Eastern Railroad Discussion > DPU'd unit frac sand train on NS in Ohio

This evening a 66T unit frac sand train running 2x1 DPU with 96 sand loads ran eastbound through Toledo. They had stopped in the controlled siding at 293 (I'm guessing for a crew change) and these shots show them sitting in the siding, one of the many new or newer cars in the train (this one built 10-14) and a final going away shot of the DPU shoving through 293 from the siding to main 1 to continue east.

Regards,
Michael

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Nice catch...more frac sand for Smithfield, PA (Fayette CO gas fields) via SWP at Radebaugh.

Posted from iPhone

Thanks for the pic and the train info and car count. This is really interesting. A train with BNSF power going EAST on NS to an oilfield in PA! Then I see, and witnessed, plenty of frac sand locally in Delaware and on my CHicago trip last June sand, I presume frac sand, going west from the W&W in southern NJ to the WEST. Or at Chicago many empties on CN and CP going to the new Wisconsin sand pits. Am I wrong? Is it moving in opposite directions! Will someone figure this out; or is it all of a different quality?

West Virginia sand is good for loco traction, Wisconsin sand good for fracking and south Jersey sand most excellent for glass or something like that. Fracking sand has to be extra hard to support the fractured shale to release the oil or gas being extracted. Glass sand needs purity and loco sand is well, loco sand? Play Sand comes from Coney Island? Maybe there is a sand expert on here?
Yes sandt travels in various directions even past each other like metallurgical coal vs steam coal.
Gonut

tp117 Wrote:
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> Thanks for the pic and the train info and car
> count. This is really interesting. A train with
> BNSF power going EAST on NS to an oilfield in PA!
> Then I see, and witnessed, plenty of frac sand
> locally in Delaware and on my CHicago trip last
> June sand, I presume frac sand, going west from
> the W&W in southern NJ to the WEST. Or at Chicago
> many empties on CN and CP going to the new
> Wisconsin sand pits. Am I wrong? Is it moving in
> opposite directions! Will someone figure this out;
> or is it all of a different quality?

Sand has different "meshes" (sizes) and hardness. The geology of what goes "down the hole" during the fracking process is pretty important and what size gets used varies even in different parts of the gas fields from well to well and company by company...The purest stuff that the frac companies prefer seems to come from northern Illinois, western Michigan, and more and more, Wisconsin, where several new mines, like the one that originated this move, can load unit trains. There is some material coming from the W&W served pits in New jersey, but that is primarily a secondary source. The pits at Berkeley Springs and Gore in eastern WV/western VA don't make the right stuff at all...that goes to glass making and perhaps foundry sand.

As info, cab signal leader added at Cleveland and DPU taken off, just over drawbridge eastbound 910am.

I like the look of Pic 3!!

I shot the 66T at Olmsted Falls late on Wednesday night, early Thursday morning. Couldn't figure out what kind of train it was until I saw this post.

Thanks for the heads up on an interesting train. Of course, a cab signal leader was added at Cleveland and the dpu was removed. Here he is on Friday at Big Beaver, PA (mp36) almost to Conway yard. Train recrewed quickly and was delivered to the SWP by 7:30 that night. Train came from the CN at Chicago, loaded at Independence, WI.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/14 16:13 by PCTZ.

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