In the last two weeks, I have seen something I never thought I’d see; intermodal trains running remotes.
Now, I’m very familiar with remotes - for those not familiar with the term, those are radio-controlled pushers, either cut into a train about 2/3 of the way back, or pushing at the end. Locally, BNSF is about half and half (half cut in, half pushing at the end), and UP always uses pushers. Typically there will be 2 or 3 units at the head end, with a GE unit (usually an AC4400) on the point, and a pair of AC4400’s as remotes.
But in my years of train watching, I have never seen remotes on an intermodal train. Until now.
When I saw the first one, about 2 weeks ago, I thought it was just a fluke. But I saw one again this morning. Both were BNSF trains, southbound (westbound in BNSF terms?) out of Sacramento, on UP track. And in both cases, they had the usual pair of AC4400’s bringing up the rear.
bout time rr’s started using pushers on some of those long heavy stackers !!! arent some of those stackers heavier than coalies?? get them trains a rollin !!!
Well UP is still using only head end power on intermodals up the hill, here on the Cascade Sub, of Oregon Division, but the heavy lumber trains are a different story, most pick-up a set of two helpers on the rear-end and most are put on here in Oakridge, since the real push begins here, and of course the crews cut off at the top and come back to here and get a ride back to the Engine board in Eugene
CPR has been running remotes on intermodal trains for the past three years. Usually eastbound stack trains out of Vancouver have one tail end remote, which gets cut off at Calgary. Westbounds out of Montreal and Toronto have the remote unit marshalled mid-train and are de-robotized at either Winnipeg or Calgary.
When Trains made an article about helpers a few years ago, I saw a picture of two DP-equiped SD40-2 (both of which is facing the oppisite direction) assisting an intermodal on the Tehachapi Loop. I wasn’t sure if they were placed half-way or two-thirds-way down from the head-end, which was on top of the Loop.
yes this one is correct story that up is using radio controlled for the pusher and remotes … that i have seen on rochelle train park as far i saw stackers and coal cars and auto cars too, keep in mind to level load weight of pulling power… [:)]
Most interesting. Even on my occasional runs through the Mojave desert, where everything has distrubuted power, I’ve never seen it on intermodal trains.
Then again, it has been a year or three since I blew through there, and I live in California’s nearly flat San Joaquin Valley, so I don’t see all that much distributed power to start with.
If they were SD40-2s then they were more likley to be Locotrol remote units not DPU. They are different systems. But I don’t think Locotroll (or Locotroll 2) has been used in years onTehachapi due to signal loss in the tunnels. I could be wrong though.
Locotroll was different then DPU. They only worked one way and a unit was either a master or a slave. The slave units were easily spotted as they had the longer short hoods (aka snoots) for the controll gear. DPU on the other hand is much more flexable and a DPU unit can be a master or a slave. You can also have independant controll of multiple DPU consists on one train.
You mean the lead engine was a remote or the stacker had DPU power besides head end non remote power? If you are talking of DPU on a stacker I guess you have not yet been to the Cajon Pass in California where you see DPUs on stackers all the time. [:p]
It has been at least 2 or 3 years since I’ve been through Cajon Pass, and last time through I didn’t see any Distributed Power on intermodal. That’s why I was caught guard seeing it locally.
The other thing is that with the advent of remote control yard units, the terminology seems to have changed as well. I had heard helpers referred to as remotes, but that appears to have been from the Locotroll days, and is no longer used.
UP uses DPU on manifest trains between Bakersfield and West Colton. Other then that they dont use DPU in Cajon pass. There are no stack trains on that route because ATSF paid for the tunnel clearance improvements on the Tehachapi line and SP (UP) can not run domestic doublestacks unless they reimburse the ATSF (BNSF) for the construction costs.
On the BNSF lines in Cajon they still use manned helpers. I have never seen a doublestack, or any other BNSF train for that matter, use DPU in the pass (and I go up there 10 or more times a year).