Western Railroad Discussion > Where tenant railroads outmuscle the host?

What examples are there in which the tenant (railroad with trackage rights) runs as many, if not more, trains than the host railroad?

One significant example that I can think of is the line over Tehachapi. BNSF runs 2-3 times as many trains than host UP.

I'm particularly looking for freight railroad examples.

Andrew

Posted from iPhone

Union to Sterling, Colorado - BNSF runs coal trains over UP tracks

Denver to Pueblo, Colorado - BNSF runs a lot more traffic (mostly coal) than UP over those portions of the line UP owns.  In fact, back in pre-merger days, when the joint line was owned by D&RGW and AT&SF and BN operated only on trackage rights, BN had about 90% of the tonnage on the line, almost all coal.

 

I guess the Chicago Ft Wayne & Eastern might qualify. The CFE runs a local each way between Chicago and Lima, Ohio. NS operates up to 6 (usually 2-3 a day since oil is down) a day. They typically run WB only west of Ft Wayne and EB only east of Ft Wayne.
The whole line is a special situation. Owned by CSX, leased to CF&E, dispatched by NS.

Posted from iPhone

It's a lightly used bit of track now, but CSX actually owns what is now the Kanawha River Railroad between Hobson and Gallipolis, Ohio -- but hasn't run a train over that isolated piece of their property for a very long time -- well back into Conrail days at least, unless they ran some sort of a special. Frankly, it amazes me that they have kept it this long.
 

czephyr17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Union to Sterling, Colorado - BNSF runs coal
> trains over UP tracks
>

Does UP still own Union to Sterling? Or was it sold to BNSF?

TIA,

Rob L.

Still UP owned and maintained.  

Buckingham Branch Railroad between Richmond, VA and Clifton Forge, VA. BBRR just runs a local, CSX runs maybe 4-8 empty coal and grain trains. But maybe it doesn't count, since CSX set up the whole scheme in the first place.

What about ex-WP Stockton-Sacramento? Seems sometimes that almost all the trains on that UP line are BNSF and UP keeps theirs over on the ex-SP.

Maybe BNSF on the UP in the Feather River Canyon up to Keddie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/16 20:41 by LarryB.

BNSF runs on some ex MOPAC east of pueblo, UP has rebuilt it recently, and maybe sterling - union as well, what about amtrak between LAJ ABQ ?

---

BNSF paid half the cost of the recently-completed track extension project over Tehachapi - a state bond paid the rest.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

RollinB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Still UP owned and maintained.  

Thank you, Rollin.

Best regards,

Rob L.

dan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BNSF runs on some ex MOPAC east of pueblo, UP has
> rebuilt it recently, and maybe sterling - union as
> well, what about amtrak between LAJ ABQ ?

The trackage between Pueblo and NA Junction (about 30 miles east) was originally two seperate lines (ATSF on the northern and MOPAC on the south, the actually crossed at a diamond where NA Junction is now).  At some point, I think in the 1960's or early 70's, the two railroad combined there trackage into one joint line.  Roughly the western half was Santa Fe trackage and the eastern half was MOPAC.  Each maintained there section, but the line was dispatched by ATSF.  I don't believe UP even runs a local east of Pueblo anymore, but I could be mistaken.

A good example of the original post question is this former MOPAC line from Pueblo east into eastern Kansas.  The Rio Grande and later Southern Pacific had trackage rights gained during the UP-MP-WP merger.  For a time in the 1990's, Southern Pacific ran a dozen or more trains over the line and even dispatched it near the end, but UP owned it, maintained it and ran locals to serve trackside customers.  This ended with the UP-SP merger and most of the line is either abondoned or owned by shortlines now.

czephyr17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Denver to Pueblo, Colorado - BNSF runs a lot more
> traffic (mostly coal) than UP over those portions
> of the line UP owns.  In fact, back in pre-merger
> days, when the joint line was owned by D&RGW and
> AT&SF and BN operated only on trackage rights, BN
> had about 90% of the tonnage on the line, almost
> all coal.
>
I believe the BN trackage rights on the Joint Line are something of a special case. It is my understanding that when the joint line was established during WW1, it was a consolidation of THREE lines: in addition to the AT&SF and D&RG lines that were retained, there was a C&S line that was much less favorable and was abandoned. BN's rights to the Joint Line presumably derived from the C&S "interest" in it.

Peter Varlien
Heimdal,

I am not expert on the area, but the B&O had trackage rights over the P&LE between Pittsburg and Mc Keesport, PA and I remember reading an article that the B&O operated more trains over the line than the P&LE did. 

Many areas of the Indiana Harbor Belt, Belt Ry. of Chicago and Terminal RR Association of St. Louis have more trackage rights traffic than IHB or BRC traffic.
CSX traffic is greater than Louisville & Indiana traffic from Louisville to Seymour, maybe also Seymour to Indianapolis.
UP on CN from Sioux City to Le Mars, IA.
UP on KCS from De Quincy, LA, to Beaumont, TX.
CN on Ann Arbor from Toledo to Diann, MI.
BNSF on MRL from Jones Jct. to Billings and Laurel.
CSX and NS on Conrail from Manville to Jersey City, NJ.  Many short Conrail segments in Detroit and Philadelphia areas with heavier tenant traffic.
Buffalo & Pittsburg on NS from Buffalo to Machias, NY.
BNSF on Red River Valley & Western from Brushvale, MN, to Wahpeton, ND.
Ohio Southern on Kanawha River from Glouster to New Lexington, OH.
Not sure if it's still true, CSX on NS from Hamilton to Evendale, OH.
BNSF on UP from South Jct. to Metolius, OR (the Oregon Trunk is made up of the best parts of the lines built by UP and SP&S).
NS on Nittany & Bald Eagle from Tyrone to Mill Hall, PA, if NS is still hauling coal to the Strawberry Ridge power plant.
NS on CSX, Brownsville to Waynesburg, PA, to Blacksvillle #2 and Federal #2 in WV (this may have changed with the fortunes of coal).

mapboy

LarryB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe BNSF on the UP in the Feather River Canyon
> up to Keddie

Continuing South from the FRC, the UP Sacramento Sub from Haggin Junction (Sacramento) to Stockton sees 6+- BNSF trains a day and maybe 1-2 UP Trains (if UP runs the I-5 Z-trains that direction instead of via the Fresno Sub). 

The Cotton Belt gained access to Memphis via trackage rights over the Rock Island between Brinkley and Briark, Arkansas.   Generally speaking in the 70's the SSW ran 8 to 12 trains a day over this line vs 4 Rock Island trains a day.

And then there are the BNSF Raton and Glorietta subs where Amtrak runs infinitely more trains than does BNSF between Lamy and Trinidad.

mapboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BNSF on UP from South Jct. to Metolius, OR (the
> Oregon Trunk is made up of the best parts of the
> lines built by UP and SP&S).

While it is true that this section is actually owned by UP, otherwise it's totally a BNSF operation.  Even looking at the track charts, there's no indication that it's UP owned and while UP has trackage rights over the BNSF portions, they don't normally use it.  The UP local traffic is handled by BNSF under a haulage agreement.