why tie up the siding?

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

why would UP leave a string of cars with a FRED on one end and no locos on
the other, on an otherwise busy siding used for passing?
the location is just south of portland, or .
the cars are a mixed bag of loads and empties and have been sitting there for over 4 days.
does this happen more often than I realize?

2

Unfortunately, it seems to happen very often on the UP, and all over the system, particularly on the Sunset Route. This likely means that UP has no terminal capacity available to handle that train, and that they robbed the power and sent it out on another train to help cover the resulting power shortage.

We see this kind of stuff all the time in Texas.

3

It happens out here all the time around here (so cal) too.

4

short answer - no other place to put it. You will probabily see more of this in your area as the grain shipping season gears up.

dd

5

Tying up a siding, especially one frequently used for meeting/passing trains can only mean it was a last resort due to congestion, etc. And, like most RR’s, UP is probably short on power and stole them for another train.

6

To take this thread just a little further: the train needing the power must have a pretty high priority??

Dave

7

thank you all for responding, it makes a little more sense now.
by the way, it’s now more than 5 days.

8

One other thought…The power required to move the train mandates the use of multiple units…engine trouble caused the train to have less working power than was needed to move the train…cut the power off and take it to the shop to either be fixed or to get replacement power; of course when this occurs then various priorities apply in getting additional power.

9

I guess the railroad will need to buy more power.

10

Or the flip side, the train it was on is a low priority, with no “hot” cars in it.
Ed

11

I agree with Ed on his answer no hot cars on train and the power was needed for an outbound train we do it alot on BNSF. with both BNSF & UP power is getting priority.

Rodney

12

Which direction did it look like the train was headed? The Eugene news reported UP had a derailment east of Oakridge which closed the line for a day or two late last week. If that was a southbound that might have been the reason.