls the cut levers to release cars. The middle guy mostly just lines switches. And the guy at the head end of the throat mostly operates the train, but throws a few switches as well.

In the standard mode, it would have still been a three man crew, but the engineer wouldn't have ever left the seat. The other two guys would have both covered more ground to line the switches up and down the ladder. There would be a lot more walking, and hence less work getting done.

I'm not sure what function is being performed by those trains Mick sees. I don't think they flat switch at Galesburg, and hump operations usually use more power, so I doubt it's classification. Maybe they are assembling cuts of classified cars into trains ready to head out. If that's the case then I bet the operation is similar to Denver with the remote operator on the ground lining switches. For hump ops, I'm not sure who runs the locos.

 

[mickoo]

Having looked closely again at the photos blown up, you can just make out the crew on the remote switcher, an engineer and a conductor, but only in the day time shots, I can't see anyone in the evening or dusk shots but I didn't take many to be conclusive.

They appear to be switching cuts of cars, sometimes one or two but mostly bigger cuts, most of the time they come out, switch back and forth two or three times then head back, but occasionally they'll be going back and forth a lot more, it seems endless but probably only ten or so times over 20-30 mins.

 

[Big Train James]

I'm sure they are assembling smaller cuts of pre-blocked cars into full trains, gathering shorter strings from various individual classification tracks and putting them together on a departure yard track. Because of the longer trains the railroads tend to run these days, they often run out of space on a single departure yard track for the entire train (same happens on inbound trains into the receiving yard). The road power normally assembles those full length cuts of cars into the final train just prior to departure.

I'm not sure why a conductor would be in the cab for switching moves, even if the unit was in manned operation. They should be on the ground further back, lining switchers or calling out directions to the engineer regarding closing distances and couplings, etc.

The camera in the cab may simply be left over from the loco's days as a road engine. Most locos these days have cameras as part of their event recording equipment, as a CYA thing in case of a collision of some sort. I suppose they could be repurposed to provide a live feed to the person operating the RC box, but I don't think the controller pack has a video screen to display a live feed. My guess is they know that the length of the yard lead is at least as long as any of the departure yard tracks, which is how it should be. If so, pulling even a full cut of cars from one track won't run the loco past the end of the lead. In theory, anyway.....

Edit: just found a photo of BNSF 647 with the cab cam already installed in 2010, when it was still a road loco.

Jim

 

[mickoo]

Well two years on and I had the good fortune to visit the US again with Richard, JB, Jim and Stephen so I'll post some photos here once edited, to be fair 90% are rolling stock photos for reference, there are a few arty shots and some overall train shots.

They're in no particular order other than random cherry picking them out of the pile. Richard is giving a more detailed run down in his thread, mine are more like the day, a typical canine ball, rabbit, stick, squirrel situation, so much to see, so frequent and lots of repositioning trying to get shots....and in the processing missing quite a bit as well.

I'm not up to speed on the area so a bit out of depth on some details, Richard is the 'local snake' here, I'm more West coast and Pacific North West. I also decided against taking the tele lens and that wasn't a smart move the glass on the low end zoom is not at it's best pulled right out so the images loose some clarity at higher focal lengths.

First up is the Coke express, rolling down the loop line to rejoin the CSX main. There was plenty of time to position and take multiple shots as he was crawling down at around 2-3 mph; the reason being was due to him having to stop a few hundred yards past the crossing and reset the switch to the main. The previous South Shore local light units had taken the branch but did not reset the switch behind.



My stock of NS trains is (was) very limited, this trip made up for that in spades, a south bound Intermodal rips though the crossing, the line is on a very gentle rising grade and most trains were max capacity tonnage so they're pulling hard here (superb audio).



Moments later a north bound NS stacker rolls slowly along, JB and RC doing the honors on the crossing. I've called this track three but it could be one, to the north I believe there's a yard or conflict point and most rains on this line were slow moving or block creeping whilst waiting for access somewhere north/east.



A mere 12 minutes later this BNSF came storming through at track speed, by far the fastest train of the day and probably close to permitted speed of 75mph, it's something else to see a 12-15,000 ton 2 mile stacker ripping it up at 75 mph.



later in the day a CN manifest had come across the bridge and held at the yard limits, there's a three track under bridge, the nearest line is a the CN departure line but often used to make up a total train. I'm surmising the yard can only assemble half trains as the departing train would draw out then set back and wait 20 minutes before departing, the delay being typical for charging the extra 50-60 cars and doing a brake test. The other two lines were the shunt lines in and out of the yard and dozens of switcher combos ran up and down here all day.

A truck full of railroad workers pulled up and had a chat with us (everyone was so friendly) and the puddle is jokingly called the gator or piranha pit. The CN manifest has got clearance into the yard and the conductor has just returned to the cab after setting the switch. On the centre track another shunt is drawing out of the yard.



JB gets the low angle as the CN manifest (one of several that day) starts to roll into the yard.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

A truck full of railroad workers pulled up and had a chat with us (everyone was so friendly) and the puddle is jokingly called the gator or piranha pit. The CN manifest has got clearance into the yard and the conductor has just returned to the cab after setting the switch. On the centre track another shunt is drawing out of the yard.

JB gets the low angle as the CN manifest (one of several that day) starts to roll into the yard.

Nice photos, shame they weren't a few paces rearwards to get the top of the bridge and tank car in the reflection.