Got another for my forum friends: On our local BNSF line this evening, I saw a standard coal train except for a couple of things. First, it had two engines on both engines. (not unusual. I have seen sets on both ends before.) Second, (and this is the unusual part) one engine each of the sets was a engine lettered for Kansas City Southern (KCS). It was too dark to see the numbers on the units, however.
Two thoughts I had: Run-through agreement with the KCS. Short on motive power and leasing units.
Any clarification on why those units were there would be welcomed.
Foreign power goes thru here all the time. Mostly NS and CSX. Did see one UP.
I have been told they are “you owe me time or I owe you time”. And…KCS runs a grain train through here pretty regularly. Entire train is KCS and a good looking train.
You’ve covered two options, and Ms Mook brings up a third.
Run through power may be used if it’s easier to do so than to change power out (for any number of reasons). Running a Diesel is pretty much the same no matter whose you’re in, so it’s not a steep learning curve.
Railroads do lease power, both from leasing companies, and from other railroads which may be experiencing a surplus of motive power. Or they may just borrow power (see the next paragraph).
And run-through power can also cause one railroad to owe another “horsepower hours.” The railroads have entire offices dedicated to tracking that, and I’m sure there’s a fairly complicated formula for doing so.
I’m betting that if the hours owed between any two railroads reaches zero, it’s a fleeting event.
Lots of UP power comes thru here on CSX, occasionally I see BNSF locomotives, and two times saw a KCS locomotive. Would love to know the story behind my most unusual sighting - a CSX loco towing an NS unit.
How does it work with Amtrak when they use a freight carrier’s power? Last week I saw a 7 hour late #8 Empire Builder blasting through Nordeast Minneapolis with BNSF power on the point. Only one Amtrak unit trailing, so they either hit something or the P42 croaked and was not able to be towed dead.
When would the clock start? From the time the BNSF unit was dispatched to meet the stranded EB or from the time it coupled up to it?
Also, who would drive the thing? An Amtrak or BNSF engineer?
Last week I saw a UP stack train on the UP near Sierra Blanca, TX. The lead locomotive was an UP unit, follow by a Norfolk and Southern unit and a CSX unit.
When run through power or leased power runs on a foreign road; that is say, off of its owner’s road, does the lead locomotive need to be from the road that the units are running on?
It depends on the needs of the road they’re running on. UP uses cab signals on some routes and one of their locomotives is usually in the lead. Elsewhere, it doesn’t make much difference which one leads.
Would post this in the Chatterbox, but everyone knows no one reads the CB.
So in keeping with the theme, we saw NS as a lead engine with the 2nd motor BNSF. Then the two DPU’s were both NS. Train was headed to Atlanta (loaded coal)
Another loaded coal going east with UP first and BNSF 2nd. We don’t see that much UP on any of the trains, except the local.
I thought NS didn’t have DPUs ? Or maybe just a few for run-throughs like this ? I don’t believe they’re used a lot on the home rails - correct, or not ?
Can’t speak to NS directly, CSX’s last several orders of new locomotives have been equipped for DPU. Selectively CSX has been training crews on specific territories on the use of DPU. CSX has had to install a number of ‘radio repeaters’ to permit the use of DPU’s as they require reliable communications between the control unit and the distributed units and many of the territories where DPU is intended to be used do not have the proper ‘line of sight’ to create reliable end to end radio communications. I suspect NS may be undertaking the same process.
As of a few years and upgrades ago, DP units no longer have to be “family.” Foreign line engines can now be recognized by the home railroad’s engines for DP purposes.
Today, I had a couple of really foreign engines, two Ferromex engines. Consecutively numbered to boot and they weren’t new ones being delivered. They came up north on an empty grain train. I only got to run them around the wye to get the UP engine on the front of the consist for cab signal/ATC purposes. (Then I find the UP engine once started has a fountain of water leaking from the radiator site glass and the bottom inlet valve is broken. The diesel house was able to fix it so the leak was stopped.) Most things were marked in both English and Spanish. A few only in English, a few only in Spanish. Luckily those in Spanish only were on switches that are standard to all models no matter the owner. There was one that was in Spanish only and not in a standard location. I have no idea what it was for, only that it was off.
Jeff - we used to see Ferromex every so often - & always on a grain train.
But it has been awhile and either they are running at really odd times, or just not coming thru here any more.
But another question: We keep seeing a container train - mostly JB Hunt, but with some other names sprinkled in - also UPS. Is this the “infamous” JB Hunt train that people talk about or is that a train that is only Hunt?