One can’t help but wonder if the level 4.3 earthquake we had at 4:02 this morning will have any impact on either the U.P. or BNSF mainlines that are near the epicenter of the quake in Sycamore, IL
The village of Sycamore is really close to where the U.P. main runs east-west through DeKalb on its way west through Rochelle and beyond, and the BNSF line (C&I sub) is not much farther south.
Anybody know the protocol in such a case?
Heck I doubt it they will do the Ussual inspection and RUN. It did not stop the BNSF at all here in Streator. Heck I selpt thru it and I am less than an hour away. 4.3 is not that big now 5 or higher would do some minor damage. 6 your getting up there 7 look out 8 I head for the hills.
Or perhaps the hills will head for you.
The information was revised: 3.8 magnitude at 3:59 am, epicenter just south of Gilberts, which is northwest of Elgin and pretty far from the main UP and BNSF lines. Pretty close to the CN-IC, and former CMStP&P and CNW Belvidere lines.
Point to remember: The Richter scale is a measure of energy released and it’s a logarithmic scale, not a linear scale.
I live about 10 miles from the epicenter. Felt it, but like the snowstorm, no big deal out here.
When something on the Wabash/New Madrid faults lets go like it did nearly two centuries ago, it will not be the same. Severed transportation links have been cited as having a tremendous impact nation wide in such a massive quake. Mississippi and Ohio river bridges are not easily replaced.
Some local governments in the region have reportedly drawn up emergency plans. What plans have railroads in the region to respond?
When I first heard about this, I was wondering if it was the New Madrid fault, but apparently it’s a different geologic formation. Living in Arkansas, the spectre of a massive New Madrid quake looms large; if a major event were to happen, it would cause untold amounts of damage across several highly populated areas–Memphis, St. Louis, and the settlements and infrastructure along the Mississippi.
Don’t know where in Ark you live, but in my case, having grown up in Memphis and lived in its vicinity most of my adult life, the fact of the New Madrid Fault was a fact of life and when ever there was major noise,movement of ground or the like; Individuals in the West Tenn and NE Ark and SE Mo and SW Ky were always on guard for activities of the New Madrid Fault. I found this link to a map of the Fault area, I was not aware of how it extended down into the Marianna, Ark area as this shows:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone
I had been mre familiar with the issues arou nd “THE” quake of 1811 and 1812. Particularly, the formation of Reelfoot Lake in NW Tenn. It was the line that most effected the quaking I felt growing and living in W Tenn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_New_Madrid_earthquake
I also found this reference to the most recent quake in Northern ILLand found this quote to be interesting also: " …The April 2008 earthquake was centered along the Wabash Valley seismic zone, which butts up against and is actually considered a northward extension of the New Madrid seismic zone in the southern part of Illinois. The New Madrid seismic zone also extends into Missouri, Arkansas,
Jim: Check edbenton’s instructions![:D] OH, Yeah, Take your cellphone! The emergency numbers to notify railroads are on the signal gear boxes at the crossings![:-,]
The heavy snowstorm out east will have a much larger impact on NS and CSX and other eastern railroad operations than the mild earthquake in northern Illinois.
Suspect the quake was caused by the weight of the snow along the East Coast shifting the tectonic plate.[(-D]
Oh ha ha very funny, like others have said the quake is probley going to have a minimal impact on rail service. The east coast snow storm will have a greater impact.
The earthquake had no effect. Just saw a number of intermodals running on the UP line through Winfield and Glen Ellyn at normal speed.
Relax! It was caused by one of your ex-Governors jumping off his top-tier bunk (“Bubba” owns the bottom one).
4.9 or below, they go as usual…above 4.5 the signal folks start looking at any non-solid state signal systems that still use relays suspended in oil. Above 5.4 and things start to stop.
The rules are published and well known by west coast railroaders. (I had my fair share of headaches including the 1989 World Series bay area earthquake)…Most railroads have adopted the rules set out by an AREMA blue ribbon panel in the early 1980’s and published as a chapter in the AREMA manual
One map shown on the news in connection with this quake (coverage showed a freight train going through Pingree Grove, Illinois, after the quake–didn’t seem like it affected CN or CP, either) showed a couple of fault zones in northern Illinois. One was named the Sandwich Fault Zone (for the city, not someone’s ravenous appetite). (MC, did you feel it?)
Not down here in Joliet
(and I crashed early last night)[|)][|)][|)]
So you literally slept through an earthquake!![(-D]
So where are all of the jokes about the couples that were ‘fooling around’ at the time of the quake and asking each other “if they felt the earth move”?
[:-^]