While waiting for a train to pull out of Biltmore Yard in Asheville, N.C. I saw that there was a Union Pacific locomotive between the other two Norfolk Southern engines. Is it common for UP locomotives to come this far east?
Run-throughs or power sharing for cross-country trains? I do sometimes see NS units out here in California, including at the UP [former SP] Dolores Yard in Carson, CA.
As Tom Jones would say “Its Not Unusual”. As the is leasing, pay back power, and as MP57313 as run through power. I have seen several CSXT locomotives on UP grain trains in the past few months. A couple of months ago I saw an UP intermodal train heading up the Fresno Line with only NS locomotives. I have also seen NS locomotives on BNSF trains.
Here in New Jersey, UP locomotives are a everyday thing anymore.
Are these locomotives on the Express Lane trains? Featured in the November 2001 issue of Trains.
Yes they usually have up engines in charge of the ups trains that come through here in Ohio.
stay safe
Joe
Not unusual at all. I mentioned a while back about seeing a BNSF unit on the branch line from Fayetteville to Fort Bragg, N.C.
Larry
They are on main line trains.
“Sort of” on this topic - one of the slick brochures published about the Alameda Corridor [the trench in southern Cal. along an SP route] had a cover photo of a train led by a CSXT engine! Those “main line” engines get around…
It must be common, Becasue in the past month I saw 2 trains 1 mixed freight (Echo Canyon Utah, Between evanston Wy, and Ogden Utah ), one fullly loaded coal (Between Rock Springs and Green River, Wyoming) , both with UP power on the point. The coal had 2 dash 9’s (or ac4400 couldnt tell) the first being a UP loco, the second being a NS loco, And a week earlier a Mixed freight with 3 SD70s as power, The first a UP, The second a CSX, and the thid was unidentifiable but was most likley a lease unit.
So it must not be too uncommon to be seeing 2 different eastern railroads power in UP territory
All of this eastern power must just be going around this part of Colorado. In the past year and a half I have only seen 2 CSX engins here, and it wasn’t until last week that I saw a NS engine in the middle of a BNSF freight through Boulder here. I have yet to see any Canadian power, that is what I would really like to see.
BNSF, CN, CP (on trackage rights), and UP come through every day in eastern PA.
As if 2pm today 7/21 the is a UP unit setting in the NS Binghamton NY yard.
But it is not in a location to be photographed [:(] I spoted it from the overpass as I crossed over the tracks.
Strange things happen. Today while riding the DART light rail to work in Dallas I saw a UP freight entering the Union Station area powered by a CSX and a Conrail engine. I do not think UP has adsorbed these lines -YET. Has to be a runthrough train as it was heading west. Do not think CSX or Conrail had any rails west of Dallas.
Most of the time you will see run-thru power on competing roads. Take this for example,
the train PIHO,Pittsburgh-Houston,originates on the NS in Pittsburgh,and Union Pacific takes over in St. Elmo,ILL on thru to Houston. You Will then see a lashup of NS and UP power.
Railroads are haveing more and more ‘Run-Through’ trains from one railroad to another with the train being blocked and classified for the receiving road, so tha the train bypasses the delays encountered in teh traditional actions of switching cars together at the interchange point, making a delivery to the receiving road and then having the receiving road switch the cars into their own blocking and classification scheme. The above traditional interchange sequence could occupy three days or more of transit tiime. Run-through’s just encompas a crew change at the interchange point.
The roads account for the use of each others power through a system of book keeping that keeps track of ‘Horsepower Hours’. Road A’s CW44 on Road B for 1 hour is 4400 Horsepower hours. The roads keep track of the plus/minus factor on their horsepower hours and then use more or less foreign power as indicated by the balance of Horspower hours and the business needs. At some point, presuming there is a continuing imbalance of horsepower hours money may actually change hands between the rioads,
The Class I’s with their differing traffic make up have differing power needs during each period of the year and the Horsepower Hour concept is a convient means of the roads to balance theire overall power needs without the need to actually buy or lease power that is only needed for a portion of the economic year.
I see UP and BNSF locos roll by on the NS about 3 times a week here.