So there is this shipper by where I go jogging every day - and on certain nights, roughly about the same time, I see a crew with about 20 hopper cars on the industrial lead. Now basically this leads comes off the main - parallels the main for about a mile, then there is a siding on the lead that holds about 11-12 cars, and then there is the shipper, to which the crews have to back the cars into. This is the only shipper on the lead and the lead track ends after the shipper. So in all honesty, I’ve never actually seen this train moving - just seen the loco sitting by the shipper at the siding with the train split and half the train on the siding - or the loco sitting on the other side of the train and on the other side of the lead waiting for the signal to enter the main. Now, on multiple occasions, the train just sits there before the shipper - sometimes I’ve been in sight of it for up to 30 minutes, and it never moves! It clearly still needs to deliver the cars. What in the world is that train crew waiting for? They are on the clock, there is obviously nothing in front of them on the line, wouldn’t NS want them to get the cars delivered and empties picked up in a timely fashion?
You’re not giving enough information, such as the commodity being handled, the type of industry being switched, etc. Perhaps the crew of the wayfreight (I assume it’s a wayfreight job, and not a through freight that handles the customer) goes to beans at the same time every night. There are a myriad of reasons why things could be, but probably only one or two real answers. You could do something most unusual: you could ask them! Seriously, most of us don’t mind talking about what we do, with certain limitations of course. I can’t tell you, though, how many times I’ve waved to someone taking a picture only to be ignored. All that big, fancy equipment doesn’t do a thing without someone to run it.
Yes, it is a way freight just for the shipper - there are no other shippers around. Regarding the commodity, well it’s something that goes into hopper cars, it goes to what looks like a grain elevator, and there are always semi trucks leaving from there… although I really don’t know what it could be… this place is pretty close to downtown Chicago - last shipper on the tracks before Amtrak union station. Type coordinates 41.888369 N 87.659696 W into Google Earth (or google maps) and you’ll the shipper right there with the bunch of hopper cars… the siding on the industrial lead is just to the west. But yeah, asking them one night wouldn’t be a bad idea!
Blue flags?, derails?, gates? …could be a multitude of things on the industry side of the issue.
Some Gates - no blue flags or derails. There being gates - 1. wouldn’t the RR have the key? or 2. Wouldn’t the industry promptly open them so as to not keep the RR waiting? Because I stress they ALWAYS wait…
Although hard to believe, some industries are just NOT ‘on-the-ball’. Around here, on my scanner I hear a lot of times that the train is there, but the industry is not ready. Sometimes they forget to open gates, or light/extinguish certain signal/control lights and the RR is NOT allowed to proceed until the industrial lead is ready for them. I have heard callls back and forth between the train and the dishbasher to call the industry office to get them to do something. Later I hear that they (the industry) were going to call an employee to come in from their home to take care of the problem (usually to turn off the Red light)!! Sounds pretty dumb to me, but I hear it OFTEN!
I believe that it happens… but not every single time though… that’s why I’m thinking there is a bit more to this story…
There are a number of reasons the train is just ‘sitting’ there:
-
Crew is on lunch hour
-
Shipper is still loading/uloading a set of cars before these new cars can be set out.
-
Crew has set out the first set for loading, and is waiting for the cars to be loaded. They then will spot the second set for loading. The crew could be ‘on call’ …
Jim
Wrong. The railroads want the work done in a SAFE fashion.
Well obviously everyone wants to be safe, but I’m sure that railroad management wants to get stuff done as quick as possible while still maintaining safety. I’m sure some guys out there use safety as an excuse for dragging their feet… and I can’t condone doing that.
No smart manager will ever tell a rail crew to “hurry up”. I follow the rules when I work - and you would be surprised how long it takes to service an industry. It’s not dragging your feet - it is working as you are obligated to (by rulebook).
Could also be possible the train gets re-crewed there daily, or it has to wait for a window to get back on the main, or one of many things which make this the greatest job in the world.
zugmann posted both of the possible reasons that I was thinking. So about what time of day/ night / evening does this happen ? Your descriptions above of the situation mentioned both “day” and “night” - but I’m presuming you’re not out jogging in that area after sundown, are you ?
- Paul North.
Actually it’s usually around dusk - 8-9 PM timeframe. They are always there at the same time, although I haven’t figured out a pattern which days yet though. Sometimes if I go late, like 9-10:30 PM, they will be heading out the other way, and waiting for the signal to get off the lead and back onto the main.
That is CP’s ex-MILW line. This is a very busy Metra commuter line from about 3:30 PM in the afternoon until around 7:30 PM in the evenings. Since you mentioned that the trains is at the other end of the siding waiting for a signal later in the evenings; I would suspect the dispatcher has held the train there while waiting for the evening rush hour parade of bi-level ‘scoots’ to head west to the suburbs.
Many times arriving freight trains from the west are held many miles out while the commuter trains are heading out to the suburbs west of Chicago. When I worked for the ‘Q’, if we had a transfer at Eola Yard heading back to Cicero Yard: We would be held until the big surge of WB commuter trains had passed. After 3:30 PM, nothing got in the way of the passenger trains.
Jim
Get a car initial and number…
I could see that being the case for the train leaving the industry waiting to get back on the main, but it doesn’t make sense for the wait at the industry. And I will also get a number and initials off one of the hopper cars.
I’d agree w/ the comment above regarding waiting for the commuter curfew. If you go North of Chicago, just north of Libertyville, you’ll see the CP main just east of 294 (near Abbott Labs.) It’s pretty common during the AM or PM rush to see CP road freights holding there, just north of the switch that breaks off of the CP main over to Libertyville and Grayslake area. They stay up there in the clear until the commuter rush is done.
If you asked a crew member in a nice way and didn’t put yourself in harm’s way to do so, they just might tell you what the deal is. Worst that might happen is they tell you it’s none of your business.
Ok, so there was a hopper car SOO 120136 What do we do with this information?
Well, I feel very qualified to answer this question. The commodity is indeed grain and I go by that industry twice daily. My questions would be who exactly does the servicing as I’ve seen both NS and BNSF power making that run, sometimes on the same day. I don’t know where the job originates, but it comes up UP’s Rockwell Sub (up from the direction of the Global One intermodal terminal). They have a GE 25-ton switcher in the plant itself to move cars around. The job is confined by the hours the scoots/dinkies operate. The job has to cross the interlocking at Tower A-2/Western Avenue, which is controlled by Metra and it operates down the Rockwell Sub which is controlled by the UP Chicago Terminal dispatcher. Again, it is NOT a UP job, so it probably rates way down there on either the tower op’s or the dispatcher’s priorities. I know I’ve heard the op at A-2 tell him he’s going to be sitting there for awhile. That industry gets service at least 3 or 4 times per week.