There are several examples of directional railroading. The one comes to mind is the UP (ex Cotton Belt and MoPac) in Arkansas. The lines are several miles apart but are basically used as routes for either Northbound or Southbound trains.
How are the logistics of crew changes handled.
For example…a crew based out of Little Rock runs south to the crew change point, then returns north on the Cotton Belt route to another terminal. How does the crew travel home? Is a taxi provided?
What other logistics issues are there in bi-di running?
Out here in the wild west of Arizona, Union Pacific has a contract with a company named Renzberger (sp?) to ferry relief crews to remote areas in 9-passenger vans, and there may be similar arrangements where you live.
They run NWD on the MP and SWD on the SSW. NWD crews are vanned between N Little Rock and Pine Bluff , at the other end crews are vanned between Big Sandy and Longveiw.
In those thrilling days of yesteryear (early 60’s), we were moved around terminals by clerks driving company vans; deadheading (DH)was on passenger trains or buses. DH’s to places, not thusly served, were in those 60’s & 70’s giant Station wagons under contract to a local entrepeneur…and later, then equipped with early GM Suburbans.
In the late '60s and mid '70’s, changes, ch, ch, changes. A Greyhound bus DH would pollute or pleasure you… Marijuana smoke in the back of the coach.
Some clerks were displaced from their crew transporting in big yards (Roseville) by the above mentioned entrepeneur’s employes.
By the early 80’s, drug ingestion by blue-pooch bus, and random drug testing, since THC rode around in your hair, the DH’s died where DH was involved and commercial taxis substituted.
Which gave birth to services, Rentzenberger among others, which transport crews: intra- or inter-terminal, “patch” and “dog-catch,” Recrew at an outlying connection, with the NWP near Sonoma. Then the NWP was washed out; so was the SD&AE.
FROM DENVER BNSF RUNS SOUTHWARD LOADED COAL TRAINS TO PUEBLO AND THEN EAST TO LA JUNTA WHERE CREWS ARE CHANGED. THE NEXT CREW TAKES THE TRAIN TO AMARILLO WHERE AGAIN CREWS ARE CHANGED. THE LJ TO AMO CREWS ARE RESTED AND THEN TAKE EMPTY COAL TRAINS NORTHWARD ON THE FORMER C&S TO TRINIDAD. A NEW CREW TAKES THE TRAIN TO DENVER. CREWS ARE VANNED FROM LJ TO TRINIDAD WHERE THEY CAN THEN RETURN TO DEN. THE AMO CREWS ARE VANNED FROM TRINIDAD TO LJ WHERE THEY CAN THEN RETURN TO AMO.
In Binghamton, NY both the CP and NS have hired out of town taxi services, each different, to move crews around town and their respective divisions. NYSW ferries their own crews. As for directional running…the B&M and CV used to operate along the Connecticut River using B&M northbound on the east bank and CV southbound on the west bank between the junction near E. Northfield, MA and Brattleboro, VT. There were many such operations around the country, some permanent, many at different times, some trials, some for freight only while passenger trains plied both ways. Some for long distances of hundreds of miles while others were short, under five or ten miles.
The NS and CSX tracks might be a candidate for directional running to and from Chicago ? Not being familiar with train routings and closeness of tracks may or may not be feasible ? Temporary operation might give some track time to allow for further infrastructure improvements ? Of course the Amtrak trains cause this to be rather difficult ? Any possibility of on east to Toledo ?
Where directional operation gets established. Crewing the runs is a matter of Local Agreement between the unions involved and the carrier establishing the operation. The Agreement that gets negotiated can implement virtually any option in how to staff trains within the framework of the Hours of Service law.
Crews may work one way and deadhead home. Crews may work both ways on assigned trains with rest at the away terminal. Crews may work both ways on a pool assignment. Crews may be home at terminals at either end and there be agreement giving away crews priority in being called home.
The agreements can be as varied as the individuals that were involved in their negotiation. Each agreement sets up its own set of rules for the benefit/protection of the employees involved.
The UP uses directional running north of Kansas City, between Omaha/Council Bluffs and Des Moines. Most north bounds come out of KC on the exMP to Omaha, then east over the exCNW to the Nevada connection then north towards the Twin Cities. (Some empty grain and ethanol trains go north at Grand Jct, IA towards the NW Iowa grain lines.) Even trains headed for KC and points south and west out of Council Bluffs (and grain trains out of Nebraska City) take the long way via Des Moines.
South bounds out of Iowa and Minnesota go south via Des Moines.
The crews out of KC on the exMP are the same crews who work the exCNW/RI between KC and Des Moines. After getting off the train at Omaha/Council Bluffs, they usually cab directly to Des Moines for rest. Sometimes, if they are close to expiring on their HOS, they may be tied up in Council Bluffs for rest. Then once legally rested, they are deadheaded to Des Moines. Usually they tie up again for rest, but they have tried putting them on trains right away. It’s about a 3 hour van ride from CB to DM, but throw in waiting for the van and it can consume a lot of time needed on the train portion of the trip to KC.
Are those two lines (ex RI and ex MoPac) insufficient to handle a larger volume of trains? Do the lines not have sidings, CTC, etc?
Also, the Union Pacific trains per day:2003 map published in Trains Magazine shows bi-di running from KC to Hiawatha, Ks and then across to Marysville. Was this for the coal traffic? Is that still running that direction. From KC to Hiawatha the daily trains were shown as 29 (with average of less than 5000 tons). From Hiawatha north the train count dropped to 5. The ex RI line shows 9 per day to Des Moines.
Obviously things have changed in 11 years with ethanol entering the picture, but CB toDM is a big ride. Just trying to figure out the reasoning why this is done this way.
Without pulling out a time table, as I recall the exMP is a mix of CTC and ABS/TWC. I think the CTC ends where that other line branches off. I think they still move empty coal trains like you said.
The exRI is now all CTC. There was about a 65 mile gap just south of Des Moines, from the south end of Carlisle siding to the junction with the Golden State route at Allerton. The UP has been extending CTC between those points and I think they finished that a couple years ago. South of Polo MO, they have a paired track agreement with the DM&E/CPRS that goes back to MILW/RI days. The CP controls that section, as well as the Truman bridge. I’ve read where CP has held out UP trains that were questionable on making it across the joint trackage because of HOS.
I think most sidings along the exRI are still in the 6 to 7000 ft range. I’ve heard there are plans to extend and maybe add some sidings in the near future. (I’ve heard there are long term plans to double track the line.) Once they can handle longer trains, the route may become bi-directional again.
It should be noted that once in a while some trains do buck the directional trend on both lines. Probably more so on the exRI.
A few years back there was a thread here with detailed descriptions of the CN - CP paired track operation in British Columbia’s Fraser River canyon, esp. the crew change points. However, without a decent Forum-only Search function, I’m not about to try to find it unless I can think of more details to narrow down the results list.