What kind of trains are always considered hotshots, and what are considered dog trains?
Karn[:)]
hot: pig trains, containers and other high value, time sensitive cargo
not: coal, aggregates and other low value non time sensitive cargo
Hotshots are also sometimes refered to as “Fast Freights” or “Highballs”
and dog trains are also sometimes refered to as “Local Freights” or “Milk Runs” (if they are making multiple stops).
Is it safe to say that passenger service like commuter train or Amtrak a hotshot also?
Karn[:)]
Rkarn,
Yes, in Chicago, Amtrak and Metra are “THE HOTSHOTS” Then goes, pigs, auto trains, hot freights. Sometimes, like what happened to me a few days ago, your train becomes hot when you are going to reach hours of service soon and there’s nowhere to put you. I was waiting at Barr Yard in Riverdale for an empty coal train for 5 1/2 hours before it made it to the yard. Then when we boared we had to wait an additional two hours just to get moving. So, by the time we came into UP’s Yard Center in Dolton, we were on short time, about three hours 20 minutes to make it to Danville and it would take all of that to make it there. In that case we became a hot train and we tied down with a minute to spare on #2 main at Voorhees street in Danville. So, you just never know what can be hot sometimes.
Thank you very much. This topic reminds me to ask another question I, as a foreigner, always would like to know. How long does it take for, let’s say, an intermodal train to travel from Long Beach, CA to North Bergen, NJ usually? I do not know if this particular service actually does exist, but I thought I recall skimming an article in TRAINS magazine about a year or two ago about the train experimenting to cross the country in a short amount of time. I had no idea then how long it should have taken so I did not know whether it saved time a lot or not. The next question also is, is it indeed practicable for a train to travel at that amount of time? Does it need a VERY SPECIAL arrangement??
Karn[:)]
I wouldn’t call Amtrak a hotshot, sadly. They always put Amtrak in the siding because it isn’t making the host railroad any money.
Some trains are hot and some are not. For example trailers (UPS) are the hottest of freight, while autos although high value are not nearly as time sensitive. Some intermodal trains are hot and others not so hot. Typically passenger trains, “varnish” is a priority train. Examples of other priority trains are the “Juice” train on CSX carrying Tropicana Orange Juice and mail or express trains.
LC
Yeah, it is interesting to watch at Tehachapi and see several trailer and container trains sitting while a train with UPS trailers hauls down the grade. You certainly know what’s hot on BNSF. And for me as a traveler, I’d rather those trailers be flying down the UP main, since there’s already enough of them on highway 58 to keep me on edge.