Western Railroad Discussion > UP Directional running - which subdivisions?

Hi there.

I'm trying to figure out which Union Pacific lines are managed with directional running, and which direction. From visiting my folks in Kansas City, I figured out that the River and Sedalia subs are directional, but I can't figure out which direction. The Texas lines seem to have directional running as well. Can anyone help?

Thanks.

jofegan

River Sub East Bound, Sedalia mostly West Bound except Amtrak both east and west and when they have other issues they run freight both directions on the Sedalia Sub.
Hope this helps.
Rich

The Falls City Sub is mainly northbound directional from Kansas City to Omaha. The Trenton Sub is mainly southbound directional from Des Moines to Kansas City.

-Justin

Cotton Belt in Arkansas down into Texas is southbound. MP lines same area are northbound.

Out of KC, the Falls City Sub also handles the westbound to Marysville traffic as well. It splits off west at Hiawatha over the Hiawatha Sub. Eastbound comes to KC via the Kansas Sub.

They also run directional south out of KC on the Parsons Sub and north on the Coffeyville Sub. Some trains do go south on the Coffeyville (Oologah, OK coal loads).

Then you have the Falls City/Trenton pairing to CB/DM and the River and Sedalia pairing to Jeff City.

Thanks for the replies folks.

How about in the Houston area, specifically from Houston to New Orleans. Are the Avondale/Lafayette subs (ex-SP) directionally run against the Livonia/Beaumont subs (ex-MP)?

Are the Lost Springs/Enid/Duncan (ex-OKT/RI) subs directionally run?

Any others?

Thanks.

jofegan

Currently both directions north of Fort Worth use the Choctaw sub (former T&P). To a lesser extend the Duncan Sub (ex-RI/OKT) is used, along with trackage rights on the BNSF. They are planning to upgrade the old RI-OKT to use it for directional running.

Typically trains going south from Ft. Worth take the Midlothian Sub (former SP) to Ennis, Corsicana, and Hearne. Northbound trains enter Fort Worth via the Fort Worth Sub (former MKT). There are a lot of exceptions to this. I live on the Ft. Worth Sub and see a lot of "wrong way" running.

In the late 90s they utilized direction running on the Austin, Flatonia, Smithville, Waco, and Lockhart Subs. This is all between Flatonia, San Antonio, San Marcos, Taylor, and Hearne, TX. They've changed a lot of stuff down there. I don't know if that's the case anymore.

alan

Add the Evanston, WY subdivision as well. New(er) SSI even has different coupler (drawbar) limits for each direction, with EASTBOUND being about 11000 tons and some change. Westbound, you aren't so lucky. When a heavy eastbound train like the MRONP is on the Evanston Sub, it is limited to the eastbound track (seems like a well-duh, eh?) but we always notify the corridor manager or dispatcher as a reminder. Running on the westbound main would not be prudent at that juncture...

On a slightly unrelated topic, does UP run through freights on the TRE line between Fort Worth and Dallas?

I was always confused about the directional running south of Fort Worth on the subs you listed.....it made sense given all of the routes they have down there, but I could never find a map or anything like that to show which subs had a preferred direction.

jofegan


abandoned_track Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> In the late 90s they utilized direction running on
> the Austin, Flatonia, Smithville, Waco, and
> Lockhart Subs. This is all between Flatonia, San
> Antonio, San Marcos, Taylor, and Hearne, TX.
> They've changed a lot of stuff down there. I don't
> know if that's the case anymore.
>
> alan

I don't see much 'directional' running in central Texas anymore. UP pulled a switch out at the wye in Smithville several years ago that would let trains go between the Waco and Lockhart subs. Some trains go Hearne to San Antonio via West Point through Smithville, or just continue on down to Flatonia and then to San Antonio. There's not much traffic, other than coal to the Fayette power plant, and rock trains from quarries near San Antonio up through Georgetown (they grow a lot of rocks along I-35.)

Between Harlingen and Brownsville, TX: southbound on the Brownsville Sub, and northbound on the Harlingen Sub, a distance of about 23 miles.