On Tuesday, I got to see a grain train pass by, through the window in my new office, at our new lumberyard along the BNSF line. ( [^] ). It had 2 BNSF pumpkins, and a CN unit on the front. Several hours later, I saw the train at a town about 15 miles south. The cars had been poked into a storage track next to a grain elevator. An old SW switcher and a trackmobile where moving and filling cars as fast as possible.
One of the BNSF units was sitting all by itself on a nearbye wye track, with the engine idling. The other 2 locomotives had gone off and left him all by himself. Since all the grain cars appeared to be in the storage track, the other 2 locomotives must have run light on their way out of town.
there could be numerous reasons why they did this: the other 2 units could have need fuel or a repair of some sort, the one lone engine may have been scheduled to go out of town on the loaded train as the other two may have been slated for another train, so it could have been numerous reasons.
I should mention, that this line is out on the prairie. When the big, 6 axle units come through, they are always on a grainer. The local, and the Dakota & Iowa rock trains are predominately 4 axle units.
Power is needed to move loads…empties not so much.
I suspect 3 units were needed to get the loaded train to the unloading point…only 1 unit will be needed to return the empties to the loading point.
Or if this is the loading point, the one unit could be there to provide air so that a Initial Terminal Air Test can be performed prior to having the crew called with the other two units to move the train to destination.
The one unit left behind on the wye would have been left there idling to prevent the diesel’s cooling system from freezing overnight. It’s mid-November after all and I’m sure the temperatures in southeastern South Dakota get pretty cold during the midnight hours.
Perhaps the one unit was left where it was because the job’s next customer was going to involve traveling over some old trestles that had weight restrictions. Those trestles might be good for two, 250-ton units coupled together, but not three.
Also I suppose it’s possible that after the grain is loaded at the first station, the elevator crew might use their locomotive to move the BNSF locomotive onto the finished train. If all (or at least most) of the air hoses are coupled together, that road unit could be charging the brake system while the other units are working elsewhere. Doing this would help the BNSF crew get those grain loads moving quicker for sure.
If BNSF did leave one locomotive behind, to either help move a big cut of loaded cars, or to charge the brake lines, wouldn’t they have to leave a BNSF employee there to do operate their locomotive?
I saw one of the elevator employees jump from the ladder of a moving grain car being pushed slowly by the trackmobile. A few minutes later, I saw a different elevator employee jump up onto the ladder of the same, moving cut of cars.
Railroads frequently have lease agreements with customers…the lease agreements can venture into covering equipment (both cars and locomotives) and track and other property. The lease agreements can be both long term and short term. When a customer is operating equipment that they have leased, they then have the beneficial ownership of the use of the equipment and can use their own employees to perform the operation. Customers operating leased equipment on their own property are bound by the customers rules of operation, not the carriers.
Crews work as just that,a crew, no one gets left behind or goes off on a different job…if you come on duty together you tie up together.
Odds are the locomotive was left behind because it needed fuel, or was going to be added to an outbound train later…might even be left as a DPU for the next train in…and yes, the elevator guys can move it around inside their plant as needed, but must have a certified engineer at the controls to move it on main line track, unless they have a prior agreement with the carrier that allows them to occupy a short section of thei main for assemblying the train…we have such an agreement with Cargill here, they can come out on our main for switching purposes, but no more that 15 car lengths.