What would it take for us to have a thread about trains that not once mentions that of which we are tired of hearing?
Those that can post pics of something, please do.
Those of us that can’t, will have to be content with asking dumb questions. For example, the buffer car between ethanol cars and locomotives- does it have to be a certain kind of car like a boxcar or covered hopper? Could it be an old caboose, for example?
note: I changed the thread title 5-13-20 2:17 pm
The caboose would have to be disinfected first.
(Sorry, just couldn’t brake early enough to not pass the signal).
Class 1’s don’t have any cabooses! Nothing to disenfect.
To my knowledge there is no specific requirement for the buffer car(s). From a train handling view point the car(s) should be loaded. From a revenue view point, the carrier ‘creating’ the buffer car(s) will use cars that are young enough to be used in Interchange Service, but of such a nature that the owner is not using them in revenue service.
Flatland operators with only head end power can get away with only using a buffer next to the head end power. If DPU or manned helpers are used the must be separated from the HAZMAT by a buffer.
From my experience the buffer car(s) used for both ethanol and oil trains are covered hoppers that have been loaded with sand.
I’m with you Murph!
Wanna go for a ride on the “A” train?
But with the title of the thread having the subject to not talk about it like telling someone to not think of elephants… that will be all that they think about trying not to think about them.
So, I guess you should try to think about elephants on a train? Come to think of it, that beats thinking about snakes on a plane.
Ringling Bros. stopped operating the Circus Train several years ago - so there are no longer any elephants on the train.
Does not a locomotive being moved ‘Dead in Tow’ also class as a buffer? I’ve noticed that on occasion there have been tank cars moving in the 1st car position behind the head end power… no way to determine if the power is dead or active…Sometimes with 2 units on the head you make the guess that the power is ‘on’ ‘unoccupied’; no way to tell?
‘Wipes’ are probably optional for the train crews [#oops]
Here a song pick: "Take the night train to Memphis’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsuVKhGnhiE
and for the 'miss a caboose crowd":[(-D] [(-D]
Locomotives in the engine consist do not constitute a buffer car. Not all commodities carried in tank cars are HAZMAT.
So why do we have cabooses in my yard?
We have more restrictive rules for buffers for unit trains. In addition to the FRA requirements, buffer cars must weigh more than 45 tons, be over 41 feet long, but not longer than 70.
Perhaps this might be a good time to renew our discussion of which Class-1s do the best jobs of maintaining their infrastructure?
Do the ‘cabooses’ in your yard have all the required equipment in operating condition that are necessary for them to qualify as a caboose rather than a ‘shoving platform’ where all that required equipment have been removed from the cars.
I’m pretty sure they’re still classified as cabooses in the system.
I don’t know if they fit the contractual definition - if there’s even a contractual definition in existence anymore. Lot of that stuff has been tossed over the years.
Do Conductors on NS get paid a Arbitrary for the times they ‘operate without a caboose’?
At one time there was such a Arbitrary - to my knowledge that was negotiated away with the two man crew contracts that did away with the operation of genuine cabooses.
I’m at work, so all I see is a box with a black X. If I were a betting man, I’d wager your picture is of a rusty CSX bridge in the KY, WV, or PA area?
In my neck of the woods BNSF keeps their infrastucure in pretty good shape. Of course, the derailment some time back at Doon, Iowa cast an opposing vote.
Well, this might be a good spot to share my experiences from yesterday: the “elephant” is mentioned from time to time, but for the most part it stayed out of the way.
This is yesterday’s Facebook post, almost in full:
It’s time to explain our silence so far today.
We’ve been busy! It’s our 47th wedding anniversary!
It began fairly normally, with the exchange of cards, followed by our usual breakfast. Then we prepared and mailed packages at the post office.
Then off to Indiana! This was my idea, in hopes that we could take advantage of a little more open environment. As it turned out, that wasn’t possible, or necessary.
Wow! Carl, you and Pat had a great day!
As to roundhouses, I have been in one–the Burlington roundhouse in Aurora. On one of my trips to visit family in the South, I spent a night with my nephew and his wife who lived in Bolingbrook (both are now gone; Sue died five years ago and Frank died last year), and they took me out to Aurora to see the deserted roundhouse.
Another dumb question from an enquiring mind- I’ve read about TOFC and the issue of how to load and unload them quicker. Would it be feasible to run a track dropped below the level of a parking lot so that the top of the flat car carrying the TOFC would be at the same level as the parking lot? The first trailer would be a little tricky to unload but after that, backing in and hooking up a short wheelbase truck would be easy for any good truck driver.
You still need to deal with the gaps between cars. Even fold-down ramps (which used to be fairly common on TOFC flats) leave some gap. And there will always be a gap between the flatcar’s edge and the loading dock, to allow for some oscilation while the rail equipment is moving.
I would favour a modified Lohr system for easy loading/unloading instead. I would add fold-down ramps and make the turning platforms pneumatically operated, with a backup hand crank in case the air motor failed (I’m not sure how they are powered now, I assumed it is some sort of hydraulic or electric system). This way the car could be loaded or unloaded anywhere, and either the train or truck’s brake air supply could be used to power it.
The cars would be more expensive than standard TOFC flats, but terminal costs would be minimal. And no need for specialized trailers as in the Flexi-Van system, or extra strong (and heavy) trailers like Roadrailers or current TOFC-capable units.
Our contracts still have lots of outdated, by now practically irrelevant stuff.
The CTY contract (Conductors, Trainmen, Yardmen) still has two entire pages on cabooses, including what a pool/through operation one must be supplied with. It must have a hot plate, a insulated water container (with a spigot), a tea kettle, a coffee pot, a small saucepan, a frying pan (cast iron), three plates (non-metal), three cereal bowls (non-metal), three each knives, forks, teaspoons, tablespoons, one paring knife, one can opener, one dish pan, one dish mop, two blankets, and sufficient paper towels, laundry soap, and toilet soap.
The only cars we can be compelled to handle behind the caboose are flangers and official cars.
There are six pages on pay rates for passenger and mixed train crews. Baggage handlers get paid extra if they are required to handle Express or Her Majesty’s Mail.
The Company is also still allowed to pick specific employees to run special passenger trains.
Engineers get paid an extra $1.00 for each steam generator equipped locomotive or car in their train.
Two Engineers are supposed to be called for an auxiliary train (wreck cleanup) if no Firemen are available.
This post could go on all day…
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