Western Railroad Discussion > Needles to Winslow running time

I am wondering what the average/normal running time is on the Seligman sub in both directions.
I assume is takes longer to go to Winslow than to Needles due to the elevation change.
And, high priority vs. low priority will be different.

Both cities are crew change points. EB has to be slower. 4500 elevation gain, not counting getting up and over Flagstaff.

Yes. I realize the elevation gain from the Topock Bridge to
the Arizona Divide is from about 600 feet to about 7250, or about
6650 feet. What I would like to know is the normal running time
Needles to Winslow and Winslow to Needles. I live in Flag and
witness the daily march of the pumpkins eastbound and westbound.

Per the AT&SF Ry System Timetable No.3, October 25, 1992, it's 291.4 miles via the North track and 292.1 miles via the South track.
Maximum speed is 90mph for Passenger trains and 70 for Freights with many areas of lower speed limits.
Amtrak #3 was scheduled for 4-1/2 hours Winslow to Needles and #4 was scheduled for 5 hours Needles to Winslow.

Your question can not be answered in the context it was asked. There is no such thing as "average running times". Some Z trains can make the trip in either direction in 5+ hours. Other trains like Manifest, Unit (grain, oil, ethanol), and some stack trains might not make the entire trip in less than 12 hours resulting in being dog-catched. The hot trains get across the railroad pretty quickly and the others are a crap shoot. I do not know how one would compute "average running time" with any kind of accuracy.

I thought this might prompt the kind of reply I was looking for.
That is why I mentioned the two directions and different types of trains.
If it takes a train more than 12 hours to get to Winslow, say, aren't they dead on the law?

There is an average running time, but it would be meaningless, right?
The "most likely" for different types of trains is most useful.
Thanks for you info.

Not your original question of course, but Amtrak allows 5 hr. 16 min. eastward and 4 hr. 59 min westward. This includes three station stops and a crew change at Kingman. Freight of course would be slower, but this gives you an idea of the bare minimum running time.

Barry Draper

Super_C Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Your question can not be answered in the context
> it was asked. There is no such thing as "average
> running times". Some Z trains can make the trip
> in either direction in 5+ hours. Other trains
> like Manifest, Unit (grain, oil, ethanol), and
> some stack trains might not make the entire trip
> in less than 12 hours resulting in being
> dog-catched. The hot trains get across the
> railroad pretty quickly and the others are a crap
> shoot. I do not know how one would compute
> "average running time" with any kind of accuracy.


Of course there is. An average is an easy calculation.

Rephrase the question to--

How long is this run, on the average, for an EB Z train? Or Q train?

Sure, there's an average running time. All things considered you could make it in 5-6 hours or it could take 12 hours. In general, I guess you could say that the average running time is somewhere between 8 to 9 hours. To get more specific you would need a big stack of trip time claims, or the like, to see actual switch-to-switch times.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/14 08:51 by Chico43.

i agree with others that overall average is less meaningful than the averages for certain types of trains...though i like to go with the general rule of thumb that you multiply the amtrak running time by 2 to get a *rough* average time for freight over a given sub. if you want something more specific than that, you might want to explain how you plan to use the info, so that the info we provide can be of use to you.

The fastest I made the trip to Needles from Winslow and tied my ticket after rolling the Needles crew by was 6hrs 20 min. That was on a 6.4 HPT Z WSPNBY9 with all power online per Dispatch and trip software disabled. We were passing other Zs like they were dogs and climbing over 1.47% grade over 60mph. Those trips are like hens teeth.

The return was 7+ hours on a Z7. If all is good, regardless of train, and dispatch keeps you moving, you can expect to repeat 7-9 hours. Night trips can land you a better trip too.

Posted from Android

Hookdragkick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The fastest I made the trip to Needles from
> Winslow and tied my ticket after rolling the
> Needles crew by was 6hrs 20 min. That was on a 6.4
> HPT Z WSPNBY9 with all power online per Dispatch
> and trip software disabled. We were passing other
> Zs like they were dogs and climbing over 1.47%
> grade over 60mph. Those trips are like hens
> teeth.
>

Late North Bay 9....as hot as it gets on BNSF.

BSB