Keating

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I am curently working an assignment in Port Alleghany on the PRR/CR/NS Buffalo line.

A Northbound just passed, a very rare occurance - most are in daylight except the local, and it had a ton of power on it. 3 SD40-2’s another 6 axle and a GP type (it was dark and I couldn’t make out for sure the last 2, and it was pulling 31 cars. 2 covered hoppers and a mix of 2 and 4 bay hoppers doing the Hawbaker shuffle. The 29 mixed hoppers will get dropped at the Hawbaker aggregate plant in Turtlepoint. Then it heads north to Buffalo, probably picking up cars in yards along the way, like Olean. It looks very odd seeing all that power pulling two cars. I caught one one afternoon, 3 -9’s with 11 cars and that was odd.

What is the grade over Keating that they need all that on it?

Thanks

2

Grade is 2.6 % and NS just recently had a bad derailment there (runaway?). Killed fish in a popular fishing stream for 7 miles!!!

3

Thanks
I went to the bookstore and picked up the latest Trains and there it was, a table had the grade.

4

Keating summit has 2.6% grade northbound and 2.2% grade southbound.

Conrail had a four unit set of 6 axel high hp, assigned to the hill for helpers

that were stationed in Olean N.Y

5

NS doen’t keep helpers anymore. I went by the yard in Olean and all that was there was the CoG GP38-2 that the local uses.

There is a NS southbound sitting in Port Alleghany now. I guess is is waiting on a crew. All the engines are shut down. It as a -9, B39-2, and 3 SD40-2’s. The train is 3 2bay covered hoppers, 5 autoracks, 1 boxcar, and about 15 gondolas. Lot of power.