Eastern Railroad Discussion > Is NS Doing A Good Job Of Keeping HU On Their Own Terri

i don't keep track of this but i was just curious and wondering how NS was doing in regard to keeping their Heritage Units on their name sake trackage ...

Posted from Android

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i don't keep track of this but i was just curious
> and wondering how NS was doing in regard to
> keeping their Heritage Units on their name sake
> trackage ...
>
> Posted from Android


I'd say by and large, they do pretty well at keeping them on the NS property. But I don't think there is any special incentive for them to do so, that's just the randomness of railroad operations in the modern era. Of course, when the PRR unit spends 3 or 4 months straight running all over BNSF, it feeds a preconception that the other railroads are "stealing" them, even though it's just part of a bigger nationwide pooling agreement.

Are you asking if they are keeping them on NS or keeping them on their "home rails" of the roads they are named after? For example are you asking if they try to keep the NKP unit on former NKP rails?

I think he means each road name working it's road track age when they existed and the answer is I don't believe they really care, power is power and it's going to be used on whichever train needs it, if it so happens to be that roads former track age well so be it.

As far as "stealing" power it sometimes is exactly that, a foreign road will take another RRs power cause, well they need it and there is nothing the RR the locomotive belongs to can do about it. I've had trainmasters drive me to the BNSF to get our NS power before and when we get on it the BNSF said they had no NS power in their yard, we said we were already on it and ready to go and he insisted he had no NS power, so we had to get off cause there was no way he was going to let us leave with it, they sent a ride to get us and that power went out on a BNSF train shortly there after. We do the same to the other RRs, when you need power you use or "steal whatever you can to keep the operation moving

Posted from Android

Out_Of_Service Wrote:

> keeping their Heritage Units on their name sake
> trackage ...

If you mean "N&W on former N&W, Southern on former Southern, etc." I think there is very little intentional effort to do that except it occasionally happens specifically for an event, certain need or whatever. That's why catching them on "home rails" has been a real challenge (more so some than others) and I'll likely never personally see many of them on home rails, especially ones like the IT or Interstate. It took two years to get the NKP H-unit leading a well lit train (or any train if I remember right) by former NKP Bracket mast signals in Ohio for example (which was just in time since the last couple are on short time). There may be several that have *never* been on home rails but my memory isn't that good and I haven't been specifically tracking that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/15 10:47 by MDH.

MDH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Out_Of_Service Wrote:
>
> > keeping their Heritage Units on their name sake
> > trackage ...
>
> If you mean "N&W on former N&W, Southern on former
> Southern, etc." I think there is very little
> intentional effort to do that except it
> occasionally happens specifically for an event,
> certain need or whatever. That's why catching
> them on "home rails" has been a real challenge
> (more so some than others) and I'll likely never
> personally see many of them on home rails,
> especially ones like the IT or Interstate. It
> took two years to get the NKP H-unit leading a
> well lit train (or any train if I remember right)
> by former NKP Bracket mast signals in Ohio for
> example (which was just in time since the last
> couple are on short time). There may be several
> that have *never* been on home rails but my memory
> isn't that good and I haven't been specifically
> tracking that.

One of the 'instructions' put out when these units where to be painted in heritage colors was that they be treated like ever other AC unit on the roster. It takes an act by very high up people within the railroad to get units at special events.

Gumcoach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you asking if they are keeping them on NS or
> keeping them on their "home rails" of the roads
> they are named after? For example are you asking
> if they try to keep the NKP unit on former NKP
> rails?

correct ... fallen flag units on their own fallen flag territory ... my apologies for not being more specific but the foreign RR selective appropriation of other RR units is interesting banter also

Posted from Android



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/15 13:14 by Out_Of_Service.

One would think the easiest unit to keep on "home rails" would be the Conrail unit, since NS has been partial* to running AC units on heavy unit trains like coal and oil, a lot of which moves over former Conrail trackage in Ohio and Pennsylvania. But the Conrail unit has never, to my recollection, been assigned to oil service and seems to have spent a lot of its life on the former Southern, including a long spell in coal service in southern Indiana and Kentucky.

So no, there has been no concerted effort whatsoever to keep any of them on "home rails," not even the big blue one that, had you asked me about it three years ago, I'd have been quite confident I'd have photographed by now leading a train on "home rails" under sunny skies. Nope. And it isn't because there was an opportunity that I missed, either.

*-Not exclusive, mind you, but partial. They obviously do show up in manifest and intermodal service on occasion.

I'd say they tend to be on intermodal service more than oil and coal service now days

Posted from Android

Realistically, they're a piece of equipment that's painted different - no more, no less.

Posted from iPhone

I wouldn't complain, let the people out west see are heritage a sometimes we see a UP train or another railroads heritage unit.

Posted from Android

MSchwiebert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Realistically, they're a piece of equipment that's
> painted different - no more, no less.
>
> Posted from iPhone

i would venture to say there's a whole lotta people on here and all over that are not on here who have gone WAAAAAY OUTTA THEIR WAY (to capture images of those "pieces of equipment painted differently") that would fervently disagree with you ...

Posted from Android

MSchwiebert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Realistically, they're a piece of equipment that's
> painted different - no more, no less.
>
> Posted from iPhone

I would say NS disagrees with that to an extent or else they wouldn't have put the time, effort, and most importantly the money into the program.

Posted from Android

They're an asset to be used and make money being used - all the different paint in the world doesn't change that.

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MSchwiebert Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Realistically, they're a piece of equipment
> that's
> > painted different - no more, no less.
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> i would venture to say there's a whole lotta
> people on here and all over that are not on here
> who have gone WAAAAAY OUTTA THEIR WAY (to capture
> images of those "pieces of equipment painted
> differently") that would fervently disagree with
> you ...
>
> Posted from Android

Engines are pulled from consists all the time for maintenance, fueling, etc. The local power desks will reshuffle power as needed. Crews complain about a bad radio, or inoperative heater, etc. And something else leads. Something needs a bath, so the set goes to the wash rack.

Some locals require two and three heavy units, and you have a H unit, sure, why not use it? If that involves the NYC unit on former NYC tracks, that's great. Or a DL&W unit on legacy DL&W tracks, that's great, too.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Engines are pulled from consists all the time for
> maintenance, fueling, etc. The local power desks
> will reshuffle power as needed. Crews complain
> about a bad radio, or inoperative heater, etc. And
> something else leads. Something needs a bath, so
> the set goes to the wash rack.
>
> Some locals require two and three heavy units, and
> you have a H unit, sure, why not use it? If that
> involves the NYC unit on former NYC tracks, that's
> great. Or a DL&W unit on legacy DL&W tracks,
> that's great, too.

Because the Hertiage Units are AC power that was purchased to pull heavy bulk commodity trains, not on locals. In fact, AC units are not supposed to be used in local service (not to say that it doesn't happen).

Gumcoach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MSchwiebert Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Realistically, they're a piece of equipment
> that's
> > painted different - no more, no less.
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> I would say NS disagrees with that to an extent or
> else they wouldn't have put the time, effort, and
> most importantly the money into the program.
>
> Posted from Android

Trust me, they are treated like any other AC unit.

A related topic, which one has spent the most time on it's "heritage home" rails? Gotta be N&W. You can't tell me "somebody" in Roanoke doesn't finagle that...