I always referred to a freight train hauling a full string of coal cars as a black snake, now I see many trains with nothing but oil cars that resembles a black snake even more than coal cars, anyone ever heard this reference?
The SP used to have a tank car train that ran from the oil refineries at Marinez and Benicia that was nicknamed the “Oil Can Express”. I do not know if UP is still running this train. I consisted of all black tank cars and ran east from the Bay Area refineries.
When Amtrak was running Mpls-Duluth service with a F40PH and Amfleet cars, you would hear freight crews get on the radio and ask where the ‘Snake’ was so they could time their meets. I think the term came from how fast the ‘Snake’ could accelerate out of the spring switch sidings.
Jim
Never heard that terminology before but the string of oil cans sounds like the best explanation.
Any relation to the Canadian brown worm?
Larry:
Not sure about that but out here we’ll see some of the following Brown Grain Worms running through this area fo central Kansas. A pretty much solid string of those ubiquitous BNSF Brown cylindrical style hopper cars sure resemble a segmented grain worm.
Here lately the solid strings of ethanol tankers seem to have been broken up with strings of tanks and then several hopper cars (with grain?) . Apparently an effort to stem hazardous derailments with a pile(or long string?) of burning cars should the unthinkable derailment happen?