Western Railroad Discussion > Some joint track & time work around Spring Hill, KS

On learning that BNSF maintenance of way personnel were seeing some action today in the vicinity of Spring Hills, KS, on the Fort Scott Subdivision, I decided to head that way. I wasn't disappointed by what I found, although a tie gang had evidently been ahead of me by several days.

What I found was that a surfacing gang was still busy and that a contractor was picking up old crossties, moving from north to south.

An added treat was seeing a southbound BNSF train held up a bit north of town, and later moving southward to pick up about 25 cars at an industrial mini-yard on the north edge of Spring Hill.

The sun was shining bright and the temperature was hitting the 50-degree mark and still climbing while I visited Spring Hill for more than hour. Not bad for a spring day with snow still on the ground following almost blizzard conditions for a few hours on Saturday.

Spring Hill is 30 miles south of Kansas City. The sign for MP 30 is next to the station sign.

Hope I don't bore you with too many pictures...

Pictures One, Two & Three: These show the three engine units on the train that was held up for awhile, just north of 199th Street, before proceeding farther south to work the mini-yard.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/10 12:22 by thtinc41ed.

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Pictures Four, Five & Six...

Some of the MOW equipment inside the city limits of Spring Hill.

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Pictures Seven, Eight & Nine...

I couldn't resist shooting some close-ups after the southbounder pulled up to a crossing after plucking some of the cars out of the mini-yard.

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Pictures 10, 11 & 12:

Here's some shots of the contracting firm's hi-rail tie-hauler as it was near the finish of another load. Lettering on the side of the truck indicated it was from Richmond, MO.

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Hey Larry, glad to see you got a pay-off. I heard later that the tie gang was further south. They tied up on the Hillsdale City siding. That train you caught is the Spring Hill Local. The "mini-yard" you refer to serves the kitty litter plant in Spring Hill. They go through about 12 or 14 hoppers of raw material a day (does anybody know what kitty litter is made from?). They operate three track-mobiles to switch from the mini-yard to the plant. The Spring Hill Local ties up on Moss Siding, just north of the Bonita Flats Saloon. I haven't figured out how they get their loads or get rid of their empties. Must be a night crew that takes the local into Kansas City to drop empties and pick up loads. The day job also switches the glass plant in Spring Hill.

I was wondering if there might be two shifts when it comes to switching at Spring Hill. I saw two units of power parked at Moss while driving to and from Spring Hill. That's why I didn't think the train I photographed was a local, especially with three engine units. Usually, I see only two units of power for a Spring Hill local. That's why I think being a TO member is an education. You learn something almost every day if you follow the discussions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/10 19:51 by thtinc41ed.