Western Railroad Discussion > UP Nampa Sub - Broken Monster Manifest

On a cold, windy day yesterday, I ran into this long WB manifest parked on the UP Nampa Sub between Nampa and Kuna.
The lead engine was UP #8134; I didn't note the other power in train.
This wasn't just any manifest; it had been "broken" into three sections to avoid blocking crossings.
I don't know the circumstances, but am guessing that either the Nampa yard was unable to take the train, and/or the crew may have died on the clock.
I passed this train while on my way westbound to check activity in the Nampa yard, then rediscovered it on my return eastward trip as it began backing up to connect the three sections.
It was apparent that the van driver was ferrying the conductor from place to place as the crew reconnected the train.
The conductor confirmed to me that the train was more than 10,000' long.
I didn't wait around until the train made its move into the Nampa yard.
It was lucky for this crew that yesterday wasn't a frigid Idaho snow day.
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Please excuse the amateurish, handheld video; it's the best I could do with the rapidly-unfolding events.
Phil

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Handheld did just fine, nice info video.

Thanks Don!
First time I've shot handheld video.
I managed to get my Yukon and my shadow in it.
What you didn't see was the car that blew by, in between me and the train.
I edited that out.
Good learning experience overall.
It was also the first time I've edited multiple video clips vs. just one continuous clip (easy to do).
Wish I could've stuck around to finish the story with video of the train leaving for the Nampa yard.
Phil

Railroad efficiency at it's best! No doubt, that crew putting the train back together will not make La Grande on their 12 hours of service because of this long delay, so UP will have to call out a dog catch crew to get the train to La Grande, paying another crew for a trip. But relieving crews are a different accounting procedure, so those costs are probably not included in UP's computation for how much money they save by running huge, slow trains....

I'm just a railfan, so what do I know, but this would seem to be a classic example of the challenges resulting from massive trains.
Lots of time/resources used to break up the train, then put it back together.
While I don't know the circumstances, I'm guessing the Nampa Yard had to have the train park on the main and get broken apart because they couldn't take it in the yard, due to size or yard capacity constraints.
Phil

I elected to leave before this train pulled toward Nampa.
Question: How long does it take to get the air back up on a 10,200' train after it has been put back together?
Phil

philhoov Wrote:
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> I elected to leave before this train pulled toward
> Nampa.
> Question: How long does it take to get the air
> back up on a 10,200' train after it has been put
> back together?
> Phil


Depends on several factors:

1. Temperature- takes longer to pump up a train in the cold than warm temperature;

2. Length- Long trains take awhile, no matter the weather;

3. Condition- Whether the air reservoirs are dry or still holding air;

4. Equipment- How many compressors are recharging the brake pipe. You can only push so much air into the brake pipe at one time...the charging chokes are only so big. I think beyond three online compressors charging at Run Four you are wasting fuel..someone may correct me on that one...

Would it take at least an hour?
I'm wondering if I left too soon.
Phil

philhoov Wrote:
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> Would it take at least an hour?
> I'm wondering if I left too soon.
> Phil


With DPU's? 10-15 minutes tops.

philhoov Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm just a railfan, so what do I know, but this
> would seem to be a classic example of the
> challenges resulting from massive trains.
> Lots of time/resources used to break up the train,
> then put it back together.
> While I don't know the circumstances, I'm guessing
> the Nampa Yard had to have the train park on the
> main and get broken apart because they couldn't
> take it in the yard, due to size or yard capacity
> constraints.
> Phil

Nampa definitely doesn't have yard tracks long enough to yard huge trains like these, so that's probably why they tie them down outside of town. IIRC, UP placed air hoses underneath the crossing that these trains have to cut when parking them to keep the air brake line charged.

Yes, they do have air hoses placed at crossings.
But, I don't know if those were used for the train in question.
Phil