Western Railroad Discussion > My Joint Line Container Train Confusion

Wow - I thought I understood the newish BNSF Q train service. Today I saw a "strange" BNSF combo container/autorack NB train pass through Castle Rock, CO toward Denver. Two BNSF locos were leading forty six well cars carrying 40-foot containers mostly with the CMA-CGM logo or nondescript logos. There were no JB Hunt, Schneider nor Swift containers in the consist. There were 20 autorack at attached to the end.

Let me try to explain my confusion:
a. In years past, north/south container traffic was very unusual on the Joint Line in Colorado. There were no routine "monster" container trains like we see on the UP or BNSF east/west transcons.
b. Last summer BNSF announced the 5 days-a-week Q train service from the PNW to TX and return. Since then this train routinely has been composed of 2 locos leading 20-30 53-foot well cars - mostly JB Hunt, Schneider or Swift containers with occasional spine cars carrying trailers or containers.
c. Since January I've begun to notice some unusual BNSF northbound container trains with 40-foot CMA-CMG logo containers plus other 40-foot nondescript containers with small logos. The last two or three times I observed this train there were a handful of autoracks on the end.

Question for the Western Board:
a. There appears to be two or more separate contracts/services operating now - the original premium Q service (53-foot containers) and the CMA-CMG (40/20-foot) container train. I'm curious to know the background of both. The addition of the autoracks seems bizarre.

With regard to the autoracks, BNSF operates a dedicated 65-car autorack train to/from the old Santa Fe "Big Lift" yard south of Littleton which has been transformed into a giant automobile trans-shipment point. Its the mixing of containers and autoracks that appears to be a recent development.


Don't get me wrong - I love to see all kinds of variety on the Joint Line - the containers, trailers and autoracks are great! I wanna see more! Unit coal and grain trains can get boring.

Any explanation about the CMA-CMG train would be helpful.

Joe on the Joint Line

I think that was the only a couple days a week Clovis to Denver Q train. Also saw it yesterday with only a few stacks and a few autos? Big Lift was EXTRA BUSY yesterday as Q with autos followed solid auto train north and later in the day ANOTHER north bound solid auto train ran? Must have finally used the new siding adjacent main two at Big Lift to stash autos that didn't fit?
JB

The once or twice per week Clovis, NM - Denver, CO S-CLODEN/V-CLODEN train. Not the 5 day per week Q train Q-ALTPTL/Q-SSEALT domestic train.

T

then there are empty reposition trains

NORMALLY a repo train would not have autos.
JB

Remember,guys, the "Q" trains coming from Clovis can change frequency depending on the Automobile and container shipping needs. Clovis is an auto-rack sorting yard and locations that containers bound for other sections of the BNSF system are dropped off the transcon trains for classification into other trains such as the one described, bound to Denver. Frequency of train symbol will change, sometimes to daily depending on the needs of the shipper.

eatontm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The once or twice per week Clovis, NM - Denver, CO
> S-CLODEN/V-CLODEN train. Not the 5 day per week Q
> train Q-ALTPTL/Q-SSEALT domestic train.
>
> T

I think this answers my question(s). Thanks to all who responded.

I just saw the Q-ALTPTL pass NB - 23 cars total: 20 well cars with JB Hunt, Schneider, Swift containers and 3 spine cars trailing (only one container, 2 empty).

The CMA containers going north could be test shipments probably cotton as a lot of cotton is exported from the Lubbock Texas area and trucked to Dallas for movement to west coast CMA may have slots available x TAC/SEA that they won't to fill with this traffic--just a guess on my part

Empties for the cotton loads are created by large Walmart Distribution center in Plainview Texas which is north of Lubbock Texas and in the middle of cotton country

Dale Smith


DaleSmith

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/17 21:44 by mearsksealand.