I have some doubt how switching was and is done in Houston.
The class 1 RR have their classification yards. That is not subject of this set of questions. I am asking about servicing industries all over the city.
The harbor area is served by the PTRA. The other area is served by the HBT. The PTRA has been founded by the city to support the harbor. The HBT has been founded by the big boys about 100 years ago to get rid of the burden of local switching.
Where is the need for e.g. SP(UP) and/or AT&SF(BNSF) to serve local industry spurs with their own switchers?
Question 1: That would mean I shall not run SP(UP) or AT&SF(BNSF) engines at all on my small industry switching layout but HBT.
The old conflict between Houston and Galveston lead to the ATSF route passing Houston in the west. ATSF attached to Houston later from the south via a long detour and some tracking rights from the west to get their prominent passenger trains in and out. But ATSF did never build a significant of network of rails in Houston that could connect to a remarkable number of industries.
Question 2: If my industry area is not served by HBT, would AT&SF (BNSF) not the last of all choices? Wouldn’t it be much more realistic to serve it by SP (UP) because they have the history of serving the city while ATSF only connected to the city? Except small industrial areas in the south of Houston linked to the old AT&SF route from Galveston.
The HBT has been founded about 100 years ago. I read UP and BNSF split the engines in 1997.
Question 3: Did they close the company and painted the engines in their colors and use them now free in other locations? Who does the job HBT did in e.g. 1990 in 2005?
ps. I did not name all the predecessors of SP(UP) and ATSF(BNSF) like TNO etc. to simplify the discussion but stick with the current names.
Edblysard would be the guy on the forum to talk to as I believe he works for the PTRA.
There are some industries that are rail served in the Houston area but only a fraction of what there once was. UP serves several industries along the Washington Ave and Hempstead corridor as well as 2 or 3 up Hardy towards Spring. BNSF serves a few industries south of new south yard along Mykawa just south of loop 610. I’m sure Ed will chime in about more details on who does what and where.
Thanksgiving Day 2007 in Houston, I heard a loco, went outside my mom’s home near Magnolia Junction and photographed this UP loco sitting at signal. Magnolia Junction wye is often used for turning locos, and is access by UP transfer runs from former HBT East Belt to a small yard on south side of turning basin.
I asked the engineer if “Y” in front of the engine number was because UP has more locos than a 4 digit number could cover. No, he said Y stood for “Yard” ie. switching service. He called the Y2107 a “Green Goat,” with low emissions to meet Houston’s environmental demands.
This is a few steps from the bedroom where I grew up in the 1950s and 60s.
West is up on this map. The Magnolia Branch is gone west of the East Belt-- at the top of the drawing. Just a hiking trail there now, and the curve at the top right quadrant is gone.
The SP was not part of the HB&T. It was 25% MP, 25% ATSF, 12.5% CRIP and 12.5% FWD. The HB&T operated yards but often used the yard owner’s power. Also trackage that was NOT HBT was switched by the owner roads so all the routes owned by them were switched by their crews. The SP and MKT were not part of the HBT so did all their own switching…
You can run anything you want, its your railroad. If you are modeling the HBT you could use an HBT or an owner’s road engine (MP, ATSF, CRIP or FWD) unless you are modeling after a merger then you could run one of the post merger engines in place of one of the owner roads.
Depends on where the industry is located. It could be switched by the MP, SP, UP, ATSF, FWD, CRIP, BN, MKT. Depends on when your era is and where your era is. It could even be switched by and HNS electric engine.
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Question 3: Did they close the company and painted the en
Interestingly enough, the entire HBT switching district is dispatched by UP dispatchers (former HBT “Train operators”), including the Main track through BNSF’s main classification yard, HBT’s former South yard, necessitating contacting the UP Dispatcher every time a train is doubled together to get authority on the Main track.
Some HBT units are still in use (at least on the BNSF side) still stencilled for HBT to this day.
Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s the HBT main tracks were dispatched by Rail Traffic Control (RTC), the HBT dispatch center located in Union Station in downtown Houston. The MP Houston dispatch office was also located in that building (before moving to Spring, TX). The dispatchers/train operators in RTC were HBT employees.
Of course now Union Station is now Minutemaid Park, home of the Houston Astros.
Oops, 50% MP. When the Rock folded the BN got the Rock’s 12.5% of RAIL operations. The Rock retained its 12.5% share of non-rail assets. When the BNSF merged it became 50-50 UP-BNSF.
