On Sat. evening I saw the CN transfer just getting underway from Northtown Yard. They were departing from the same section of the yard where I’ve seen them leaving from before (probably the same track), over near the University Ave. overpass. A CN six-axle unit on the lead and an IC SD40-2 secondary.
This brought-up a question:
I believe most railroads block cars in their yards for pick-up by the other railroads who come in to interchange, so a foreign road need only go to one track to get their outbound train. This would make the most sense.
Does it ever occur that foreign power has to go hunting-around in another railroad’s yard to find all the cars they are to take? I wouldn’t think that would be a good situation.
Inquiring minds want to know…
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Where carriers interchange traffic with each other there are designated ‘Interchange Track(s)’. Cars for interchange are only place on these tracks. If there is more traffic for Interchange than the Interchange Track(s) can physically accomodate, then the carrier having the excess traffic can file a Rule 15 Per Diem Reclaim against the receiving carrier. The Per Diem Reclaim, in theory, permits the delivering carrier to receive from the receiving carrier the Per Diem charges for the cars that should have been delivered but couldn’t because of the receiving carriers inability to keep movement on the interchange track(s) fluid.
In the real world, after Per Diem Reclaims are filed they become bargaining chips in the relations between the carriers on friction points that exist. All the major carriers have a number of points where the relations between connection carriers are somewhat less than cordial.
Also note that an entire yard itself can be designated an interchange point.
This is usually governed by the local union contract, as well as negotiated between the different carriers.
Where I work, the entire yard, with the exception of the rip track, is considered an interchange point.
That said, common sense dictates that you put each carriers cars in a designated series of track on a regular basis, so the “foreign” crew doesn’t have to hunt for them.
For the most part, yard transfer crews aren’t strangers to the yards they work, they are often the same guys day after day, it is a gravy job that old heads love, little work beyond folding up the tracks, and depending on where and when, either a quit every day, or all the hours and overtime you can stand.
If a double over or a series of double overs is needed, then you try to keep that carriers cars in adjacent tracks to facilitate such a move.
Sometimes, when a foreign line has a small interchange cut, I think about telling them to spot the cars right on the RIP track. Most of them end up there anyways…saves the carmen from having to walk over there.
Usually, when we take cars or a train to a foreign yard, they tell us where they want the cars, and where our outbound cars are.
As I’ve said before - if you want the straight poop, go to the experts!
[bow]
In Spokane, Washington, UP’s Plummer Turn routinely enters BNSF’s Erie Street Yard to interchange cars. I recall reading somewhere that this dates back to NP days. Erie Street is about halfway between the Amtrak station and the main yard at Yardley/Parkwater. BNSF also uses Erie Street to stage blocks of grain hoppers and other cars. UP crews must coordinate the move with BNSF’s Boyer West dispatcher and Yardley tower. East of there at Hauser, Idaho, MRL crews run their trains in and out of BNSF’s yard and refueling facility. They will often do work in the yard before the train is taken over by a BNSF crew. Example: when a westbound like HKCKPAS has Boeing cars on the headend, the MRL crew will set those over to a separate track and put their power back on the train. Later, a BNSF train to Seattle will pick up the Boeings. The presence of MRL at Hauser is probably more of a trackage rights/run-through thing than foreign access.