on csx ive noticed 3 engines instead of 2 on powder river coal trains.question is when it gets to chicago is the 3rd engine still pushing or is it already attached to the front?
stay safe
Joe
It seems like whenever I see a coal train with a CSX engine in the mix here, they’re all up-front, like this shot I got a week ago…
brian
the train i saw today had 3 bnsf pumpkins on the front.
stay safe
joe
Any coal train that will be interchanged to another railroad normally operates with all three locomotives on the headend.
This may be done since the engineers on the road receiving the train may not be qualified on proper operation of distributed power.
Not just not qualified but the railroads refuse DP powered trains.CSX NS and a few Chicago connectors will not run a DPU train. Instead of leaving them conventional out in the west they DP them and send them east anyway.To be reconfigured out on the mainline by Hostlers tying them up and making our velocity go down hill. Which in turn give the terminal super fits.
Now they run a DPU manifest from the Dakotas to my yard talk about nuts!
yeah i can see them make the engine go all the way around the train.thats why I was saying wouldnt it be better for a 2 engine train and the western rr can have their engine for a westbound.
stay safe
joe