Eastern Railroad Discussion > Tennessee Valley Coal Train

Yesterday afternoon a bit after 1300 I drove out along the NS main east of Ryland, AL to check the sigmal on Morring Road and see if there was going to be any action. As soon as I turned east on Morring Road, I saw a Green over Red aspecct so I knew something was coming up behind me. It was a lot closer than I'd imagined. 

Anyhow, I wasn't far enough ahead to get to my usual viewing location at Brock Road, but I got to the Brownsboro Road crossing just in time. And --WHOOSH-- there it came, an afternoon coal drag to Plant Scherer in Georgia running at track speed.

It was headed up by three BNSF locomotives. A GE was on the point, followed by  two big squeaky-clean EMDs. I tried to count the loaded cars but can't vouch foe the 135 that I THINK I Icounted -- close is the best i can   Then came the trailing pusher DPUs -- two more bright, shiny EMDs.

I've never seen a coal train headed by three locomotives before -- just getted accustomed to the 2 X 2 configuration. 

Anyhow the eatery where I get my tekey-outey lunch sandwich in Huntsville is just a block away from the main where it crosses Pratt Avenue -- a rather busy street.  Even inside the establishment you can hear a train's whistle pparoching approaching the crossing. Yesterday I heard nothing. After Pratt Avenue there's a long eastbound grade to climb past Cjhapman Mountain.  Coal drags in the former 110-120 configutation with a 2-1 locomotive distribtionreall labored climbing that grade.  A conductor once told me that the best they could do in Notch 8 was 13 mph at the summit.  

So having neither heard nor see any trace of the train as I got onto US 72 and headed east at 65 mph, I was surprised when I found this big mother so close behind me. 

I'm just guessing here, but isn't it possible that having those two additional locomotives, even with a longer, heavier load, made climbing the Chapman Mountain grade considerably easier and correspondingly faster?

Any Thoughts

Frritz In HSV, AL

 

Your car count is very possible. BNSF trains Going to Miller Stem Plant near West Jefferson Al. have been running 135 cars with the 3 / 2 power configuration for quite some time.

The Scherer trains regularly run with 135 cars with a 2x2 locomotive arrangement. They used to run with 124 cars with a 2x1 arrangement but opted for the slightly longer train and additional locomotive. They've kept it like that for a couple years now so GA Power and BNSF must be liking the results.

The particular train you saw may have been longer than 135 cars which required an additional locomotive but that's just a guess.