Eastern Railroad Discussion > Who pays for what?

For years now and mostly on Eastern roads I've been seeing UP and BNSF motors utilized, sometimes intermixed with either CSX or NS leaders or vice versa.  I saw a posting below showing UP motors in I believe an Altoona service line.
​Just wondering who pays for what?  Who dictates as to what service is to be done?  What about engine rebuilds?
​
​Second are the lease contracts long term or seasonal?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/16 11:16 by PennPlat.

All railroads share other railroads locomotives.  BNSF and UP will have CSX and NS units on their trains just as you see BNSF and UP in the east.
​NS using a BNSF unit will record horsepower hours so that a 4,000 HP unit is 4,000 horsepower hours for every hour the unit is on NS and NS owes BNSF 4,000 HP hours.
​Railroad power will go to another railroad many times when coal trains or oil trains or any train passes to another railroad. The HP hours are totaled and when hours reach a high number, the railroad will send units to the other railroad to pay back the hours.
​Railroads will service the other railroad's units just as their own.  If a major repair is needed the unit is sent back to the owning railroad.
No money is passed for this sharing.  Just pay back the hours with your own units. Money paid for HP hours is rare.

​gmojim


 

PennPlat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For years now and mostly on Eastern roads I've
> been seeing UP and BNSF motors utilized, sometimes
> intermixed with either CSX or NS leaders or vice
> versa.  I saw a posting below showing UP motors
> in I believe an Altoona service line.
> ​Just wondering who pays for what?  Who
> dictates as to what service is to be done?  What
> about engine rebuilds?
> ​
> ​Second are the lease contracts long term or
> seasonal?

Generally, it is effectively short term rental. The compensation is a currency called horsepower hours. If railroad A uses railroad B's 3000 HP engine for 36 hours, railroad B owes railroad A 108,000 HP hours. Eventually, railroad B will pay back by letting railroad A use their power for 108,000 HP hours. However, it is an open tab, so there is constant payment and constant renting as time goes on.

TAW

PennPlat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>   I saw a posting below showing UP motors
> in I believe an Altoona service line.

Many of these are former UP SD90MAC waiting in line to go though the NS SD70ACu program. These locomotives are NS owned. It is fairly unlikely they will repaint the ones in service as its expected they will be fully rebuilt in the near future.

> ​Just wondering who pays for what?  Who
> dictates as to what service is to be done?  What
> about engine rebuilds?

Most minor maintenance or FRA items like topping off fluids, brake shoes, sanding, even wheel turning will take place at whatever road has the locomotive.

As for the 92/184 day PM inspections most the time the locomotive will go back to the home road for that, dead if needed. There is the occasional exception, usually when a road has a lease on the power. But simple runthough/horsepower hours engines will go back home for inspections.

Major items, like large part replacement (engine/turbochargers, traction motors, alternators) the locomotive will generally be shipped back dead to the owning road for repairs.

I do not know how billing for failed locomotives works. Particularly since I've had some fairly shoddy foreign road engines fail in some spectacular ways on me.

There was an article (somewhere...Train?) over the summer that gave a good overview and fairly accurate.

There is/was a rate as well as fuel use that is/was kept by each railroad and as stated would be reprociated by the other.

Some would be in favor of the other railroad, sometimes not.

Most modern locomotives have GPS and other data logging devices that give a much more accurate usage of the locomotive and charges be adjusted vs a flat rate.

Same goes with EOT's. There is a daily rate charged for x amount of days and then a higher rate for every day after.

Posted from iPhone

Thanks folks for your clear replies, I understand now how  it works.