Western Railroad Discussion > A shared Kansas rail corridor used by BNSFand U.P.

There is about a 40-mile stretch of double-main BNSF Railway track south of Kansas City, Kan., that is also utilized by the Union Pacific under a trackage rights agreement that the U.P. inherited with its acquisition of the Katy. The former MKT had the trackage rights agreement with the former Frisco, original owner of this segment between KCK and Paola, Kan., which is part of the BNSF Fort Scott Sub.

It's been a relatively long time since I've been able to include trains from both lines in a single picture on this corridor. I saw an opportunity late yesterday afternoon when I observed a southbound U.P. loaded coal train stopping on Main Two  near the 175th Street grade crossing south of Olathe, Kan. I waited around about an hour and happened to catch a northbound empty BNSF coal train on Main One. A good photo opportunity came into play when the rear DPU on the northbound BNSF train passed the stopped U.P. train.

My photo isn't the best because of the terrible tree shadow hitting the U.P. power. But you had to be there to fully understand. The engineer of the U.P. train most likely stopped there because of the shade. Yesterday was considered an extra warm October day in Kansas. The temperature was 84 degrees when I snapped the photo. The southbound U.P. train was stopped at that location more than an hour, so the engineer had made a good decision when he chose the shady spot. 

There was a surge in train traffic on this corridor between KCK and Paola yesterday due to a derailment late Sunday afternoon on the U.P. at Paola. After the accident, U.P.  began rerouting most of its north-south trains via the BNSF corridor north of Paola. This BNSF corridor saved the day for the U.P. after its 12-car pileup, which occurred about three city blocks  east of the U.P.-BNSF interlocker in Paola. The interlocker was not harmed. The U.P.-BNSF connection track in Paola. next to the interlocker,  suddenly saw increased usage.

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/16 08:01 by JoCoLB.

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Nice catch, more than likely coincidental stop as UP units have a/c as well as tinted windows.
JB

The engineer probably didn't want the bright late afternoon sun in his eyes. Tinted windows don't help that much with the setting sun.  Would the glare from the sun make gauges and the computer screen harder to read?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/16 11:27 by JoCoLB.

JoCoLB Wrote:
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> The temperature was 84 degrees when I snapped the photo. The southbound U.P. train was stopped at that location more than an hour, so the engineer had made a good decision when he chose the shady spot. 

One thing I noticed in a visit to Australia a couple years ago was that the locomotives have window shades.  Something that has not caught on here.  
 

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Would the naps last too long if there were window shades on U.S. equipment?

One person has to stay awake.  The window shades might help in keeping the cab cool.