i see a lot of tank car trains going in either direction at rochelle interlocking. can any one tell me where they are going to or from.seems like at least one or two unit trains a day.
the trains i’m refering to are on the bnsf line forgot to post that
Not to sound as a smart posterior -
They are going from origins in the Mid-west with Crude Oil or Ethanol to destinations in the East and Southeast after being interchanged to other carriers at Chicago. BNSF handles both Crude Oil trains and Ethanol trains - I have never seen a mixed Crude/Ethanol train.
- I BELIEVE THERE USED TO BE A ETHANOL PLANT IN SE ROCHELLE, I DON’T KNOW IF ITS STILL IN OPERATION.
The ethanol plant in Rochelle is still there, however:
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I don’t believe it produces ethanol in trainload quantities.
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If it were shipping ethanol to the east, those cars wouldn’t have to cross the diamonds.
BNSF would be very heavily into crude these days, and their line at Rochelle is the principal route from Chicago to the Twin Cities and beyond into the Dakotas. (One of these years someone will come up with a webcam sharp enough for reading placard numbers on the tank cars…then we’d know for sure!) On the other hand, the UP ships very little crude over its line to the east, so most trainloads of tank cars would be ethanol.
thanks for the answers all
Look at the placards. Then look up the UN #. I forget the UN # for ethanol but it is easy to look up. Rgds IGN
That’s what we would have loved to have done, IGN, but this is the Rochelle webcam we’re talking about. I can’t read locomotive and car numbers off it, let alone those placard numbers!
Ethanol, by the way, is UN 1987.
Heck, I can’t read the placards in person sometimes…